Prospect Info: Draft Summary

[yave1964]

Absolutely love the first two picks, Mantha and Nastasiuk, beyond that a mixed bag, but that is what you get in the later rounds. Pope and Wheaton were quality where hey went, Bert and the Euros appear to be reaches but if anyone know Euros it is the Wings. Top ten draft among all the teams, IMHO.

 

[Filppula]

“He’s got real good hands,'' McDonnell said. “If he has one thing that he has to work on it’s his skating. Once he gets going he’s good, but the first two strides are something that needs some work. The nice thing about him is he’s a kid that is willing to put the work in to get better. We think in the end he’s going to be a real good third-line kind of guy who can kill penalties.'

So we drafted a guy at 48 who we HOPE is going to develop into a 3rd line defensive forward? There was no one with better upside at that stage?

I hate this draft.

 

[gretskidoo]

I wanted at least 1 center with top 6 upside. Guess they'll try to trade some of these unnecessary D prospects we're stacked with instead.

 

[BF3]

So we drafted a guy at 48 who we HOPE is going to develop into a 3rd line defensive forward? There was no one with better upside at that stage?

I hate this draft.

I think the hope is that he turns into a 2nd liner. 3rd liner in the second round isn't the worst thing in a world. Safe pick, but not a bad one.

 

[Heaton]

So we drafted a guy at 48 who we HOPE is going to develop into a 3rd line defensive forward? There was no one with better upside at that stage?

I hate this draft.

I don't think teams go into drafts thinking they're going to get only guys with top 6 upside or top 4 potential on defense. Sometimes you take guys that you know will fill a role in the future. I'm not defending any picks, because I know nothing about the prospects, I'm just talking about overall philosophy. Look at the kid who Ottawa took in the 1st, people aren't expecting real top end top 6 potential, but he could be a very effective top 9 guy who fills a role.

I think we get too hung up on our prospects all turning into impact players who put up a ton of points. Just getting prospects who can play in the NHL is a huge boost. People like to bag on Ericsson and that's fine, but getting a top 4 defensemen with the last pick of a draft? That's a homerun. There are teams who draft and develop better than the Wings, but for the most part the Wings take guys and they turn them into NHL talent.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

The one criticism that I can't easily dismiss is that this feels like a dead puck era draft. Size, size, size. If you're in doubt, you draft a huge guy and hope. I think why that's upsetting is it feels like it runs a bit contrary to the Wings concept of skill and hockey sense above all. It feels like this draft was contracted out to another team.

 

[zecke26]

The one criticism that I can't easily dismiss is that this feels like a dead puck era draft. Size, size, size. If you're in doubt, you draft a huge guy and hope. I think why that's upsetting is it feels like it runs a bit contrary to the Wings concept of skill and hockey sense above all. It feels like this draft was contracted out to another team.

that is true, but i think hockey is once again changing a bit. every few years the game itself changes. and size seems to be a bigger factor in the near future. and the wings have plenty of skill in the pipe, not just in GR.

but i don't think these big size picks all suck at playing the game. they surely hope they found guys who can play the game as well.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

So we drafted a guy at 48 who we HOPE is going to develop into a 3rd line defensive forward? There was no one with better upside at that stage?

I hate this draft.

Nastasiuk has higher upside than that, and won't be a pure defensive forward. He plays a bit like Danny Cleary: he goes to all the dirty areas and likes to go to the front of the net. He strikes me as the sort of guy who does a lot of really valuable stuff when he isn't scoring, but then scores a bit too for good measure. Imagine him in the Abdelkader/Cleary role... except that he's a bit better at all of it.

The intriguing thing about Nastasiuk is that his game went like this over the course of the season:

okay okay pretty good pretty good good good great great

He's riding an upward wave right now, as he was excellent in the playoffs and at the under-18s. It's not as simple as saying he's just a third liner. I think that's inexperience at doing these interviews on McDonell's part; Nill would have just called him a two-way forward or used a player comparison.

 

[Chris 84]

im not overwhelmed, but since ive never seen any of these guys, i'm not going to criticise. a bit disappointed in the lack of a player with a bit of hype who falls down the draft and who everyone says "the wings might have a great player there", the kind of player with a bit of buzz to them like jurco, tatar, pulkkinen.
the bertuzzi pick seems downright weird, but i guess they have their reasons, and we did get that pick for possibly literally nothing.

 

[snailderby]

I wish we had picked Buchnevich instead of Bertuzzi in the 2nd round, Subban instead of Pope in the 4th round, and maybe Shinkaruk instead of Mantha in the 1st round.

#20 Hunter Shinkaruk (C) or Anthony Mantha (RW)
#48 Zach Nastasiuk (RW)
#58 Pavel Buchnevich (LW/C/RW)
#79 Mattias Janmark-Nylén (C)
#109 Jordan Subban (D)
#139 Mitchell Wheaton (D)
#169 Marc McNulty (D)
#199 Hampus Melén (LW/RW)

Other than that, however, I'm pretty happy with our picks. I hope all of them turn out well!

 

[nik jr]

could end as an amazing draft, but as of now, i don't like it.

i think hockey sense and skill are the most important attributes in draft, and i don't like the big emphasis on size. i generally think players with high potential should be drafted, and that depth players should be acquired in free agency, as drew miller, luke glendening, patrick eaves, lilja, cleary, etc, were.


i also have a low opinion of NA scouting, based on the last 20 years of unimpressive draft results, so i don't have a lot of confidence about this draft. they also drafted W's more than C's, but C's are much more important.

taking bertuzzi, who may not have been drafted at all, with a 2nd round pick really soured me on the whole draft.

this draft seems like the opposite of the last 20 years. it almost seems like something a 15 year old would do: pick a big name, and then not know anyone for later picks so just rely on size and being canadian.




i like mantha at 20. imagine how good he could be if he consistently played with intensity and became a complete player.


but if nastasiuk's upside is cleary or mike knuble (who i really liked ), then i would rather pick someone with more upside at 48, pick a player like nastasiuk in 4th round and sign a player like cleary or knuble as FA.

 

[Redwingsfan]

Not a fan of what the Wings did in this draft. I thought they made some very questionable decisions. Its very early and a lot can happen, but I have a feeling we wont get much out of this draft.

 

[newfy]

Love the Mantha pick, theres a reason guys like Shinkaruk fall way down the draft boards. He went almost 18 spots later then he should've so theres probably a reason that the actual scouts didnt like him.

Nastasiuk - who knows? He played good internationally and seems to be a physical player

Bertuzzi - the wings obviously loved him to use a second rounder on him and I'm sure theyve watched more then everyone here. The wings are usually pretty good in the second round. A late 2nd like that turning into an Andrew Shaw type player is a great pick, time will tell

After that its a real crap shoot. McNulty sounds interesting to be that mobile and big but I'm not going to cry that they didnt draft certain guys in these drafts.

That Buchenivich guy fell for a reason too. The hype reminds me a bit of Kabanov in his draft year

 

[snailderby]

Love the Mantha pick, theres a reason guys like Shinkaruk fall way down the draft boards. He went almost 18 spots later then he should've so theres probably a reason that the actual scouts didnt like him.

Nastasiuk - who knows? He played good internationally and seems to be a physical player

Bertuzzi - the wings obviously loved him to use a second rounder on him and I'm sure theyve watched more then everyone here. The wings are usually pretty good in the second round. A late 2nd like that turning into an Andrew Shaw type player is a great pick, time will tell

After that its a real crap shoot. McNulty sounds interesting to be that mobile and big but I'm not going to cry that they didnt draft certain guys in these drafts.

That Buchenivich guy fell for a reason too. The hype reminds me a bit of Kabanov in his draft year

Yeah, Bertuzzi may turn out to be a high quality 3rd or 4th liner, and Buchnevich may turn out to be a total bust. I hope you're right on Bertuzzi. I guess I just wouldn't have minded if the Wings had taken a gamble on Buchnevich instead at that spot.

 

[tsbilly]

I haven't seen Mantha play, but the knock on him is he is a perimeter player, however he did score 50 goals and is said to have a great shot. Does Mantha's "perimeter play" consist of finding the open spots in the defense and unleashing a wicked shot, like Brett Hull? Or does it consist of floating wrist shots from large angles like Dan Cleary?

 

[SportsballChic]

I haven't seen Mantha play, but the knock on him is he is a perimeter player, however he did score 50 goals and is said to have a great shot. Does Mantha's "perimeter play" consist of finding the open spots in the defense and unleashing a wicked shot, like Brett Hull? Or does it consist of floating wrist shots from large angles like Dan Cleary?

He's a cutter, sorta like in basketball. By that I mean he comes in from off screen with a full head of steam and then puts the puck in the net.

So, neither? I don't think he's as wicked in the slot as a guy like Hull, but he's in good scoring positions when the puck hits his stick; unlike Cleary.

Trying to think of a good modern comparison and drawing blank; Danny Heatley before the injuries? Like just from a playstyle perspective anyways. You should watch the goal compilation to get your own idea; it's in French but you can always mute the super loud announcers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHN8Oa3ghbA

There's also this, but it looks like many of the highlights are from the same game:



I see a little bit of Tony Amonte there; although once again it's a playstyle thing not a body type thing obviously.

 

[PullHard]

You must be this tall to ride the Detroit Red Wings.

alConn nailed it.

 

[InjuredChoker]

B grades from draft reviews.

 

[SportsballChic]

B grades from draft reviews.

Okay, so this is pretty cool:

Espn's Grant Sonier - "I liked their second-round picks as well. Zach Nastasiuk from Owen Sound of the OHL adds size and work ethic and Tyler Bertuzzi was an honorable mention on my top 50. He is as gritty a player there was on the board and in time will do whatever it takes to make the Wingsâ€

 

[YostisHome]

Typical Red Wings as of late, great moves mixed in with missed chances and the whole loyalty/good ole boy thing (Bertuzzi).

 

[Frk It]

I like this draft for the most part, except for the #58 and #109 picks.

Really liked the Mantha and Janmark-Nylen selections.

 

[joe89]

Draft grades one day after the draft is.. rather redundant. I just don't see the point. You need months of the next season to even see any tendencies.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Not a single guy under 6' tall taken. Found that pretty interesting.

 

[Frk It]

i think hockey sense and skill are the most important attributes in draft, and i don't like the big emphasis on size. i generally think players with high potential should be drafted, and that depth players should be acquired in free agency, as drew miller, luke glendening, patrick eaves, lilja, cleary, etc, were.

taking bertuzzi, who may not have been drafted at all, with a 2nd round pick really soured me on the whole draft.

+1

Could not agree more.

 

[KasperTheGrittyGhost]

Pretty ok with this draft. The org seems to be emphasizing size and goal scoring in the last few years with Mantha and Frk. Love the Nastasiuk pick. Ty Bertuzzi is a bit of a wash for me. I've got no problem with us drafting him, it's just at that spot with Buchnevich and Kujawinsky still on the board. It's hard to like the pick.

The rest are projects that I haven't seen play, so I can't criticize or comment on.

I'd give the draft a B-, but obviously we'll have to wait and see.