The Detroit Red Wings are hoping for the chance to be able to draft a franchise altering player this year, and head coach Jeff Blashill is optimistic regarding that potential.
In an interview with WXYZ’s Brad Galli, Blashill explained that he believes that regardless of what position they ultimately draft in, they’ll end up with a “really good player” wearing the Winged Wheel.
“I think no matter what, no matter how this shapes up, whether the Draft is early and our draft order changes slightly where we’re locked into a couple spots, 1 or 2, or if it’s the way that it was originally set up where we’re locked into spots 1 to 4, honestly I think either way we’re going to get a really good player,” he explained.
And there’s a bit of further inspiration that’s fueling that hope. Like most sports fans across the country, Blashill and the team are taking in “The Last Dance”, the documentary series about the career of Michael Jordan, with particular focus on the 1997–98 Chicago Bulls season.
“We’re all watching the Michael Jordan documentary…He wasn’t the top pick overall. It’s never an exact science,” he said. “We’re gonna get a really good player”
Of course, Jordan was drafted third overall in the 1984 Draft by Chicago; ahead of him were Akeem Olajuwon and Sam Bowie.
