For the first time in what feels like forever, the Detroit Red Wings aimed for the moon.
After trading away goaltender Sebastian Cossa to the Utah Mammoth, general manager Steve Yzerman used the 23rd overall pick to draft J.P. Hurlbert, a winger/center from the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL.
Hurlbert, the WHL Rookie of the Year, capped off his first (and only) CHL season with 97 points in 68 games. Next season, he'll play at the University of Michigan, just a stone's throw away from Hockeytown. There, he'll have plenty of time to round out his game nad fix some of the little gaps in his game.
Hurlbert has earned praise across scouting departments for his high motor and effort -- so much so that he's been compared to two NHL veterans: Kyle Palmieri and Blake Wheeler.
How J.P. Hurlbert stacks up to Blake Wheeler, Kyle Palmieri
Craig Button of TSN believes Hurlburt will wind up becoming "a Palmieri type of player". Here's what he had to say about Detroit's newest Red Wing:
"A player of his physical stature, he's not a guy that goes and gets engaged physically and tries to overpower guys," Button said. "You do it with your brain, your smarts, you anticipate, you get to the right spots — he does all of those things. And he pays the price. That's why I say Kyle Palmieri."
Palmieri has 945 career NHL games under his belt, hitting the 20-goal mark seven times in his career. If this is where Hurlbert tops out, it would make him a perfect second line winger built to add extra scoring.
The other - and far more exciting - comparison, however, is former NHLer Blake Wheeler.
How Hurlbert plays a similar style to Blake Wheeler
Blake Wheeler, a 16 year veteran for the Boston Bruins, Atlanta Thrashers, Winnipeg Jets and New York Rangers, is exactly what Red Wings fans should hope Hurlbert becomes. The now-retired center capped off his career with 943 points in 1,172 games, including a career high season of 91 points in both 2017-18 and 2018-19.
Wheeler was the captain of the Jets for years. His high level of competitiveness, coupled with his career longevity, makes him an ideal scenario for Hurlbert. HockeyMockDraft compares Hurlbert to Wheeler due to "playing style, position, and projected role".
It should be noted that Hurlburt still has a full year of NCAA hockey to go before he can suit up in the Winged Wheel. Even if things go perfectly according to plan, the Red Wings may still be reticent to bring Hurlbert into the fold. Last season, they tried to rush Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard into NHL readiness, only to find out that they still had a bit of developing to go.
Whether Hurlbert turns into a Palmieri, a Wheeler or makes a name for himself on his own, the Red Wings have an extremely promising high-skill player on their hands.
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