WINDSOR, ONTARIO – FEBRUARY 20: Defenseman Gerard Keane #45 of the London Knights skates against forward Pasquale Zito #91 of the Windsor Spitfires at WFCU Centre on February 20, 2020 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Dennis Pajot/Getty Images)
The Detroit Red Wings added three forwards and one defenseman from round four to round six to complete the 2021 NHL draft. Going into this week, the Red Wings owned 12 selections, but a flurry of trades were used to bolster the rebuild.
In the 4th round, the Red Wings selected Red Savage 114th from the US National U18 Program. He is the son of former NHLer Brian Savage. He typically plays center or left wing. Savage collected 42 points in 46 games with the USDP. He was also the captain of Team USA at the U18 World Championships. In that tournament, Savage scored one goal in five games. He can contribute offensively, but his calling card is killing penalties where he is exceptional. Savage will graduate to play for Miami-Ohio (NCAA) next year.
The Red Wings had two selections in the 5th round. The first selection at pick #134 was Liam Dower Nilsson. His resume is attractive as he played at five different levels last year. He dominated the J18 and J20 levels for Frolunda in Sweden, scoring four goals in two games and 17 points in 16 games respectively. He was promoted to play for the Frolunda team in the SHL for five games before being loaned to Hanhals (HockeyEttan), where he scored 14 points in 14 games. Representing Sweden, Dower Nilsson scored four points in seven games at the World U18 tournament.
The second Red Wings selection in the 5th round at pick #155 was right defense prospect Oscar Plandowski from Charlottetown (QMJHL). Plandowski scored 17 points in 39 games in the pandemic-shortened season.
The final selection in the draft at pick #166 was center Pasquale Zito from Windsor (OHL). The OHL canceled the season due to the pandemic, but Zito showed enough in his rookie season by scoring 13 points in 46 games, to get drafted by the Red Wings.
Final Thoughts
The Detroit Red Wings selected eight players in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Many people think that Steve Yzerman may have hit a home run on Friday night with his drafting of Simon Edvinsson and Sebastian Cossa. The additions of Shai Buium, Carter Mazur and Red Savage in rounds 2-4 may also help indicate the success of this draft for Detroit. There is no doubt the Detroit Red Wings re-build is in full motion. The next couple of years will be painful, but the crop of draftees under Yzerman over the last three years will be fun to watch as the new prospects take over the bulk of the Detroit roster.