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Detroit Red Wings Post-Lottery Blues Means Settling For Alex Turcotte

By Tyler Kotila

ST. PAUL, MN - SEPTEMBER 19: Team Langenbrunner forward Alex Turcotte (19) skates with the puck during the USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game between Team Leopold and Team Langenbrunner on September 19, 2018 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN. Team Leopold defeated Team Langenbrunner 6-4.(Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ST. PAUL, MN - SEPTEMBER 19: Team Langenbrunner forward Alex Turcotte (19) skates with the puck during the USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game between Team Leopold and Team Langenbrunner on September 19, 2018 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN. Team Leopold defeated Team Langenbrunner 6-4.(Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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After the NHL Draft Lottery, the results have the Detroit Red Wings picking sixth… with the chances of Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kakko disappearing, Alex Turcotte could be the best move with the sixth overall pick.

Listen, post-draft lottery blues is a real thing; the Detroit Red Wings had a 9.5% chance at nabbing that top pick. “The lottery is rigged, the Red Wings should be picking top five,” all things fans have been saying, but the frustration can disappear.  This draft class is HEAVY on talent, and that is going to bode well for the Red Wings picking sixth. Not getting into the top five hurts, but there are some things to take away from this.

Looking at the positives of picking sixth, there is a lot of talent in this draft, and the Red Wings can still walk away from the first round with an absolute stud of a player not named Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kakko. The 2019 draft class runs deep, so there is a shot that the Red Wings can pick smart and walk away with someone like Alex Turcotte.

The real question for most is “who is Alex Turcotte?”. It seems like everything the last few months has been Hughes this and that, or Kakko this and that. Even I am guilty of this, Kakko was the target I hoped the Red Wings would get but now its time to explore the other available options.

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Turcotte is a 5’11 forward who can play center born in February of 2001 making him 18 at the time. He is committed to playing DI hockey for the University of Wisconsin in the 2019-20 season assuming he does not turn pro since he is a top ten projected pick.

For the United States National Development Team Program, Turcotte has managed 34 points in 16 games, and for the U18 National team in 30 games he has 50 points. Besides his point production, which does not always transfer since hockey is such a developmental game level-to-level, it is essential to look at his abilities.

Turcotte is a great skater, using his feet to get him into position using his acceleration and quickness should translate well through his journey to the NHL. Turcotte is exceptional at controlling the puck down low in the offensive zone which allows him to create more offense.

Picking sixth is not the ideal spot, but with the situation the Red Wings are in, it sure seems like there’s hope that the Red Wings will draft a top-tier talent like Turcotte to help better this franchise’s future as we move into the end of this rebuild.

Next. What should the Detroit Red Wings draft board look like?. dark

There’s a lot of time between now and then, maybe things will change and the Detroit Red Wings will find a better option whether it be Bowen Byram or maybe Vasili Polkolzin will fall to sixth. Initial reactions point to Alex Turcotte being a solid pick by the Red Wings, and that should cure the post-draft lottery blues to know that there’s still going to be a good talent coming to Detroit from the draft.

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