Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press when asked what one area of improvement would help the Wings make the playoffs,

With all that said about needing more offense, the one player the Wings need most in order to start advancing to the playoffs and eventually emerge as a Cup contender is an elite defenseman. That’s why Yzerman’s first big move after taking control of the Wings was to use the sixth pick in the 2019 draft on Moritz Seider.

PUTTIN' ON THE (MO)RITZ:Why Moritz Seider's buzz is building with Wings ahead of 'a huge step up'

Seider is a 6-foot-4 207-pounder who shoots right and projects to be a No. 1 D-man in the NHL. This month he finished his season with Rögle in the Swedish Hockey League with 28 points in 41 games, followed by five points in 13 playoff games. He’s currently playing for his native Germany at the World Championships in Latvia, recording three points in the first four games.

Time will tell whether Seider, 20, can become a player who moves the needle on the rebuild. More immediately, the draft lottery is June 2, when the Wings have the sixth-best odds, or a 7.6% chance, of landing the first pick in the draft. They have a 15.4% chance of landing in the top two spots, and while they cannot select third, fourth of fifth, they can fall back as far as eighth.

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