Detroit Red Wings: Steve Yzerman in favor of postponing the NHL Draft

It’s a very unique year; well, we’re actually in year two of this pandemic.  The NHL season didn’t begin until January, and teams have been forced to navigate through various scheduling, COVID-19 challenges along with playing a condensed schedule. The Detroit Red Wings are no exception.

The 2021 season is truly a grind, but what is expected to happen with the pending draftees that are unable to showcase their skills?

Many of the junior hockey leagues are not playing games in 2021 or playing a minimal schedule leaving the NHL to question if having two Entry Level Drafts in 2022 would be a better option.

GMs such as Steve Yzerman hope to get a better look at these kids on the ice in junior, playing meaningful games along with an entire schedule.  The franchise’s set to invest in a player needs to see the whole picture, rather than going out on a limb selecting a player they’ve yet to fully scout.

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League along with the NCAA both have started. Still, the Ontario Hockey League and the Western Hockey League have yet to begin, and we’re already a week away from the beginning of March.

Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman hopes the league opts to postpone the 2021 NHL Draft.

Recently, Yzerman weighed in on this idea of having two separate drafts next season, one for the 2021 draft-eligible players and the other for the 2022 class.

"“I would hope they push it back, and give us a chance to watch these kids and give these kids a chance to play and put their best foot forward leading up to the draft,” Yzerman said Monday, according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press."

When you consider where the Detroit Red Wings currently are in their rebuilding journey and set to be lottery-bound once again, you can quickly understand why Yzerman hopes the league agrees to push the draft back.

If the Detroit Red Wings finally get some lottery luck and even land the first overall pick, can you blame Yzerman for wanting his scouting department to have every opportunity to scout the entire class, hoping to land the best player available?

The league is also considering changing the draft odds in favor of the poorer teams rather than seeing a middle-of-the-road team landing the first overall pick and the Detroit Red Wings of the world slide down in the draft order once again.

There is not much information on this at this time, just that it is being discussed.