Abel to Yzerman

Abel to Yzerman

Detroit Press Release On Trade With St. Louis

03/21/2022 at 2:45pm EDT

DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings today acquired center Oskar Sundqvist, defenseman Jake Walman and a second-round pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for defensemen Nick Leddy and Luke Witkowski.

Sundqvist, 27, has skated in 41 games with the Blues this season, recording 15 points (4-11-15), 12 penalty minutes and a plus-four rating. The 6-foot-3, 208-pound center has appeared in 270 NHL games with the Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins since 2015-16, notching 87 points (36-51-87) and 96 penalty minutes. Sundqvist is a two-time Stanley Cup champion with Pittsburgh (2016) and St. Louis (2019) and has logged 10 points (4-6-10) in 36 postseason games. He has also skated in 114 American Hockey League games with the San Antonio Rampage and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, recording 69 points (22-47-69) and 88 penalty minutes.

Originally drafted in the third round (81st overall) by the Penguins in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Sundqvist played three seasons with Skelleftea AIK in the Swedish Hockey League, amassing 36 points (16-20-36), 58 penalty minutes and a plus-23 rating from 2012-15. He helped the club capture an SHL Championship in 2013-14 and a berth in the SHL Finals the following season prior to continuing his professional career in North America. The Boden, Sweden, native won a silver medal with Sweden at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship, potting two goals in seven appearances.

Walman, 26, has suited up in 32 games for the Blues this season, tallying six points (3-3-6), six penalty minutes and a plus-three rating. Walman made his NHL debut with the Blues during the 2019-20 season and has spent the last two years with St. Louis, totaling eight points (4-4-8) and 14 penalty minutes in 57 games. The Toronto, Ont., native turned pro following his junior season (2016-17) at Providence College and spent three seasons in the American Hockey League between the Chicago Wolves, Binghamton Devils and San Antonio Rampage. In all, he's recorded 63 points (17-46-63) in 189 AHL games and chipped in three points (2-1-3) in eight playoff games during the 2016-17 season with the Wolves.

Originally drafted by the Blues in the third round (82nd overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft, Walman played three seasons at Providence College, recording 69 points (21-48-69) in 107 games. During his freshman season, he helped the Friars to the program's first-ever NCAA National Championship and was named to the NCAA All-East Regional Team. He led all NCAA defensemen in goals (13), points per game (1.04), power-play goals (8) and game-winning goals (4) during his sophomore campaign and was named to the CCM All-American First Team and was a First Team Hockey East All Star during his sophomore and junior seasons, in addition to being named a Hobey Baker Nominee following his junior year. Prior to joining Providence, Walman had a decorated season with the Toronto Jr. Canadiens of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, recording 33 points (7-26-33) in 43 games en route to being named the league's Rookie of the Year.

The Red Wings currently hold 18 selections in the next two NHL Entry Drafts. Detroit has its own pick in the first five rounds of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, in addition to an extra second-round pick (Washington), two additional selections in the fourth round (Colorado and Vegas) and one extra pick in the seventh round (Los Angeles). Detroit has all of its own picks through the first seven rounds of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, in addition to an extra second-round pick (St. Louis).

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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.