While the hockey world waited for him to strike, Steve Yzerman stuck to his guns. He did exactly as he said he would and went to the draft stage with the Red Wings’ two first-round picks Wednesday night.
He did not parlay future assets into proven players, though there’s still time for him to take aim at the draft. He turned picks Nos. 9 and 17 into more prospects for Detroit’s painfully patient rebuild, which isn’t over yet.
"With the picks we have and the moves we made at the deadline, we’re still in a rebuilding phase, collecting assets through the draft," Yzerman said after he selected center Nate Danielson ninth overall. “We’re still there. We’re not at a point where we feel like we can really start to go for it, so to speak.”
That would have stopped some of the waiting, at least. With the Wings mired in a franchise-worst seven-year playoff drought, the hope within the fanbase was that Yzerman would come out of this draft — specifically last night — with a better roster today. The thought was that he would add a much-needed goal scorer, possibly Ottawa’s Alex DeBrincat.
On Thursday, Yzerman did swing a trade with the Oilers for 24-year-forwards Kailer Yamamoto and Klim Kostin, who will bolster Detroit's depth next season. He also drafted three more 18-year-olds with second-round picks. And while he has an extra first-rounder in 2024 in his back pocket, Yzerman remains fixed on building a better roster for tomorrow.
“We’re progressing and I hope to be there sooner than later, but where we are, again, is trying to use these draft picks, use them wisely, and build a stable of good young players," Yzerman said.
He used his first one Wednesday night on a big, two-way center and “just a solid all-around prospect,” Yzerman said. Danielson skates well at 6’2, can play in all situations and much like the two-way center the Red Wings drafted eighth overall last year, Marco Kasper, has more offensive upside than he might get credit for.
And Yzerman used his second pick on a puck-moving defenseman. There’s no doubting the offensive upside of Axel Sandin Pellinkka. He’s a deviation from the defensemen Yzerman has targeted in the draft like Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson, smaller at 5’11 but loaded with skill. He projects as a power play quarterback for the Red Wings, which Yzerman noted “is something we don’t really have and haven’t really had.”
“A little bit different than what we have in our system, so I think it was a good fit,” he said.
Eventually — and there’s the word this entire town has grown weary (and wary) of — Danielson and Kasper could strengthen the Red Wings’ spine behind Dylan Larkin, who's fresh into an eight-year extension. And Sandin Pellinkka, named top defenseman at the U18 Worlds this spring, could bolster their base alongside Seider, Edvinsson and Jake Walman, which could be backed by goaltender Sebastian Cossa. Indeed, a lot of things could happen.
“I said we have a lot of priorities,” said Yzerman. “We think we were able to address two of them here tonight.”
The one he’s yet to address is their most glaring. The Red Wings desperately need more players who can — all together now! — put the puck in the net. The defensive strides they made last season under Derek Lalonde were essentially erased by those they failed to make offensively. And with both Tyler Bertuzzi and Jakub Vrana out of the picture, next year’s roster projects to have an even harder time scoring goals. Internal growth alone will not save the Red Wings.
Yzerman was working the trade phones Wednesday night, to be clear. He said the Wings “had some discussions with teams” involving both of their top picks, “but ultimately, speaking for us, we were comfortable.”
“When our picks were coming up, the options to move back were interesting, but we had two particular players in each case that we wanted to use the pick on," Yzerman said.
Moving back would have made some sense in a rich first-round. But for the Wings to move up in a deep Atlantic Division, Yzerman will have to get aggressive. His centerpiece, Larkin, is young, but growing older in the NHL. He turns 27 this summer. In a league where players tend to peak before 30, Yzerman is at risk of aging Larkin out of his prime before his supporting cast is ready to actually support him.
Larkin has lots of good hockey ahead of him, to be sure. He’s coming off the best season of his career. That’s why the time feels right to surround him with more talent, and Yzerman still has the assets and cap space to do it. If it’s not DeBrincat, who’s on the outs in Ottawa with an eye on Detroit, maybe it’s Travis Konecny of the Flyers. If Yzerman refuses to part with his premium assets, Vancouver’s Brock Boeser makes some sense. So does New Jersey’s pending UFA Miles Wood, who brings physicality with his scoring punch.
And while he isn’t necessarily on the block, rising star Clayton Keller is still worth pursuing in Arizona. There is a path toward tomorrow for the Wings that doesn’t trample today.
Yzerman drafted two good-looking hockey players on Wednesday, at a pair of building block positions. You could say he played it safe. But as strong as his resume is in the draft, none of his picks this year are a lock to help the Red Wings down the line. There is just as much risk in waiting for prospects to develop as there is in making a move for the now.
And as Larkin enters his prime, the safest play for the Red Wings might be going for it, so to speak.
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