The Red Wings selected big defenseman Brady Cleveland with the 47th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff profiles the 6’5,” 209-pound incoming freshman at the University of Wisconsin:
The mean inside of Detroit Red Wings draft pick Brady Cleveland is definitely above average.
“That’s kind of what I pride myself on,” acknowledges Cleveland. “I like to be that guy who’s mean and physical and get up in your face and be hard to play against. It doesn’t matter what game, what scenario, I’m going to be out there and make it a nightmare for you.”
Looking to the future, Detroit GM Steve Yzerman was setting out an agenda to grow his team’s size and also to create a roster that will be a handful for the opposition. Cleveland checks off all those boxes.
“He’s just an element that we like,” Red Wings assistant GM and director of amateur scouting Kris Draper said of the 6-foot-5, 211-ound Cleveland. Detroit made him the 47th overall selection of the 2023 NHL entry draft.
“He can skate, he can defend hard,” Draper said. “He has a bit of a mean streak and obviously he’s a big kid. It was somebody that we decided to go with there.”
Continued; Cleveland racked up 105 penalty minutes in 55 USHL games last season. That’s a LOT of penalty minutes for that league.
