Abel to Yzerman

Abel to Yzerman

Adding To The Talent Pool

06/20/2019 at 8:29am EDT

Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News looks at the draft for the Wings (Pistons too),

This is the first chance to see the new guy running the Wings, kid by the name of Steve Yzerman, whose team-building acumen is well-established....

It’s understandable if the Wings aren’t interested in risk, not yet. They have the No. 6 overall pick, three more in the second round and five of the first 66. They have a chance to shake it up — Yzerman was a willing draft-day dealer with the Lightning and could be so Friday — but they don’t need to, not with plenty of talent available at No. 6. They like the direction of their rebuild and Yzerman has time and leeway....

The Wings are in a difference place, flush with talented young forwards such as Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha, Andreas Athanasiou and Tyler Bertuzzi. They need a goalie for the future and they definitely need defensemen, via the draft or free-agency starting July 1....

“We have spots on the roster available, but before doing it through trade, I’d look at free-agency to fill those spots,” Yzerman said. “I also want to have some opportunity for our younger players. I’m not gonna sign a free-agent just to sign a free-agent.”

The Wings should get a very good prospect at No. 6, as they did a year ago when Filip Zadina fell to them. It’s unclear if Yzerman will go bold or safe, and there are intriguing possibilities.

Russian winger Vasily Podkolzin might be the third-best prospect overall, but he’s under contract in the KHL. An NHL team could take him, let him develop, then have a seasoned player in two years, as long as he’s willing to leave Russia. Another fascinating player is winger Cole Caufield, the most-prolific goal-scorer in the draft, although he’s only 5-7.

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Welcome to Abel to Yzerman, a Red Wing blog since 1977. No other site on the internet has better-researched, fact-laden and better prepared discussions than A2Y. Re-phrase: we do little research, find facts and stats highly overrated and claim little to no preparation. There are 19 readers of A2Y. No more, no less. All of them, except maybe one, are juvenile in nature. Reminding them of that in the comment section will only encourage them to prove that.

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