StevenToddIves
Registered User
You could see Detroit taking Hughes 1OA? It’s tough to see that with the foot injury and his youth. I don’t see how a team can wait at least two years for it’s 1OA to show up. Some Devils fans got down on Smith not making the team in 2019 and he was drafted 17th.
Yzerman no doubt has a very long leash but the pressure surrounding picking a 1OA would be particularly hard on Detroit because none of their recent high picks have even done much anything on the team until this season. Larkin was 2014 and Zadina was 2018, that’s a long break.
I very much get the logic, Hughes seems potentially like the better potential partner for Seider and 2022 actually doesn’t have much going on in terms of LHD. Thinking long term, you don’t have to go center 10A if you’re likely to bad next year and they are. But I still think Yzerman would take Power or Beniers 1OA.
The mythology around the Seider pick, “Stevie gives zero f***s about draft value man, he drafts who he wants!”, ignores Yzerman saying he tried to trade down at draft and couldn’t. There’s not much he could do about that if Seider was the guy he really wanted. That’s 6th pick though, it way different when you win the lottery and the general fan expectations can’t be lessened that much by saying there is no typical ready for NHL 1OA. Yzerman can get ask his fanbase to patient but they aren’t going to be patient about everything.
Yes, I think Detroit takes Hughes first overall. Power is a similar-type player to Seider -- who should be a shut-down NHL defender who adds very good but not elite offense. Clarke is a RD, where the two top D in the organization play -- Seider and Hronek. At C, the Wings have a nice top center in Larkin and a couple of very good young kids in Veleno and Rasmussen. At LD the Wings are pretty thin all throughout the organization -- and they also lack a high-end offensive defenseman anywhere in the organization.
Steve Yzerman has done very well in two years in Detroit at both the draft and in trades. Whether or not he wished to trade down for Seider, the fact remains that the pick was vastly criticized when Yzerman made it but now a lot of the critics are eating crow as the pick looks brilliant -- Seider may be the top RD prospect outside the NHL right now, depending on whether you still consider Drysdale a prospect. The Raymond pick last year also looks very good.
Luke Hughes has undeniable upside, especially offensively, and as such has been ranked #1 by more than one reputable bureau/analyst. I don't think Detroit would hesitate to draft him there. I think they may be the only team in the league who would, but again part of my reasoning is that I don't think Yzerman gives a f--k what people think, and that's one of his strengths because he's comprehensive in his scouting and not just going on whim or biased personal preference.