Signing Oliwer Kaski provides draft flexibility for Detroit Red Wings
By Bob Heyrman
The Detroit Red Wings recently signed Finnish defenseman Oliwer Kaski. The right-handed defender is expected to immediately compete for a regular spot on the teams’ blueline, but he also provides the Wings with some draft flexibility.
When Steve Yzerman signed Kaski, he had immediate aspirations that the young soon to be 24-year-old defenseman will provide the Detroit Red Wings blueline with a much-needed boost. After a pair of underwhelming seasons in the SM-liiga league, Kaski exploded on the scene earning himself the leagues’ MVP award this past season.
The right-handed defender recorded 19 goals, 32 assists to total 51 points throughout 59 regular season games. It was enough to draw the attention of the Steve Yzerman and the Detroit Red Wings. The Wings need to create more offense from the backend, Kaski who is suddenly an offensive defenseman may provide the Red Wings a much-needed boost. I say “suddenly” because prior to last year Kaski only recorded 22 points in two seasons.
Kaski played one season with the Western Michigan Broncos which certainly helped the Detroit Red Wings land his services as he’s familiar with the area. During the 2015-16 season, he recorded 12 points in 31 games. The following year he only played one game with the Broncos before heading to the Finnish-Elite League, starting his professional career.
With the emergence of Filip Hronek and the potential that still surrounds Dennis Cholowski amongst others; the defense prospects are starting to sprout for the Detroit Red Wings. In a perfect world, the team would have the opportunity to add to the cupboard in a big way via the NHL Draft. The team will surely add a few defensemen, but the Vancouver Giants top defender Bowen Byram is the top prize.
As we know, it’s anything but a perfect world. Instead of winning the Draft Lottery, the Detroit Red Wings actually fell from the fourth position to the six spot. It is a miserable drop for the Wings because if they were picking fourth, I’m very confident they would have an opportunity to select Byram. Now, my gut tells me that the L.A Kings will spoil the party taking Byram fifth overall, one spot in front of the Red Wings, adding insult to injury.
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If that indeed happens, the recent signing of Kaski is critical. The Detroit Red Wings are going to get a high-end talent at sixth and if Byram is gone, picking one of the top forwards available isn’t all that bad. Settling for an Alex Turcotte, Trevor Zegras, Dylan Cozens, Cole Caufield or maybe even Vasili Podkolzin isn’t the worst thing in the world with Kaski already in place allowing Yzerman to address a defenseman later in the draft.