The highest-rated defenseman in the draft, Canadian Bowen Byram, was picked by Colorado at fourth. The Wings had the choice among elite forwards Cole Caufield, Dylan Cozens, Trevor Zegras and Vasili Podkolzin. But the Wings, who have drafted forwards in five of their last six first rounds, instead chose a 6-foot-3, right-shot defenseman who was rookie of the year in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), Germany’s top men’s hockey league, in 2018-19 (he had six points in 29 games for Adler Mannheim).

Seider is a smart, two-way defenseman who loves to join the rush and isn’t afraid to play the body.

“He’s big, he’s efficient, and he’s smart,” said Wings coach Jeff Blashill, who saw Seider at the IIFC World Championship in May, when Seider had two goals in five games for his native Germany. “He made plays under pressure. For me, that’s what the best defensemen do.”...

“They asked so many questions, and wanted to know everything about me,” said Seider, who felt the 40-minute meeting might be an inkling the organization might have interest in him.

Yzerman wouldn’t commit as to where Seider will play next season, be it in North America or returning to play with Mannheim.

“Let’s get to training camp and if he goes back there (to Germany), it’s a first-class organization, a good program, a real good team,” Yzerman said. “We’ll let it play out and whatever is best for him.”

Yzerman said he considered moving back in the draft, and possibly acquire more draft picks from another team, but nothing materialized.

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