A look at the Red Wings’ selections at the 2017 NHL Draft

Keith Petruzzelli may turn out to be a major find for the Wings in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft. (Photo by Matt Mackinder/MiHockey)

 

By @MichaelCaples –

There was plenty of talk leading up to the 2017 NHL Draft regarding the Red Wings’ amount of selection opportunities and whether they would end up using any as trades.

Now with the draft officially complete, we know the answer.

The Wings have added a total of 11 new prospects to the organization after opting to use all of their picks.

  • Here’s how those 11 picks break down:
  • Three centers, two wingers, five defensemen and one goaltender
  • Eight North American-born players, three Europeans
  • Six from Canada, two from the U.S.
  • Only two players listed below 6-foot
  • Three listed at 6-foot-5 or taller
  • Four from the OHL, three from the USHL and two from the WHL

Detroit had six selections in the top 100 picks during the 2017 draft, and they used those on three forwards, two defenseman and a goaltender.

The netminder is rather familiar to the Michigan hockey community – Muskegon Lumberjacks goaltender Keith Petruzzelli will be in familiar territory when he officially joins the organization after college training at Quinnipiac. He could be one of the ‘steals’ of the draft, as well – Petruzzelli was ranked as the second-best North American goaltender in the draft, and the Wings were able to claim him at No. 88 overall.

STORY: Red Wings take Muskegon Lumberjacks goaltender Keith Petruzzelli in NHL Draft

The Wings’ most high-profile selection came Friday night; at No. 9 overall, they selected 6-foot-6 forward Michael Rasmussen of the Tri-City Americans in the WHL. He has been praised for his abilities on the power play, but some scouts wanted to see more production five-on-five. Still, he was ranked No. 5 among North American skaters heading into the draft. His career will be compared with Gabe Vilardi, a forward from the Windsor Spitfires that was ranked higher than Rasmussen and surprisingly still available at the No. 9 spot.

STORY: New Wing Michael Rasmussen: “It’s a dream come true”

The others selected in the Top 100 were defenseman Gustav Lindstrom (Sweden), defenseman Kasper Kotkansalo (Finland), winger Lane Zablocki (Canada) and Center Zach Gallant (Canada). Lindstrom was a surprise, as he was ranked significantly lower than his draft spot.

Zach Gallant (photo by Matt Mackinder/MiHockey)

MiHockey has breakdowns of each of those selections in the following links:

STORIES: Red Wings take Gustav Lindstrom at No. 38 overall in the NHL Draft | Red Wings third-round picks: Finnish defenseman, two Canadian forwards, U.S. goalie

In the later rounds, the Wings added to their organizational depth with a variety of picks, including taking Saginaw Spirit forward Brady Gilmour with their final selection.

Here’s a look at what the team did with the rest of their Saturday morning in Chicago:

With the 100th overall pick in the fourth round, the Wings claimed Malte Setkov, a defenseman hailing from Denmark. He is listed at 6-foot-2, but Detroit will be asking him to spend some extra time in the weight-room – he weights 165 pounds.

Last year, he played for Malmo of the Swedish junior league, recording 12 points in 38 games.

In the fifth round, Detroit selected Cole Fraser, a defenseman from the Peterborough Petes.

Cole Fraser (photo by Matt Mackinder/MiHockey)

 

Fraser, a native of Smiths Fall, Ont., checks in at 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds. He recorded 19 points and 82 penalty minutes in 61 games with the Petes in 2016-17.

In the sixth, the Wings claimed forward Jack Adams of the Fargo Force in the USHL (162 overall) and defenseman Reilly Webb of the Hamilton Bulldogs of the OHL (164 overall).

Adams, who is listed as John Adams on some sites, is a ’97 birth-year player who is listed at 6-foot-5. The Boston native posted 60 points in 56 games with Fargo in 2016-17, and he’s heading to Union College in the fall.

Webb, meanwhile, is a native of Stoney Creek, Ont.; he posted one point in 12 games with the Bulldogs last season. He has been battling injuries, being limited to only 20 games in two seasons with the Bulldogs.

We’ve got a separate story posted about Gilmour, which can be seen here:

STORY: Red Wings select Saginaw’s Brady Gilmour in seventh round of 2017 NHL Draft