The Sporting News’s Steve Kournianos ranked the NHL’s prospect pipelines, suggesting that the Red Wings’ farm system is in 10th place among the NHL’s 31 teams:
10. Detroit Red Wings
Steve Yzerman’s tenure as Detroit’s general manager’s got off to a questionable start when he bypassed conventional draft wisdom and took two-way defenseman Moritz Seider with the sixth overall pick. The move certainly will be monitored for several years, but what shouldn’t be lost in the post-draft hysteria is that Yzerman had already inherited an excellent group of young talent and had the flexibility to roll the dice.
Goal-scoring winger Filip Zadina and center Joe Veleno – the last two first-round picks made by predecessor Ken Holland – are among the elite of the elite. Zadina is the odds-on favorite to beat out his peers for a roster spot and Veleno is the primary target to center Team Canada’s top line at the under-20 world juniors. To no one’s surprise, the majority of the organization’s other notable neophytes are Swedes, with goalie Filip Larsson coming off another stellar campaign in which he posted a .932 save percentage and 1.95 goals-against average as a freshman for Denver. Detroit also owns a pair of confident three-zone puck movers in Gustav Lindstrom and Albert Johansson and won a key free-agent derby by luring former Western Michigan defenseman Oliwer Kaski away from Finland, where he was the top-scoring blueliner in the SM-Liiga. Left winger Robert Mastrosimone, a Boston University recruit who was of the more underrated players from this year’s draft class, has a bit of Gustav Nyquist in him and should be considered having first-round value in a second-round pick.
10th seems like a fair assessment. Our depth is solid. But there probably still isnt a 1C or 1D in the system.
I would rather have a 1D and a 2D. Veleno is progressing nicely but probably 2nd line Center or Winger. Tough to jump in to a C spot in the NHL
When you didnt tank, consistently drafted middle of the pack, get screwed by the lottery, and still end up in the top 10.
Nice work, Holland and Co.
Middle of the pack? In the last 3 years we drafted 9th, 6th, and 6th.
Also sold numerous players to stockpile a bunch of extra picks, including an extra 1st, and several 2nds.
Doing that should land you in the top 10. Frankly, if we didn’t screw up the entire 2017 draft we’d be ranked even higher.
Yes. Thank you, Holland!