MLive’s Ansar Khan profiles Red Wings prospect Austin Baker, who was drafted 203rd overall by Detroit this past June. Baker’s from White Lake Township, MI, and Khan reports that the Michigan-born left wing’s delighted to be drafted by his local NHL team:
“My family went crazy,” Baker said. “It’s really a dream come true. I couldn’t even have imagined being picked by the Wings. Hearing my name called by them was like the best feeling ever.”
The 6-0, 190-pound left wing, a White Lake native who played for the U.S. National Team Development Program in Plymouth, was surprised because he hadn’t had many pre-draft conversations with Red Wings front-office personnel.
“I think it took a couple of hours to settle in and realize I just got drafted to the Red Wings,” Baker said. “I was just super excited.”
The seventh-round pick has a long way to go to fully realize his dream and knows he must buck the odds. Only 32 players selected 200th or later in the past 15 entry drafts have appeared in an NHL game.
For now, he’s enjoying his status as a Red Wings prospect and the perks that come with it. That included an opportunity at development camp to be on the ice with Pavel Datsyuk, the 171st selection in the 1998 draft who went on to fashion a Hall of Fame career.
“I got the chance to skate with him when I was younger at one of his camps,” Baker said during camp last month at Little Caesars Arena. “Seeing him out there now, trying to teach me something, that was pretty cool.”
Continued (paywall)
