The Red Wings Get The 9th Overall Pick At The NHL Entry Draft

For the first time since 1991, the Red Wings will have a top-10 pick at the NHL Entry Draft. Tonight, at the NHL’s Draft Lottery, it was confirmed that the team would be drafting 9th overall.

6.7%.

Those were our odds of picking first overall. They weren’t terrible odds, but they weren’t good enough either. The first overall pick went to the New Jersey Devils, second overall went to the Philadelphia Flyers and third overall went to the Dallas Stars.

It’s not the result we were hoping for. Detroit fell 2 spots as Philadelphia, Dallas, and New Jersey all launched into the top-3. Since Ken Holland was travelling to Europe for the Men’s World Hockey Championship, Kris Draper was the Red Wings representative. Drapes may not have gotten to accept a top-3 pick on behalf of the team, but his appearance gives further weight to Ansar Khan’s speculation that he is next in line to be general manager for the Red Wings.

Since it was the first time ever that the Red Wings participated in the draft lottery, this was a totally new experience for me. It was both exciting and nerve-wracking as the NHL turned this silly administrative task into a dramatic event with plot twists and cliff hangers. It’s one of the few times during the year that the men behind the teams are brought to the forefront to really show how emotionless and boring they are.

For the Red Wings, the last time they had a top-10 pick was in 1991 when they selected Martin Lapointe with the tenth overall pick. Lapointe went on to become a key piece in the 1997 and 1998 Stanley Cup victories. So we may not have gotten the result we hoped for tonight, but whoever is taken with that ninth overall pick will surely make a difference for this team. According to Bob McKenzie’s draft rankings, Cale Makar (defense), Michael Rasmussen (centre/left wing), Cody Glass (centre/right wing), and Martin Necas (centre) are projected to go 7-10, so Detroit could end up with one of them. You’ve got to think that if Cale Makar is available, he’ll be putting on a Red Wings jersey in the number nine spot. Stay tuned for our Draft Prospects series in the coming weeks as we take a deep dive into all of these projected picks.

Until then, just enjoy the silver lining that is the Avs falling out of the top-3. I know we’re not in the same conference as them anymore, but I just can’t shake the hate.