Detroit Red Wings: What They Need in the 2015 NHL Draft
In the 2015 NHL Draft, the Detroit Red Wings need to put their focus on getting some players for the now and also for the future. The team in recent years has draft very well and this year I don’t see that changing much. I see the Red Wings front office having a good year with the draft class of this year.
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This year the team has 6 picks. They are the 19th pick in the first round. They don’t have a pick in the second round. They are the 73rd pick in the third round, the 110th in the 4th. They have the 140th pick, then pick again at 170th. Their final pick is the 200th overall.
So with 6 picks in the draft, what exactly do the Red Wings need in this years draft? Well they need a few things.
Defense
One thing that this team needs to put the most importance on in the draft, will be getting an NHL ready, or very close to NHL ready defenseman. They need a big body that will help out Niklas Kronwall. They will need to replace Marek Zidlicky and anyway to give Jonathan Ericsson less ice time would be nice.
Many seem to think that the Red Wings might trade away their first round pick, yet, I think they should be using it on a highly ranked defenseman. They could trade up and get a prospect such as Ivan Provorov. They could also stay at 19th and pick a name like Jakub Zboril or Jeremy Roy.
Forwards for the future
This is where the team should start using their 3-7 round picks. Now how they use them is up to the team. They can either pick up players they have been scouting at their spot. Or maybe they trade some of those picks and get some other teams prospects.
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I think the Red Wings keeping their picks and making the smart, great, typical Red Wings picks is a better plan. Maybe taking a pick like Jonathan Davidsson or Dominik Diem from the European skater pool. Or from the North American skater pool, players like Pius Suter or Keegan Kolesar.
Mostly these will be guys who might end up spending either another season with their OHL,WHL or European teams. Some maybe able to come up to the Grand Rapids Griffin team. However they also are expected to be ready for the NHL anytime soon after the draft.
A goaltender prospect
Talking about goaltenders and the Detroit Red Wings only makes me think about how much talk we went into about the Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek situation. Yet, let’s go down this rabbit hole that is the goaltender position.
The Red Wings need to find themselves a new goaltender prospect in this years draft. It seems to be clear that Mrazek will be up with the team when the new season starts. So, they are going to have to find another young prospect to keep down in Grand Rapids and mold into the next Mrazek.
The goalie pool this year isn’t anything spectacular, no big names stand out. However, depending on if they want a top prospect at goaltender they could use a 3rd or 4th round pick for one. Maybe they wait until the later rounds like a 5th or 6th round pick. It is just kind of up to who they want and who they think will be around when they are on the clock.
This draft will be an interesting one and if the Red Wings can be their typical self when it comes to their picks this year, I think they will be okay. The 2015 NHL Draft will be held Friday and Saturday June 26th and 27th.
Next: Would you take any of these players at 19th?