Red Wings: Sam Stange could wind up being one of the best picks in 2020

The Detroit Red Wings selected forward Sam Stange in the fourth round; he could wind up one of the best selections from the 2020 draft class.

As the chatter from the 2020 NHL Entry Draft simmers down, the Detroit Red Wings have moved beyond that into free agency. The organization has already added new faces to fill some gaps within the organization early on.

Looking back on the draft, one of the Red Wings draft choices could end up being one of the best in the organization’s draft class. Over the two days and seven rounds, the Red Wings would add 12 total players.

In the fourth round, the Red Wings selected Sam Stange, a forward from the USHL currently at the University of Wisconsin. Director of Amateur Scouting Kris Draper spoke about the selection in an interview with 97.1 The Ticket, calling Stange a “phenomenal athlete” and labeling him as an intriguing name.

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Stange was a two-sport athlete in high school, excelling at both baseball and hockey, showing this true athlete build that Draper had talked about.

Players like this should fire anyone up, and given Stange’s hockey accolades, there is some excitement to be noted.

The nineteen-year-old winger is playing for the Wisconsin Badgers with some of the other top talents that have been selected in recent draft years.

He will be able to grow and develop alongside these talents, leaving his ceiling quite high.

A low-risk, high-reward selection for the organization, was a common theme on day two of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

Not to mention that in 44 games last season for the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL, Stange was able to log 24 goals and 18 assists for 42 total points.

The production is evident, the style of play plays well off of that for Sam Stange, making himself another high-ceiling selection by the Detroit Red Wings.

The production is there, and while at Wisconsin, he will hope to build on this. Though Stange is thought to be more of a shoot-first player, he puts the puck in the net by way of his own stick or making it happen for someone else.

The offense is there and should be exciting to watch as he settles in at the college level and hopefully finds success with the Badgers. The ability to make things happen is exciting, his skating may not be the greatest, but it can be worked on as he develops.

Trying to find the ability to score will not bode as well, but he possesses it, so he can work on the areas of his game that need to be touched up. Stange has all the opportunity in the world with his situation at Wisconsin, possibly seeing a chance to work his way into the World Junior circuits.

He has that “athlete” label on him that makes him even more valuable; if all works out, as a former fourth-rounder, he could find himself being one of the better selections the organization made in 2020.

While the attention will be locked on fourth overall selection Lucas Raymond as he makes his way to North American hockey, but do not count out Stange as one of the best picks in this draft class. The 12 players that General Manager Steve Yzerman did draft all seem to have high ceilings, but Stange’s will be exciting to monitor.

While it is FAR too early to label players as good picks or bad picks, Stange’s profile and breakdown make it easy to conclude that he could wind up turning some heads as a fourth-round selection.

As Sam Stange progresses through college hockey and into the Detroit Red Wings organization, keep an eye on him.