The Athletic’s Max Bultman wrote a superb article this morning, discussing Red Wings director of amateur scouting Kris Draper’s first time running Detroit’s NHL draft as it pertains to the team’s direction going forward. Bultman notes that Draper takes the “get the Red Wings back to the playoffs, and then even more” parts of his job very, very seriously:
“Everybody knows how much the Detroit Red Wings mean to me,” he said. “I’ve spent half my life here, and I want to do everything that’s possible to get us back to where we want it to be, where the fans want it to be. And we know we have work to do. And we also realize that a big part of us getting back to where we want to go is going to be drafting and developing.”
The charge of getting the Red Wings back into contention falls onto more shoulders than just Draper’s. It takes an entire franchise. But as Steve Yzerman has preached building through the draft, the department Draper now helms has a massive hand in shaping the future of the franchise.
Draper’s correct that it will take years to find clarity about this draft class. But for now, this first draft can hopefully tell us a few things about how the department will run under the four-time Cup winner.
Bultman continues (paywall)
