Could the Red Wings Land Shane Wright in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft?

How Should the Red Wings Utilize Shane Wright?

So, if the Red Wings get the first overall pick in the 2022 NHL entry draft, and if they select Shane Wright with said pick, where do they go from there? Well, that’s a pretty opinated statement.

For a player of Shane Wright’s caliber, and given the hype he has had around him, the easy choice is to have him with their team in year one. However, I don’t think that’s their best course of action. Personally, I think the Red Wings should let Shane Wright play in the AHL for a year or maybe even two before getting a chance in the NHL. Why you may ask- well, let me tell you.

When you look at some of the former first-round picks with hype on them, look at how they progressed in year one. Not many did. Kaapo Kakko, Alexis Lafreniere, Dylan Strome, Hico Hischier, Tage Thompson, and I can keep going if you’d like.

Not many first-round players can come into the league in year one and play well. It’s just so uncommon, but it’s also not the right move. It takes a players a little bit to adjust to the speed of the game here, but it takes players even more time figuring out what their role will be with the team and how they need to approach the game. At the end of the day, it’s not their choice. It’s the organizations.

So, even though Shane Wright is an elite offensive talent and a very good two-way player that would make it easy on a team to give him first-line minutes, a team could decide that his talents would be best utilized on the fourth-line for a couple years which isn’t doing much to help his game. Especially if he’s having to learn how the team want’s him to play.

Instead, I think that you send Shane Wright to the AHL for a year and let him develop and get his mind and body right for the AHL and then call him up once he’s ready.

Forcing players into situations like that makes it incredibly difficult on the player and then when they don’t perform up-to-par then it makes it tough on the coaching staff to keep him up there. I mean, for example- look at a team like the Flyers with Nolan Patrick.

So, that’s what I think the Red Wings should do. Then after a year in the AHL, if he performs well, you give him a nine-game trial in the NHL and see how he does. If he does well, keep him up. If not, then send him down for another year to work out the kinks.

A player of Shane Wright’s value isn’t worth forcing the situation upon him.