DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills wrote an article which focuses on Red Wings director of amateur scouting Kris Draper’s promotion to the team’s second assistant GM (alongside Shawn Horcoff):
“In talking with Steve about it, I want the opportunity to sit in on meetings like last week with free agency, the negotiations of contracts and entry-level deals,” Draper said. “I’d love to sit in and learn how to do those.”
Draper is entering his 12th season in the Red Wings’ front office. He was named the organization’s director of amateur scouting before the 2019-20 campaign after working the previous eight seasons as assistant to former GM Ken Holland.
“It was a great opportunity for me to be around Ken and learn everything in all areas of the game,” Draper said. “It was obviously special. I appreciate being able to walk out of the Detroit Red Wings’ dressing room into the front office. Ken gave me that opportunity and that’s a big reason why I’m sitting here.”
Draper is fortunate to be part of Detroit’s front office, which includes his “friends for life” and former Red Wings teammates in Yzerman, (Vice President of Hockey Operations) Nicklas Lidstrom, (Pro Scout) Kirk Maltby, (Associate Director of Player Personnel) Jiri Fischer, (European Player Development) Niklas Kronwall and (Assistant Director of Player Development) Dan Cleary.
“We’re all in this for the same thing,” said Draper, who played 17 of his 20 NHL seasons and won four Stanley Cups with Detroit. “We want to be good again and we want to be great. We all take a lot of pride in what the Detroit Red Wings organization meant to all of us. We played arguably in the greatest era of the Detroit Red Wings organization, and we want to bring that back. We all understand how hard it’s going to be but we’re all in this together.”
