Author: George Malik

The Detroit Red Wings made 8 draft picks over the course of the second day of the NHL’s 2022 Draft, and drafting a total of 9 players in Montreal. The Red Wings’ media corps weighed in as to the substance of the Wings’ picks, and here is a summary of said media corps’ takes:

1. MLive’s Ansar Khan noted that the Red Wings focused on drafting center-ice prospects:

The Detroit Red Wings loaded up on forwards in the draft, addressing an organizational need. After selecting center Marco Kasper eighth overall Thursday, the Red Wings picked three centers and three wingers among eight players they drafted Friday during the final six rounds at Montreal’s Bell Centre.

“Obviously, we need some help at center, at least in the prospect pool,” general manager Steve Yzerman told media at the draft. “The players that we had (targeted) in the later rounds were centers. It’s just kind of the way the list worked out for us.”

Detroit took a pair of left wings in the second round in Dylan James (No. 40) and Dmitri Buchelnikov (No. 52).

James (6-0, 177) was the USHL rookie of the year at Sioux City (28 goals, 61 points in 62 games) as part of a championship team.

“A complete hockey player,” Kris Draper, Detroit’s director of amateur scouting, told reporters in Montreal. “We really like his 200-foot game, used in all situations. When you commit to North Dakota, you’re going there to play hockey. That’s something we really like.”

2. The Free Press’s Helene St. James continued the narrative…

The Red Wings’ media corps weighed in on the Red Wings’ acquisition of Ville Husso from the St. Louis Blues, and here’s MLive’s Ansar Khan’s take on the deal…

[GM Steve Yzerman] expects Husso, 27, and Alex Nedeljkovic, 26, to form a strong tandem.

“We certainly like the season that Ville had,” Yzerman told media at the draft. “We think he can come in and solidify the tandem with Alex. We think we’ve got two guys we can put in net every night and give us a reasonably good chance to win.”

Husso (6-3, 209) went 25-7-6, with a 2.56 goals-against average and .919 save percentage for the Blues. He wasn’t as effective in the playoffs, however, going 2-5 with a 3.67 GAA and .890 save percentage.

“We feel comfortable that he’ll make us a better team,” Yzerman said. “We had the cap space, and the contract isn’t seven years or anything like that. It’s a very reasonable term for us. There’s not a lot of goalies out there and we felt we better get one. We need depth at that position. We thought it was a worthwhile decision to make.”

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan’s take on the trade…

The Detroit Red Wings brought in Ville Husso from the St. Louis Blues today, and signed him to a 3-year, $14.25 million contract. Several media pundits weighed in on the deal, including The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun…

The Avalanche, meanwhile, have let it be known they’re willing to move Kuemper’s rights before he hits the market Wednesday. That’s exactly what the Blues did Friday morning netting a third-round pick for moving Husso’s rights to Detroit. I really like this move by Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman. First of all, the contract was sensible, three years and $4.75 million AAV. But secondly, Husso was the youngest of the notable UFA goalies which fits in nicely with the program in Detroit.

It’s believed the Wings also had interest in [Jack] Campbell but given the uncertainty and competition for him, this felt the safer route for Detroit.

Real sneaky play here by Yzerman.

Daily Faceoff’s Scott Burnside…

New Red Wings assistant coach Bob Boughner is a native of Windsor, Ontario and was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings, so his career is coming full circle in joining Derek Lalonde’s staff as an assistant coach. Here’s what Boughner had to say about taking his new job with the Windsor Star’s Jim Parker:

“Right in my own backyard is like a dream come true,” the 51-year-old Boughner said Friday of returning to the Red Wings.

Boughner was a member of one of Detroit’s most famous draft classes that included third-round pick Nicklas Lidstrom, fourth-round pick Sergei Fedorov, sixth-round pick Dallas Drake and 11th-round pick Vladimir Konstantinov. That draft class went on to play nearly 6,000 combined NHL games. A rugged defenceman, Boughner logged 630 games over parts of 10 seasons in the NHL with Buffalo, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Calgary, Carolina and Colorado, but still recalls hearing his name called by the Red Wings in 1989.

“It was at the old rink in Minnesota (the Met Center in Bloomington) and my parents were there,” Toughener said. “Jimmy D. (Devellano), Nick Polano and Jacques Demers. I still have the jersey (after being drafted). I have it in storage now, but it’s framed and I used to have it on my wall.”

Boughner recalls talking to former Red Wings captain and current general manager Steve Yzerman back in those early days at training camp in Flint. The two reconnected less than a week ago after Boughner was let go as head coach of the San Jose Sharks after parts of three seasons and the two reminisced about those days.

“It was funny when we started talking,” Boughner said. “I got fired five-six days ago and my phone started ringing a little with teams trying to fill out staffs.”

This is the first NHL head coaching job for Lalonde, who was looking for someone with NHL experience to be his associate coach.

“I knew from our first conversation that we had a lot in common with the way we saw the game,” Boughner said of Lalonde. “It just seemed like a good fit.”

Continued

The Athletic’s Corey Pronman accomplished the Herculean task of surveying every NHL team’s draft haul, and here’s what he has to say about Detroit’s picks:

Detroit Red Wings: B

Marco Kasper is an excellent prospect and one I think will become an important top-six center for the Red Wings. Their day two was interesting. I get the Dylan James bet and I think he plays games. Dmitri Buchelnikov was a big swing for a guy who was covertly garnering NHL interest. It was high for me, but I respect the attempt on his skill and scoring. I think this draft will largely come down to how good Kasper is, and I think he will help the Wings a lot.

Continued (paywall)

FloHockey’s Chris Peters weighed in on the Red Wings’ 2022 NHL Draft class, and he’s not enthralled by the Wings’ picks, giving Detroit a B- grade:

Detroit Red Wings:

Grade: B-

First rounder: Marco Kasper, C

Day 2 picks: Dylan James, LW; Dmitri Buchelnikov, LW; Anton Johansson, D; Amadeus Lombardi, C; Maximilian Kilpinen, LW; Tnias Mathurin, D; Owen Mehlenbacher, C; Brennan Ali, C

Analysis: The Red Wings traditionally have a list that’s a lot different than what you see in the public and it has worked out for them a number of times. I think Marco Kasper was a fine first pick as he fills a need and shouldn’t take long to get to the NHL. Their second-round picks were pretty solid, too, as James was a major contributor to the USHL champion Sioux City Musketeers and Buchelnikov was one of the most productive young players in Russia’s top U20 league. Outside of that, I think there are some real mid-round swings with players that are going to need some time to sort out what kind of players they can be. The Red Wings, however, have bought a lot of the benefit of the doubt with their recent draft history.

Continued

Here’s the Red Wings’ official press release regarding the team’s 2022 NHL Draft picks from rounds 2 through 7:

DETROIT SELECTS EIGHT PLAYERS ON SECOND DAY OF 2022 NHL ENTRY DRAFT

  … Six Forwards And Two Defensemen Chosen By Detroit In Montreal …

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today drafted eight players during the second day of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. The Red Wings held two selections in the second round, adding left wing Dylan James (40th overall) and left wing Dmitri Buchelnikov (52th overall). After trading their third-round selection (73rd overall) to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for goaltender Ville Husso, the Red Wings chose defenseman Anton Johansson (105th overall), center Amadeus Lombardi (113th overall) and left wing Maximilian Kilpinen (129th overall) in the fourth round. From there, the Red Wings selected defenseman Tnias Mathurin (137th overall) in the fifth round before taking center Owen Mehlenbacher (201st overall) and center Brennan Ali (212th overall) in the seventh round.

The Detroit Red Wings posted the post-2022 NHL Draft availabilities of GM Steve Yzerman…

Director of amateur scouting Kris Draper…

And 212th overall draft pick Brennan Ali:

Here’s a clip of “Sights and Sounds” from the second day of the draft, too:

Update: Here’s a Twitter clip summarizing the Wings’ picks as well:

Welcome to Hockeytown, boys! ?#DRWDraft pic.twitter.com/6Rz4oXGGJE— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 8, 2022

Per the Detroit Red Wings:

RED WINGS TO HOLD 2022 DEVELOPMENT CAMP AT

LITTLE CAESARS ARENA JULY 10-14

  … Five-Day Camp Featuring Red Wings Prospects Returns to BELFOR Training Center for First Time Since 2019 … 

DETROIT –  The Detroit Red Wings today announced the schedule for their 2022 Development Camp, which returns to the BELFOR Training Center inside Little Caesars Arena from July 10-14. The camp begins on Sunday, July 10 and features on-ice skill development and off-ice workouts each day, ending with a three-on-three tournament on Thursday, July 14.

The camp will be split into two teams, Team Howe and Team Lindsay, and will feature daily on-ice instruction and skill development from a team of coaches, led by the Red Wings player development staff. Attendees will also take part in NHL-level off-ice workouts and attend presentations designed to help players transition to professional hockey, while experiencing the state-of-the-art player amenities offered at Little Caesars Arena and receiving feedback from Red Wings coaches and management.

Husso seems to be a flexible, composed fellow: