Unfortunately, the Detroit Red Wings, despite having the fewest points in the NHL by a country-mile, will not have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. They also will not have the No. 2 or No. 3 pick.
Instead, the worst-case (but most likely) scenario played out at the NHL Draft Lottery and the Red Wings will be picking No. 4 when the draft gets underway.
The question is, who will GM Steve Yzerman select when the Red Wings are officially on the clock?
According to a recent 2020 NHL mock draft posted on Yahoo Sports, the Red Wings will use the No. 4 overall pick to select center, Marco Rossi. (Note: Alexis Lafreniere, Tim Stützle, and Quinton Byfield were off the board when the Red Wings were on the clock)
From Yahoo Sports:
Marco Rossi – (C, Ottawa)
Rossi is a bit of a bowling ball at 5-foot-9, 193-pounds and plays with feistiness in addition to breathtaking skill on the ice that allowed him to post 120 points in 56 games last season.
The Austrian-born Rossi became the first European player to ever lead the OHL in scoring, which is a pretty impressive feat. Rossi goes to the net, scores and plays a bit on the edge in the kind of package that translates very well into today’s NHL. Rossi finished with the most points in the OHL since Alex DeBrincat back in 2016-17, so that should also bode pretty well about how he’d translate to the NHL.
Rossi is one of the older kids in his draft class and there’s some question as too how much better he’ll get as his game matures, but he’s exactly the kind of offensive firepower that the Red Wings really could use right now. Still, Detroit has to be crestfallen they didn’t get the No. 1 overall pick.
Nation, who do you think the Red Wings should select with the No. 4 overall pick?
