The Detroit Red Wings are inching closer and closer to the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, where the team has plenty of options with the eighth overall pick. However, nothing is set in stone about the Red Wings picking eighth. It may be the draft order, but with Steve Yzerman at the helm of things, you can never be 100% sure.
Now that is not a dig at Yzerman. He’s pieced together four exceptional draft classes since the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, where he selected 2021-22 Calder Trophy winner Moritz Seider at sixth overall. But one thing that is consistent with Yzerman is the maneuvering of draft capital.
Yzerman has flipped the spare parts from the Red Wings roster to whoever will buy to add some draft capital each season at the trade deadline. Then, he converted some of that draft capital to move up or down in the draft in the respective season. It really just depends, but trades are the norm with Yzerman.
As the 2022 NHL Entry Draft comes into focus, there will likely be some draft capital moves once again as Yzerman gets down to business. Especially with the way things have gone in recent years, expect some moves to be made.
Detroit Red Wings have the draft capital for Steve Yzerman to go to work.
As it stands now, the Detroit Red Wings will make ten selections over the seven rounds of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, starting with the eighth overall pick. With the help of some trade deadline deals from each of the last two seasons. The team has picked four choices for the 2022 draft from other teams via trades.
Here’s how the Red Wings draft picks partition out in 2022:
- Round 1:
- Eighth overall
- Round 2:
- 40th overall
- 52nd overall (from Washington)
- Round 3:
- 73rd overall
- Round 4:
- 105th overall
- 113th overall (from Vegas)
- 129th overall (from Colorado)
- Round 5:
- 137th overall
- Round 6:
- No Selections
- Round 7:
- 201st overall
- 212th overall (from Los Angeles)
While all of the Red Wings picks that were acquired from other teams are early on, there is room for the team to make moves. If the Red Wings are really high on someone, of a player they like falls, they have the draft capital to do so. Yzerman is no stranger to moving up, especially after moving up in the first round to select Sebastian Cossa, with the hope of him becoming the netminder of the future.
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The excess draft capital in the second and fourth rounds might lead to the team making a move up the board to select someone. With the cluster of picks from 105th to 137th overall, it’s easy to see the Red Wings considering a move to add some players for the rebuild.
On the other side of things, the Red Wings are no strangers to trading down. If the Red Wings do not feel super high on someone and another team picks up the phone to work with Yzerman, he’s not afraid to pick up a later pick or a pick in a future draft to keep adding capital.
Yzerman is an impeccable GM and has been exceptional in the role. Even more so with the draft itself, Yzerman is great at managing picks. With the plethora of selections, expect there to be some mores in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.
