When it comes to the best players in NHL history, it is no surprise that the vast majority of them were selected in the first few rounds of the NHL Draft.
But every now and then, a team makes a mid to late-round pick that ends up shocking the world and becoming one of the best in the game.
That got me thinking. Who is the Detroit Red Wings biggest draft steal of all time?
In my opinion, the only correct answer to this question is Pavel Datsyuk.
Datsyuk was selected by the Red Wings in the 6th round (171st overall) of the 1998 NHL Draft and as we all know, he went on to become one of the best two-way players in NHL history.
In his 14 seasons in Detroit, Datsyuk scored 314 goals and dished out 604 assists in 953 games. During his amazing run, he was named to the NHL All-Star Team on nine occasions and won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy four times. Oh, by the way, the ‘Magic Man’ also led the Red Wings to a pair of Stanley Cups (2002 and 2008).
There is absolutely no question in my mind that Pavel Datsyuk
Honorable Mention: Sergei Fedorov (4th Round), Nicklas Lidstrom (3rd Round), Henrik Zetterberg (7th Round)
Nation, do you agree that Datsyuk is the biggest NHL Draft steal in Detroit Red Wings history?
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