The Detroit News’s Bob Wojnowski penned a subscriber-only article discussing Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s work over the past couple of weeks’ worth of roster and draft machinations. Wojnowski notes that Yzerman’s moves, big and small, are starting to bear some fruit (if only very slowly):
In the past week, we’ve seen all sorts of crafty, smallish deals, the ones that eventually lead to biggish deals. When the Wings wrapped up the two-day NHL draft Wednesday, they’d completed four trades to add three picks and selected 12 players, including high-upside scoring winger Lucas Raymond at No. 4. They stocked up at every position while mining their preferred hockey port, Sweden. If draft picks are lottery tickets, Yzerman went to the corner store and bought a bunch of scratch-offs with possible high payoffs.
Barely a week after the team he led for eight seasons, the Tampa Bay Lightning, won the Stanley Cup, Yzerman showed what he plans to do, without really saying it. Ask him if there are specific traits he seeks in young players, his answer: “Yes.” Ask if he can expound on those traits, his answer, with a smile: “No.”
But look at the uber-talented Lightning, who drafted smart, high-end players and then chose wisely in the middle rounds to fill out the roster. There are plenty of traits to consider when drafting a hockey player, and that’s why Yzerman is reluctant to pinpoint one or two. The old saying in sports is that speed kills, but in Yzerman’s mind, it might be slightly different. Skill kills. And thrills. Also, Swedes lead. (See: Nicklas Lidstrom, Henrik Zetterberg, Niklas Kronwall.)
When the seven-round draft finally ended after about seven more hours Wednesday, Yzerman was pleased with the volume and balance of his haul.
“We have skills or characteristics that we value, and I’m guessing pretty much every team has the same characteristics,” Yzerman said. “You talk about five-tool players in baseball, our sport isn’t that much different. We’re looking for good players, and they come in all different forms. But the reality of the NHL is, it’s becoming faster, and like every sport, you gotta keep up.”
Continued (paywall)
