There are a few things in life that we can count on: leaking basements after heavy rains, my dog attempting to dig to China in the backyard, and my favorite being the Detroit Red Wings falling in the National Hockey League (NHL) Draft Lottery.
Moving down from 12th overall to 13th overall, the Red Wings continue to receive no help from their draft positioning.
As they say, though, life isn’t about the hand of cards we’re dealt but how we play them. Much like when the Wings fell in the 2020 NHL Entry Level Draft, they still have an opportunity to add a significant piece to their prospect pipeline. Ask anyone around the league if they would be upset to have drafted Lucas Raymond, and I think the collective response would be the same. He’s a great player that any team would be lucky to have. Of course, people might prefer other players in the 2020 draft, but it’s a matter of preference at this point.
The fourth overall pick is a bit different from the 13th overall selection.
The higher in the draft, the likelier a team is to find elite talent. However, it doesn’t mean that elite talent isn’t found later in the first round (or later rounds) of the draft. They’re just less likely to be there.
Even at 13th overall, the Detroit Red Wings have an opportunity to add invaluable talent to the pipeline
Wyatt Johnston is the first name that jumps in my head. The Dallas Stars selected Johnston in the 2021 NHL Entry Level Draft at 23rd overall. He’s currently a point per game in the playoffs with seven points in seven games, including the series-clinching goal against the Colorado Avalanche.
Or, we could look to his teammate in Thomas Harley. Selected 18th overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Level Draft, he’s proven to be an invaluable asset for the Stars, recording five points in the first seven games of this year’s playoffs.
Maybe it’s luck on the part of Dallas, it could be their super scout of a general manager, Jim Nill, or a combination of both.
No matter the reason, the Dallas Stars have proven time and again that there are valuable pieces to find in the mid to late first round of any NHL Entry Level Draft. The key is making the right selection regardless of if we select first or 32nd overall.
Fans and the Detroit Red Wings organization as a whole have every right to be upset about falling in the NHL Draft Lottery yet again. Venting frustrations or yelling at a cloud is helpful in the short term to get out those emotions. In the long run, it doesn’t help much, though. As Jeff Blashill used to say, frustration is a waste of emotion. A waste of time.
We can feel sorry for ourselves, however valid those feelings might be, or we can look forward to who we might select at 13th overall.
Previously, we looked at who might be available at 12th overall. Fortunately, we reviewed the possible options at 11 through 13, so all is not lost. I won’t spoil those selections. What I can say, is all three players intrigued me and could add a nice injection of talent into the Red Wings pipeline.
Let’s see what happens on June 27 (or before then, if fun things happen…Elias Pettersson and the Swedish Mafia 2.0, perhaps?).