Claypool
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- Jan 12, 2009
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Fairly interesting interview from our favorite Red Wings beat reporter. Some specific Q&A:
More here:
Red Wings' Kris Draper: On draft eligibles, the rebuild, Dylan Larkin
HSJ: Is the defense position a priority?
KD: “A major priority. You have Dahlin. You have Boqvist, you have Evan Bouchard playing in London, you have Noah Dobson in Acadie-Bathurst. You have Ty Smith playing out west. There’s a pretty good crew of defensemen that are going to be available in the top 20. But there are good forwards, too — everybody knows what Andrei Svechnikov is doing, everybody knows what Zadina is doing, everybody knows what Tkachuk is doing.
HSJ: “You were such a competitive player. Is it tough to want the team to miss the playoffs in order to get into the draft lottery?
KD: “Listen, I know they are going to play hard and do everything they can to make the playoffs. They basically want to screw up our draft. Here we are talking about Rasmus Dahlin, a kid that potentially is going to be a franchise defenseman — they don’t care about that. They want to win. But in the end, for us to get better, we have to draft really well and then we have to find some gems. Dan Cleary is out west right now watching Michael Rasmussen and Dennis Cholowski. Those guys have really made some big strides. We hope they can continue in their development, that they have a big summer. We need to expedite this process. We need to get these kids bigger and faster and stronger, quicker, to come in and start challenging for spots. That’s how you get better. We have to draft well. We have to find players.”
HSJ: “So you’re rooting for them to play well but come up a goal short?
KD: “Ha, I’m not touching that one. I still have friends in that locker room. I know that Henrik Zetterberg is one of the most ultimate competitors that I’ve ever played with. We know what he is going to do. But it’s a tough league.”
More here:
Red Wings' Kris Draper: On draft eligibles, the rebuild, Dylan Larkin