With the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman struck gold when he selected D Moritz Seider.
Seider, as we all know, has completed his rookie season in the NHL, and to say that he was impressive would be a severe understatement. In fact, Seider was so good as a rookie that he won the Calder Trophy as NHL’s top rookie for the 2021-22 season.
Red Wings fans absolutely love them some Mortiz Seider but what if he played for the Chicago Blackhawks?
Well, according to a 2019 NHL re-draft published in The Athletic, Scott Wheeler believes Seider would go No. 3 overall to the Blackhawks.
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Here is what Wheeler has to say about Seider landing with the Blackhawks.
From The Athletic:
3. Chicago Blackhawks: RHD Moritz Seider
Actual draft pick: No. 6 (change: +3) to Detroit
My final ranking: No. 35 (change: +32)
This is one of my all-time misses. My final ranking here is deceiving, because it was released before the combine in Buffalo, and before Seider’s standout performance at men’s worlds, and I wrote in the aftermath that I’d rank him close to 20/the late teens if I could edit my list. But even that kind of slotting would have made this a huge miss, too, because I wouldn’t have taken Seider inside the top 10. In last year’s players I was wrong about column, I wrote about Seider and to a similar but lesser extent Jake Sanderson a year later, as indicative of a problem I’ve had not playing catch-up on late-season surges fast enough. That’s something I’ve worked to correct by trying to leave each prior viewing at the door and open myself up to the kind of rapid progression that can happen for some players and did happen for Seider. He’s got it all, now. And while he has made important progress in key areas (especially his assertiveness in the offensive half), he had a lot then, too.
Detroit Red Wings lose out on Moritz Seider in 2019 NHL re-draft
So, with Moritz Seider going No. 3 overall to the Chicago Blackhawks, who did Detroit Red Wings get at No. 6? Well, according to Wheeler, the Red Wings still went defense and they landed LHD Bowen Byram.
Here is what Scott Wheeler has to say about the Red Wings selecting Byram at No. 6
6. Detroit Red Wings: LHD Bowen Byram
Actual draft pick: No. 4 (change: -2) to Colorado
My final ranking: No. 5 (change: -1)
If Byram’s play in May and June was any indication, he may well end up a couple of spots higher than this when all is said and done. Given the injury history and the smaller sample of NHL success than the players ahead of him here, though, I felt this was the most reasonable ranking for him (for now). Still, he’s pretty clearly the second-best defenceman from the 2019 class and it feels like he’s just scratching the surface. His two-way game has developed towards becoming as commanding as his offensive ability. This has proven to be a game changer. He’s got it all. He has an NHL frame, skill, skating, physicality, and smarts. And he has never been lacking in the confidence needed to put everything together.
Nation, obviously 99% of you would rather have Moritz Seider but would you be satisfied with Byran as a consolation prize in a 2019 NHL re-draft?
