The Red Wings selected Dubuque Fighting Saints defenseman and incoming Colorado College freshman Fisher Scott with the 208th overall pick in last weekend’s 2024 NHL Draft. The Aspen Daily News’s Rich Allen checked in with Scott as he attends the Red Wings’ 2024 Summer Development Camp. Allen also spoke with Scott’s coach in Dubuque, Kirk MacDonald, and Red Wings assistant GM/director of amateur scouting Kris Draper regarding Scott’s potential:
“Fisher’s progression over the last few years of junior hockey has been impressive,” Kris Draper, Detroit’s assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting, told the Aspen Daily News via an email statement. “He is a very good skater. His skating, along with good stick detail, allows him to end plays quickly. He’s a high-character kid which we value. He’s smooth in transition, moving pucks on time. We’d like to see him work on his strength like most young players but we’re very happy to have him in the organization.”
Draper’s name should be familiar to hockey fans in Colorado: As a player, he was a central figure in the Red Wings-Avalanche rivalry at its peak around the turn of the century. That could’ve made it awkward for Scott, who grew up cheering on the Avs, but he said he’s just elated to play pro hockey.
“As a player, you dream of being in the NHL. It doesn’t matter what team you go to, you’re pretty happy and fortunate to be anywhere,” Scott said.
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In most cases, a seventh-round draft pick is considered a long shot or a lottery ticket to make it to the bigs. A study by DobberProspects.com in 2020 using data from 2000-2009 showed that only 5.5% of the league’s players came out of the seventh round, and the odds of a seventh rounder reaching the NHL was at 10%.
But even with those odds, Scott’s stock has seemingly been rising from the obscurity of Aspen to the main stage in Las Vegas — and his former coach likes his chances.
“F—ing right I do,” MacDonald said when asked if thinks Scott could be an NHL player one day. “There’s no doubt in my mind that Fish can play. … I think he’s going to go into CC this year and make an immediate impact this year, no doubt in my mind he’s going to be great for them for as long as he’s there. And hopefully when the time is right, he makes that transition to pro hockey and he’s just going to continue to grow. I think he’s going to make Detroit look really smart a few years down the road.”
