Abel to Yzerman

Abel to Yzerman

Top 5 Draft Classes For The Detroit Red Wings

06/04/2020 at 10:29am EDT

from Ansar Khan of Mlive,

So here are the five best Red Wings drafts of all-time. The focus was on the depth of the draft class more so than years in which they landed one great player (Marcel Dionne in 1971, Pavel Datsyuk in 1999, Henrik Zetterberg in 2000) and not much else.

1. 1989

Former Red Wings general manager Jimmy Devellano has referred to this as the “draft for the ages.” It is highlighted by seven-time Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom (selected at No. 53) and Hart Trophy winner Sergei Fedorov (No. 74), both in the Hall of Fame, and Vladimir Konstantinov (No. 221), whose brilliant career was cut short in a 1997 limousine accident. The Red Wings were pioneers in scouting Europe and had the wherewithal to bring Russian players to the U.S. that other teams lacked.

Top pick Mike Sillinger (No. 11) lasted only two-plus seasons in Detroit but played 1,049 games with 12 NHL teams. Second pick Bob Boughner (No. 32), a hard-nosed defenseman, did not pan out with the Red Wings but played 630 NHL games over 10 seasons with five teams.

Sixth-round pick Dallas Drake (No. 116) appeared in 1,009 NHL games as a gritty, bottom-six forward and played a key supporting role on the Red Wings’ 2008 Stanley Cup-winning team in his second stint with the organization.

This draft class combined to play a staggering 6,686 NHL regular season and playoff games.

four more years...

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