Inability to Develop Tomas Jurco before Trading Him
Tomas Jurco was a 2nd round draft pick #35 overall in 2011. He won a Memorial Cup playing for Saint John (QMJHL) in 2011 where he scored four goals in four games. He played in two World Junior Championships representing Slovakia before turning professional in 2012. He played parts of six seasons in the Detroit organization before he was traded to Chicago in 2017. The Red Wings could never unlock the skills Jurco seemingly had and spun him off.
The trade would yield a 2017 3rd round draft pick #88 overall. Detroit selected goaltender Keith Petruzzelli who was playing for Muskegon (USHL). He went on to play for Quinnipiac (NCAA) for four seasons and was a Hobey Baker Award nominee awarded to the top men’s hockey player in the NCAA. Petruzzelli refused to sign with Detroit and is currently on a free agent tryout with Boston.