Red Wings 2017 Draft Report

06/27/2017
Since our last update a mere 4 days ago, when GM Evans assured us he was done making large moves, a lot has happened in the MRFHL. Two new GMs have been hired (welcome CBJ and LA), the draft has been completed, and a flurry of trades have been made throughout the league, including a few involving the home town Red Wings. Draft day tends to bring out the best in the league and this year, despite being widely criticized as a weak draft, was no exception. 

GM Evans made a few minor trades in the days leading up to the draft, starting with the acquisition of Nic Dowd for a 5th round pick. Shortly afterwards, veteran Alex Edler was traded to Columbus for a 3rd round pick. Edler has 1 year and 5M remaining on his contract, and the Red Wings will retain 2.5M of this. But the Wings were not done yet. The day before the draft, the Wings sent veterans Mats Zuccarello, Anton Stralman and a 2018 2nd round pick to Columbus for prospects Michael McLeod, Mitchell Stephens, and Columbus' 4th and 5th round picks. The Red Wings will pay 25% of Stralman's 4.25M contract.

On draft day, GM Evans made it clear that he was not going to be using the 9th overall pick. Various trade options were discussed, but in the end GM Evans got his wish and managed to move up in the draft. At pick 3, St Louis seemed to go off the board and selected Gabe Villardi. This caused Minnesota to change plans and select Miro Hesikanen, leaving Cale Makar available at pick 5. Trade talks with Avalance surrounding the 9th and 5th picks had seemingly stalled out, but with Makar still on the board GM Evans decided to up the ante to get a deal done. The Wings sent the 9th, 71st and 148th picks in the draft along with prospect Kasper Bjorkqvist, taken 3rd round last year, to Columbus for the 5th overall pick, in order to select Cale Makar.

When reached for comment, GM Austin Evans said, "I really wasn't confident I would be able to land one of the top 7 prospects on my list by staying at 9, and I didn't have a great feeling about any of the guys below that point. Cale Makar is one hell of a dynamic player, and has the potential to be the best player in this draft. That being said, he is far from a finished product and will need a few years of development in order to reach his potential. Makar has the elite speed and hockey sense that GM's love to see in a high pick. Losing 2 middle of roster pieces like Zuccarello and Stralman has eaten into our depth a little bit, so we may be looking to add a few players via trade or free agency to replace them. McLeod and Stephens are interesting prospects that both project to be middle 6 NHL centres, and figure to be a big part of the future of this organization."
 
After trading a pair of picks to move up in the first round, GM Evans was still sitting with a large number of late picks in the 4th and 5th rounds. In a particularly bizzare move, the Red Wings sent their 3rd and 4th picks in 2018 to Edmonton for picks 77 and 109, and then flipped pick 77 to Columbus for their 3rd and 4th picks in 2018. In the final trade of the day, the Wings sent Martin Marincin to the Senators for Craig Smith's RFA rights. Smith is anticipated to play a bottom 6 RW role with the Wings. 

By this point in time, the Red Wings owned picks 99, 101, 109, 116, 122, 129, 131, and 142. GM Evans had done his homework and, recognizing that this draft was quite shallow, decided to target unowned players from previous drafts. The picks went as follows:

Pick 99-Connor Hobbs: a 20 year old right-handed defenseman coming of a 31 goal 85 point season in the WHL. He was teammates with fellow Wings prospect Josh Mahura. Will play in the AHL this season with Hershey.

Pick 101-Markus Nutivaara: a 23 year old defenseman coming off his NHL rookie season, which was cut short by injury. Markus performed well enough this year to stick in the NHL all season and put up 2 points in 2 playoff games. 
 

Pick 109-Simon Bourque: a 20 year old defenseman coming off a 56 point season in the Q, and a good playoff run with Saint John. Will play in the AHL this season with Laval.

Pick 116-Sami Niku: defenseman from Finland. Will be 21 at beginning of the season. Coming off a successful season in Finland that saw him post 27 points in 59 games. Will play in the AHL this season with Manitoba.

Pick 122-CJ Smith- a 22 year old LW coming off a 51 point season in his final NCAA season. Smith was signed by the Sabres and got into 2 games before the end of the season, recording 1 assist. Will play in either the AHL or NHL next season in Buffalo's organization.

Pick 129-Tyler Moy-a soon to be 22 year old centre coming off a 45 point season with Harvard of the NCAA. Moy was signed by the Preds and managed 4 points in 3 AHL games at the end of the season. Will play in the AHL next season with Milwaukee.

Pick 131-Jordan Sambrook-a 19 year old defenseman coming off a 40 point season with Eerie in the OHL. Will return to Eerie next year and figures to be one of the top defensemen in the OHL.

Pick 142-Zack MacEwen-a soon to be 21 year old forward coming off a 74 point season with Gatineau in the Q. A bit of a late bloomer, the 6"3" forward will play in the AHL with Utica this season and try to transition to the pro game.

After the draft, GM Evans was asked for final comment. "We took a lot of players in this draft, 9 in fact, so we are hoping a large number of these will manage to contribute at an NHL level. Nutivaara will likely play on the pro team this season, so that was a pretty low risk pick. By taking mostly players signed to AHL contracts I feel that our club has taken a fairly low risk approach that still has a chance to yield players that are more than just depth. Makar is the ultimate boom-bust pick, but I'm excited by his potential. We hope he has a smooth transition to the NCAA and we will be patient with his development."