The Detroit News’s Mark Falkner and Ted Kulfan spoke with top draft prospect Shane Wright in their latest “Octopulse” podcast…
And Falkner penned a subscriber-only article noting that the Red Wings’ fast start all but takes them out of the Shane Wright sweepstakes:
With each passing day, the odds of the Detroit Red Wings winning the Shane Wright Sweepstakes become slimmer and slimmer.
The worst teams have the best chances in the draft lottery to select Wright, the Kingston Frontenacs captain and No. 1-rated prospect for the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal on July 7-8, 2022.
Heading into Thursday’s game against the Washington Capitals at Little Caesars Arena, the Red Wings, led by top-six draft picks Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider, are tied with the Capitals for the fifth-best record in the 16-team Eastern Conference and are climbing in the eight-team Atlantic Division with more points (16) than the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning (15).
So, it’s likely that Wright, who has been compared to former No. 1 picks and NHL superstars like Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers and Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche and whose first on-ice experience in an NHL rink was as a 9 or 10-year old with his Toronto-area atom team at Joe Louis Arena, won’t be skating at Little Caesars Arena anytime soon.
At least not in a Winged Wheel uniform.
“I can remember playing at Joe Louis as a kid,” the 17-year-old Wright said. “It was my first time playing on an NHL ice surface and actually playing a game there. I got to look up in the stands and imagine myself playing there in the NHL.”
Continued (paywall)
