The Detroit Red Wings may have been understandably frustrated when they didn’t land the No. 1 overall NHL Draft pick after their abysmal 2019-20 regular season (prior to the COVID-19 shutdown). Despite owning the League’s worst record by a wide margin, they dropped to No. 4 in the selection process.
But so far, that’s been a major blessing in disguise. With the No. 4 selection, they took Swedish forward Lucas Raymond. And all he’s done since making the team this year out of training camp is lead all NHL rookies in scoring. And in doing so, he’s joined some elite company.
With 1.08 points per game, Raymond joins Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Connor McDavid in PPG for a rookie since the start of the 2005-06 season:
Just gonna put this one here, courtesy of #thedailyfaceoffshow pic.twitter.com/4YlP8qkpXL
— H. (@Parksjo) November 8, 2021
Raymond, who scored another goal last night against the Vegas Golden Knights, has scored six goals with eight assists in his first 13 NHL games. Should he maintain it, he’s on pace for 38 tallies.
Raymond has firmly entered himself into the Calder Trophy discussion, and is shaping up to be an absolute steal of a draft pick by GM Steve Yzerman.
