Of Red Wings-related note early on a Monday morning:
First, DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted his second-day-of-the-draft article on Sunday afternoon, and the most interesting part thereof comes in the form of some draft philosophy from Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman:
Yzerman highlighted the decision-making process that occurs during the later rounds of an NHL Entry Draft, outlining how there’s a healthy mix of strategy and communication.
“We look a little bit at our depth chart maybe closer in those later rounds, maybe who we’ve picked in the previous rounds today and last night,” Yzerman said. “And then just kind of go through and see does anybody really stand out? Who do we really want? What specific traits or skills that each prospect has do we think can help our organization or give us belief that player is a legitimate prospect? It all seems to work itself out and ultimately, we kind of make these decisions more as a group and based on the individual scouts or area scouts who they really feel excited about, who they really want from their particular area.”
Detroit’s 2026 Summer Development Camp begins later today at the BELFOR Training Center inside Little Caesars Arena, and assistant GM and director of amateur scouting Kris Draper previewed what the prospects can expect to experience over the course of the 4-day camp…
Detroit’s newest and more recent draftees will now have the chance to immerse themselves within the organization even more at Development Camp, which will be held at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center from June 29 – July 2.
“What we want to do with these guys is basically give them as much information as possible,” Draper said of the annual multi-day camp. “You know, the importance of training on and off the ice. They’re going to get a full-body analysis of how they move, what they need to do and what they need to improve on. So, we’re going to get that to them and once we do that, our expectations are that they’re going to do that and have an incredible summer.”
Second, the Hockey News’s Tony Ferrari posted his annual article in which he makes presumptive picks for a Detroit Red Wings team, and one of his picks actually lined up with a player the Wings drafted “IRL” in Myles Brosnahan:
Round 6, Pick 175: Myles Brosnan, D, Dexter (USHS)
Detroit Pick: Luka Arkko, LW, Lahti (Finland)
In hindsight, this is a funny pick because I could have selected Brosnan with my next pick in the draft (as Detroit did). He’s a really interesting defender, and Detroit grabbing him as late as they did is excellent value.
The Wings selected Finnish winger Luka Arkko with this pick, an intriguing forward with some size and power to his game. He loves to drive the net and makes quick, smart passes throughout the ice. He’s a nice, flashy player by any means, but he’s a tactician who can make the right play most of the time. He’s going to need to improve his puck skills and speed to really find an NHL role, though.
Continued; it’s always an interesting “thought experiment” to engage in a, “Who I would have drafted” experiment, and it amazes me that so many prospect gurus follow hundreds of draft prospects in order to make their yearly picks.
