The Detroit Red Wings picked 20th overall in the 2013 NHL Draft, a pick that landed them forward Anthony Mantha. Looking back nine years ago, was that the proper selection at that spot?
Perhaps things would have shaken out differently ahead of that pick? As this year’s draft approaches, let’s take a look back and see how things could have gone differently.
For the sake of the exercise, let’s make some assumptions:
- If a team selected a defenseman, it is assumed that is the position they were drafting. If I didn’t feel that the right pick was made at that draft slot, the player was replaced by a player of the same position. The same goes for the forwards and goaltenders unless the difference in talent level at the position were noticeably too large.
- No trades.
Here’s How The 2013 NHL Entry Level Draft Went Down:
- Colorado Avalanche selected center Nathan MacKinnon. Career stats: 648 points in 638 games played.
- Florida Panthers selected center Aleksander Barkov. Career stats: 553 points in 596 games played.
- Tampa Bay Lightning selected forward Jonathan Drouin. Career stats: 252 points in 427 games played.
- Nashville Predators selected defenseman Seth Jones. Career stats: 337 points in 658 games played.
- Carolina Hurricanes selected center Elias Lindholm. Career stats: 449 points in 663 games played.
- Calgary Flames selected center Sean Monahan. Career stats: 462 points in 656 games played.
- Edmonton Oilers selected defenseman Darnell Nurse. Career stats: 192 points in 477 games played.
- Buffalo Sabres selected defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. Career stats: 261 points in 608 games played.
- Vancouver Canucks selected center, Bo Horvat. Career stats: 366 points in 572 games played.
- Dallas Stars selected forward Valeri Nichushkin. Career stats: 174 points in 405 games played.
- Philadelphia Flyers selected forward Samuel Morin. Career stats: 1 point in 29 games played.
- Phoenix Coyotes selected center Max Domi. Career stats: 314 points in 501 games played.
- Winnipeg Jets selected defenseman Josh Morrissey. Career stats: 166 points in 423 games played.
- Columbus Blue Jackets selected center Alexander Wennberg. Career stats: 267 points in 551 games played.
- New York Islanders selected defenseman Ryan Pulock. Career stats: 146 points in 346 games played.
- Buffalo Sabres selected defenseman Nikita Zadorov. Career stats: 105 points in 485 games played.
- Ottawa Senators selected center Curtis Lazar. Career stats: 90 points in 404 games played.
- San Jose Sharks selected forward Mirco Mueller. Career stats: 28 points in 185 games played.
- Columbus Blue Jackets selected forward Kirby Rychel. Career stats: 14 points in 43 games played.
- Detroit Red Wings selected forward Anthony Mantha. Career stats: 225 points in 353 games played.
Did the Detroit Red Wings make the right selection?
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With the help of hindsight, here’s how I think it should have gone:
- Colorado Avalanche select center Nathan MacKinnon
- Florida Panthers select center Aleksander Barkov
- Tampa Bay Lightning select center Sean Monahan
- Nashville Predators select defenseman Seth Jones
- Carolina Hurricanes select center Elias Lindholm
- Calgary Flames select center Bo Horvat
- Edmonton Oilers select defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen
- Buffalo Sabres select defenseman Shea Theodore (career stats)
- Vancouver Canucks select center Max Domi
- Dallas Stars select forward Andre Burakovsky (career stats)
- Philadelphia Flyers select forward Jake Guentzel (career stats)
- Phoenix Coyotes select center Alexander Wennberg
- Winnipeg Jets select defenseman Darnell Nurse
- Columbus Blue Jackets select forward Andrew Copp (career stats)
- New York Islanders select defenseman Josh Morrissey
- Buffalo Sabres select defenseman Ryan Pulock
- Ottawa Senators select forward Jonathan Drouin
- San Jose Sharks select defenseman Brett Pesce (career stats)
- Columbus Blue Jackets select forward Pavel Buchnevich (career stats)
- Detroit Red Wings select…… forward Anthony Mantha!
As it turns out, I believe the Detroit Red Wings made the correct choice with the 20th overall pick in the 2013 draft! While there were some different picks made at different positions before Detroit’s pick, he was still the guy at no. 20. Mantha went on to have a solid tenure with the club, as well.
In 302 career games with Detroit, he scored 95 goals and 99 assists. He was traded to the Washington Capitals at the trade deadline last season. Jakub Vrana came to Detroit in the trade and has picked up where Mantha left off on the score sheet.