The Detroit Red Wings slowly but surely conducted Zoom calls with the remainder of their 2020 draft picks on Thursday, affording beat writers the opportunity to speak with Jan Bednar, Kyle Aucoin, Alex Cotton and Chase Bradley.
The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a write-up regarding each player, and, among her notes is the following:
D Kyle Aucoin, 6th round (No. 156)No pressure at all on Aucoin, other than trying to emulate the greatest sixth-round pick in franchise history in Datsyuk, who won two Stanley Cups and played 953 games for the Wings. Also, there’s Aucoin’s dad, Adrian, a former defenseman who played more than 1,100 games in the NHL. Kyle (5-10, 164) is a smart two-way player and a strong skater. He’s committed to playing at Harvard starting in 2021-22. “Education has always been really important to me and my family,” he said. “That was the best of both worlds with a great hockey program and a great education.”
Aucoin has history with the Wings’ next pick. While their dads were battling at the NHL level, the boys were battling at the triple-A level. “(Kienan Draper) played on Little Caesars (Hockey Club) growing up and I was at Chicago Mission, so that was kind of like our rival team,” Aucoin said. “So we were playing almost every couple of weekends and it was always a battle. They had a great team, so it was pretty awesome he got picked. He texted me after and was, ‘We’re finally on the same side.’ So that’s cool.”
