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Wings Draft: Three Potential Targets for Detroit in the Second round

By Alex Faber

SECAUCUS, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 06: A general view of the draft board following the first round of the 2020 National Hockey League (NHL) Draft at the NHL Network Studio on October 06, 2020 in Secaucus, New Jersey. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
SECAUCUS, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 06: A general view of the draft board following the first round of the 2020 National Hockey League (NHL) Draft at the NHL Network Studio on October 06, 2020 in Secaucus, New Jersey. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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Samu Salminen, C

EDMONTON, AB – JANUARY 05: Finland celebrates victory over Russia during the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship bronze medal game at Rogers Place on January 5, 2021 in Edmonton, Canada. (Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images)
EDMONTON, AB – JANUARY 05: Finland celebrates victory over Russia during the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship bronze medal game at Rogers Place on January 5, 2021 in Edmonton, Canada. (Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images) /

The Finnish center Samu Salminen might not be one of the centers near the top of the draft, but he definitely has 2nd/3rd line potential. Salminen has spent his career in his native country of Finland, where he developed in the junior leagues with Jokerit. This season, Salminen scored 10 goals and 16 assists with Jokerit’s U-20 team. He also played in the junior World Championship with Finland, scoring seven goals and two assists in seven games.

Salminen is an odd prospect. He’s a below average skater without a ton of raw skill (No speed, not especailly skilled puck/stick handler), but he just finds a way to score. Salminen has a decent shot, but most of his offensive drive is due to his fantastic hockey IQ. Although he’s not the quickest, he can just find ways to keep the offense going. If you let him into a high danger spot, he can threat with a tape-to-tape pass to a teammate in scoring position or snipe the corners of the net.

Salminen is a pretty risky option. His skating alone will likely push him out of the first, and the lack of raw skill is not a good look for a team looking for high ceiling potential. But you can’t really argue with production, and Salminen has been productive at every stop thus far. If Yzerman is leaning towards a center that can put pucks in net, Salminen could be the answer in the second round.

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