Detroit — The Red Wings had a need for high-end forward prospects, particularly centers where there wasn’t much depth organizationally.
They went about fixing it at Montreal’s Bell Centre during the NHL Entry Draft.
After selecting center Marco Kasper in the first round on Thursday, the Wings began the second day of the draft by grabbing a pair of forwards, Dylan James and Dmitri Buchelnikov, in the second round on Friday.
The Wings selected five forwards who are primarily centers to add some pieces. Now, it’s a matter of being patient and seeing if some of them — any of the draft picks, actually — can graduate someday to the NHL.
“That’s the way it is,” general manager Steve Yzerman said of maintaining patience. “We’re starting to see kids from the 2019 draft coming to North America and slowly seeing them go through the system and trickle onto our team. They’re 17 and 18 (years old) and they’re going back to their junior or college teams or European pro leagues. Hopefully one or two of them can progress to the NHL.”
Yzerman wanted to grab some centers, if possible, and the Wings were able to do so as the draft progressed.
“We ended up drafting five centers and I’m guessing some of them have played some wing,” Yzerman said. “It wasn’t that important (to get centers) but it the was the way the list worked out.”
James and Buchelnikov, a pair of talented players with different type of skills, highlighted Friday’s haul.
A 6-foot, 181-pound left wing, James was the rookie of the year in the United States Hockey League and was taken with the No. 40 overall pick.
James had 28 goals and 33 assists for 61 points in 62 games. He’s described as a competitive player who has skill but likes to play a physical game. He is effective along the boards, likes to go the net and projects to be more of a bottom-six, gritty type of player. He’s headed to play collegiately at North Dakota.
“He put up some big numbers,” said Kris Draper, the Wings’ director of amateur scouting. “He’s a complete player. We like his 200-foot game, used in all situations. He played at Sioux City and won a championship, and you commit to North Dakota, you’re going there to play hockey. You factor all those things, we’re excited to get him.”
Buchelnikov, a Russian who played junior hockey in St. Petersburg (MHL), was drafted 12 spots later with the No. 52 pick.
There was speculation heading into the draft that many teams would be leery about drafting Russians, not knowing about the availability of players because of the current political climate.
But the Wings couldn’t resist with Buchelnikov, a 5-10, 168-pound winger who scored 41 goals in 56 games last season.
“We think we got a very skilled, smart hockey player,” Draper said. “He’s a real good kid, too. He’s excited to be part of the Red Wings organization and he’s familiar with the success we’ve had with the Russians.”
Draper wasn’t put off by the uncertainty of the political situation in Russia.
“He’s an 18-year-old kid and loves to play hockey,” Draper said. “That’s what we liked about him. He was on our list because of how he played and he was a prospect we wanted to bring into our organization.
“He’s a character kid and enjoys to play the game. You watch the video and he loves to play.”
Scouts love Buchelnikov’s skating and hands — some even view it as first-round caliber — but he needs to get physically stronger.
With no third-round pick — Detroit dealt that pick to St. Louis earlier in the day to acquire goaltender Ville Husso — the Wings waited until the fourth round, where they had three selections.
At No. 105 overall, the Wings picked Swedish product Anton Johansson. A 6-4, 179-pound offensive defenseman, Johansson had 13 goals and 19 assists while playing 49 games across three levels for Leksands in the SHL.
The Wings drafted center Amadeus Lombardi eight spots later, with the No. 113 pick. Playing up I-75 for Flint in the OHL, Lombardi (5-10, 165) had a good rookie season with 59 points (18 goals) in 67 games. Lombardi is considered a natural playmaker.
“He’s a competitive center. We saw a lot of him and he had a good playoffs,” Draper said. “He’s a good worker, good skater, and hard worker. Very competitive. We liked all those things.”
With their third fourth-round selection, the Wings selected center/left wing Maximilian Kilpinen at No. 129. Across three levels playing for Orebro in Sweden, Kilpinen had 21 goals and 22 assists in 38 games, shaking off an injury that slowed him the first half of the season.
In the fifth round, the Wings plucked defenseman Tnias Mathurin, a 6-3, 200-pounder who played at North Bay (OHL). Mathurin tallied 15 points in 44 games and plays a pro-caliber defensive game.
“A good-sized defender,” Draper said. “He has a good stick and he’s pretty mobile. We like his size and he moves well for a big man, and he’s pretty athletic.”
The Wings had no sixth-round pick, but they wrapped up their draft haul with two seventh-round selections.
They chose center Owen Mehlenbacher, who is headed to play collegiately at Wisconsin, with the No. 201 pick. A power forward, Mehlenbacher played for Muskegon in the USHL.
“The first half of the season was probably a little bit disappointing; it wasn’t the start he wanted,” Draper said. “But the USHL is a hard league and the second half of the season, he got comfortable.”
With their final pick of the day, the Wings drafted center Brennan Ali at No. 212. Headed to Notre Dame, Ali played high school hockey in New England and for Lincoln in the USHL last season. He’s another big forward who has the ability to outmuscle opponents and is strong driving to the net.
Most of these draft picks, and many from the previous few drafts, will be in Detroit beginning Sunday for the Wings’ development camp at Little Caesars Arena. It’ll be the first camp the organization has held since not having one the last two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re looking forward to it,” Draper said. “It’s been a little different couple of years for everybody. It’ll be special for a lot of guys whose names were called.”
ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @tkulfan