The Detroit Red Wings have taken two Swedes with their first two selections in the 2020 NHL Draft in Lucas Raymond and William Wallinder.
And rather than using the 45th overall pick, they’ve swung a trade.
They sent the 45th overall pick to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for the 51st and 97th overall picks.
The Kings used the pick acquired from Detroit to select D Brock Faber.
BONUS CONTENT
The three best Detroit Red Wings late round draft selections
The Detroit Red Wings hold the 4th overall selection in the 2020 NHL Draft, which gets underway tonight. It’s been a while since they picked that high in the annual proceedings – in fact, the last time they held the 4th pick, they picked a young Steve Yzerman in 1983.
They’re banking on whomever they select to have a major part in their team rebuild as they look to rebound from owning the NHL’s worst record, and four straight years out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
However, they’ve been able to strike gold late in the annual Draft in years past, finding some of the greatest players in NHL history who would have been surefire 1st round picks had other teams done their homework.
Let’s take a look back at the three best late round draft selections made by the Red Wings.
No. 3: Pavel Datsyuk, 171st overall in 1998
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You can excuse folks for overlooking Pavel Datsyuk early in his first season with the Detroit Red Wings. After all, he was a rookie on a team stacked with nine future Hall of Fame players. However, fans quickly began to take notice of the flashy Russian’s on-ice creativity. He was soon placed on a line with forward Boyd Devereaux and veteran Brett Hull, forming the “Two Kids and a Goat” line that culminated in the 2002 Stanley Cup title.
He is a three-time Selke Award winner as the NHL’s top defensive forward and a two-time Cup winner.
