Red Wings 2020 Draft Report

The 2020 draft was always going to be an interesting one. By the the time the Draft Lottery rolled around, GM Evans and his scouting staff had six 1st round draft picks to work with, including two in the lotto, plus three 4ths and a half dozen 5ths.

In the days leading up to the lotto the Wings traded away the UFA rights to Danny Dekeyser and Alex Chiasson for a 2020 3rd and 2021 5th but were unable to find a buyer for the rights to veteran Carl Soderberg.

The Draft Lottery wasn't particularly kind to the Wings this year. The team went into the lotto with 3rd and 5th overall and come out with 5th and 6th. 

Never one to get discouraged, GM Evans responded to this lotto loss by packaging 6th overall, 23rd overall, and prospect Matias Maccelli together to get 2nd overall. When reached for comment on the matter, GM Evans replied "I was really hoping one of our lotto picks would end up in the top 3. There are three pretty special players at the top this year, but that next tier is no joke either. Given our depth of assets this year, I felt it was worthwhile for our team to combine assets and get a can't-miss player at #2."

Not long after, the Wings traded 26 overall for veteran Alex Killorn and a 2020 5th, bringing the total down to four 1st round picks in the upcoming draft. The team followed this up with another veteran acquisition, Travis Zajac, for Pilon, Lorentz, and the 2021 5th acquired for Chiasson's UFA rights. 

GM Evans: "I felt our team lacked a veteran presence this past season, so we needed to add some player who fit that role and can still make an impact. I think Killorn's style will compliment McDavid or Couturier in our top 6. He can play either wing, fits on both special teams, and makes 4.25M for another 3 years. Zajac is the ideal 3rd line C and penalty killer."

In an under the radar move, the Wings re-acquired David Kampf in exchange for Mason Millman. Kampf began his career as a FA signing and was moved to the Oilers in the ill-advised Lias Andersson trade. In the team's final pre-draft deal, the UFA rights to Ian Cole were acquired from Chicago in exchange for 149th overall. 
Update: the team was unable to agree to terms with Ian Cole.

When draft dray rolled around the Wings were sitting with four 1st round picks: 2, 5, 15, and 19, as well as 63 overall in the 3rd round, and a plethora of late round picks. The scouting staff had been preparing for months and were confident in their ability to take a potential impact player at every pick, even later in the draft. This depth of assets had already led to a pair of 1st round picks being dealt and rumours abounded about the team shopping their remaining picks in a variety of intriguing deals. One particularly spicy rumour had Auston Matthews joining the team for a haul of young players, another had the Wings trading for a different 40 goal scorer from 2020, and yet another had the team acquiring another top 3 pick.

When 2nd overall came up, the Red Wings considered a few different options but stuck with the original target: Quinton Byfield. "Byfield is a potential franchise C with size, speed, and skill who dominated the OHL and has yet to turn 18. That ceiling was just too much to pass up. He's nearly a year younger than some of the other top players in this draft, like the two Ottawa 67s, and he played on a weaker Sudbury team. I think he's got a shot to be a top 50 player in the league, but it might not happen for another 2 or 3 years. Our organization is prepared to wait for that." 

Amidst the whirlwind of trades and offers the Wings managed to find just the right player and acquired superstar winger Andrei Svechnikov from the Bruins for 5th and 15th overall. GM Evans: "Andrei is an elite player in this league already. He scored the first lacrosse goal in NHL history before his 20th birthday... and then did it again just for fun! The sky is the limit with this guy: he can score, he has elite hands, he has top notch hockey sense, and he brings a power forward element to his game. Our scouts were pretty disappointed to miss out on adding two top players at 5 and 15, but when they heard who was coming our way in the deal, they all agreed "fuck the picks, we got Svech!" We expect him to slot into our top 6 alongside McDavid or Couturier.

The team wasn't done making moves and followed the blockbuster up by acquiring Luke Kunin and a 2021 4th for 19 overall and Sasha Chmelevski. GM Evans" Kunin is a versatile young player that plays a heavy, responsible two-way game. He's a perfect fit for a bottom 6 role, or on a line with a couple skilled players in the top 6. At 22 years old he's already a strong 3rd line player, and his high hockey IQ hints at untapped scoring potential. At 19 overall I think we would've added a potential top 6 forward or #3 defenseman, and I feel Sasha Chmelevski has a really strong shot at being a middle 6 forward, so we paid a high price here but added a player who fit a unique role."

At this point the Red Wings scouts realized their day was going to shit. They had done a fine job with their 1 selection, but had no more 1st round picks left to work with, and with no more picks until 63 overall all they could do was hope for another trade and hope one of their sleeper picks fell. It turned out that both those things happened, and the Wings traded up to 44 overall for 63 overall and 99 overall, and with this pick they selected a player their scouts had in their top 20: Ridly Greig. GM Evans: “Greig was a late riser. He put up 60 points and 83 pims in 56 games and like Byfield, he won’t turn 18 until mid-August. I think he’s got a good shot at being top 6 forward with some grit.”

At this point the Wings were done making trades and shifted focus to making draft selections. After sitting out the 3^rd round entirely, the team made 9 selections in the final two rounds.

• Robins was another player the Red Wings staff was particularly high on, ranking him in the 2^nd round, and were happy to see fall. If he can improve his skating and build on a breakthrough 2019-20 season, he could follow a similar path to fellow WHLer Adam Beckman.
• Coe was a player not really on the Wings’ radar, but his intriguing skillset was hard to pass up this late in the draft. He’s a bit of a long-term project but has the size and skill to project as a physical top 9 forward
• Diliberatore is a quick, smooth defender that fits the archetype of a modern defenseman
• Gawanke was one of the top AHL rookies this year after being one of the top defensemen in the Q the previous season. It’s not hard to envision the young German as a #4 or 5 defenseman in a few years
• Kovalenko is a bit of a wildcard. He was a top under-21 player in the KHL and flashed high end potential
• Heineman dominated the SuperElit league with 26 goals in 29 games but struggled to find a role in the SHL. He has the skill to be a 2^nd line sniper with some development time
• Pajuniemi was a top sniper in Liiga. There’s some boom-bust element to his game but he has 20 goal skill level
• Hentges is a two-way C playing for a defensive-minded NCAA team. At 20 years old he put up 24 points in 28 games and looks like a future 3^rd line player with upside for more
• Nickl is a big right-handed defenseman from Austria that managed 39 points in 58 games as a rookie in the Q. He’s a bit of an unknown but has the skill to play at the next level
   

All in all, the Wings managed to go from six first round picks to one. In the process, GM Evans was able to add Quinton Byfield, Andrei Svechnikov, Luke Kunin, and Alex Killorn without sacrificing roster players or prospects. Adding a top-20 talent in Greig was a cherry on top, and all of Robins, Coe, and Heineman have strong chances at being 2^nd round picks in the NHL. The remaining seven prospects add depth to the Wings’ prospect pool and are all good bets to challenge for NHL roster spots in the coming years.

The 2020-21 Red Wings already look improved from the 2019-20 version and if history is any indication, they’re bound to be active in UFA and on the trade market.

-Detroit Free Press