Red Wings assistant GM and director of amateur scouting Kris Draper spoke with the media this morning at Little Caesars Arena, and MLive’s Ansar Khan took note of Draper’s comments:
“It’s something pretty special,” Draper said. “To be an assistant general manager of the Detroit Red Wings is obviously a stepping-stone, it’s a goal for me, but to earn that trust from Steve Yzerman means a lot. Obviously, he appreciates the hard work and what I’ve been doing and where we’re at and the direction we’re going.
“Just going to stay the course, keep highly motivated, understanding there’s still so much work to be done, but it’s obviously nice to be rewarded.”
Draper will continue working alongside Yzerman and assistant GM Shawn Horcoff, who oversees the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins, on all hockey operations matters and continue running the draft. His expanded duties include being more involved on the business side (contracts, input on player transactions).
“I want the opportunity to sit on meetings like last week with free agency, the negotiations of contracts, entry-level deals,” Draper said. “I’d love to learn how to do those. But my main role is exactly what it’s been since Steve has come here and that’s running the draft.”
