The Detroit Red Wings head into this week’s 2023 NHL draft with 10 picks. And while they may not use them all — they also had 10 going into last year’s draft before general manager Steve Yzerman wheeled and dealed his way to nine picks plus semi-veteran goalie Ville Husso in a trade — there’s enough lottery tickets to spur some dreaming as the names are called at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday and Thursday.
Their first pick comes at No. 9; it’s the fifth time the franchise has drafted at that spot, and the first since taking forward Michael Rasmussen in 2017. Will they repeat that mild success — Rasmussen has 25 goals and 31 assists over 136 games in the past two seasons — or hit in a big way? No. 9 has produced stars in the past decade such as Trevor Zegras (Anaheim, 2019), Timo Meier (San Jose, 2015) and Bo Horvat (Vancouver, 2013), with even bigger names in the past.
Hall of Famers can be found at nearly every draft spot; there’s two at No. 9, but also one at No. 201, where the Wings are scheduled to wrap up their 2023 draft odyssey. With that in mind, here are the best and worst* picks at each spot the Wings are set to draft at this week:
*With one caveat: We’ll mostly be judging players who at least reached the NHL after being drafted, as the vast majority of picks beyond the first round are unlikely to make the league at all.
SHAWN WINDSOR: Steve Yzerman feels no pressure as Red Wings’ draft nears. Nor should he — yet.
No. 9: D Brian Leetch, 1986
The best: With apologies to Michigan State’s Rod Brind’Amour — who scored 452 goals after St. Louis drafted him in 1988 (albeit only 43 with the Blues) — and Hall of Fame forward Cam Neely (Vancouver, 1983), we’re going with the Hall of Fame defenseman selected by the New York Rangers out of high school in Connecticut. Leetch debuted at age 19 and won the Calder Trophy (as the NHL’s best rookie) the following season, 1988-89, with 23 goals and 48 assists. Over 19 seasons — all but two of which were spent with the Rangers — he had seven top-five finishes in the voting for the Norris Trophy (as the league’s best defenseman), including wins in 1992 and 1997, and nabbed the Conn Smythe (playoff MVP) during the Rangers’ 1994 Stanley Cup run before finishing his career with 240 goals 741 assists and a plus-25 rating in 1,205 games. He was inducted into the Hall on the first ballot in 2009.
The worst: Just one goalie has ever been selected at No. 9 — Brent Krahn, by Calgary in 2000. The product of the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen never played for the Flames, though; he made just one NHL appearance, allowing three goals in 20 minutes for the Dallas Stars in February 2009.
No. 17: F Bobby Clarke, 1969
The best: If we went with anyone but the longtime Philadelphia Flyers captain — say, Detroit-born defenseman Kevin Hatcher (a five-time All-Star) or forward Zach Parise (the top goal scorer at this spot, with 429, including 21 last season) — we might get punched in the face. The soul of the Broad Street Bullies —hailing from Flin Flon, Manitoba — debuted at age 20 with 15 goals and 31 assists in the franchise’s third season. Named captain in his fourth season (at age 23, he was the NHL’s youngest-ever to wear the “C”), he led the Flyers to back-to-back Cup wins in 1974 and 1975 and was the NHL MVP in 1973, ’75 and ’76. He played 15 seasons — including a win of the Selke Trophy (as the best defensive forward) in his next-to -last year — and finished with 358 goals and 852 assists in 1,144 games — plus 1,453 penalty minutes. Clarke was inducted into the Hall as a player in 1987, then went on to lead the Flyers and Minnesota North Stars to four Cup finals appearances as GM.
The worst: Just seven No. 17s from 1963-2020 have missed out on the NHL (and one of those was Czech star Jiří Dudáček, a Buffalo Sabres pick blocked by Czechoslovakia’s Communist government in 1981). Perhaps the roughest story is Kory Kocur, the cousin of Red Wings enforcer Joe Kocur taken in 1988 by the Wings; after putting up 102 points in 66 WHL games after he was drafted, Kory’s career took a hit by a concussion suffered playing for the Red Wings in an exhibition against Russian squad Khimik Voskresensk during the 1989-90 season. In 1997, Kory received community service as punishment for a beating dished out in a western Canada adult hockey league.
No. 41: F Dale Hunter, 1979
The best: This is the draft spot of current Wing Robert Hagg … but we’re going with Hunter, the Quebec Nordiques’ second-round pick — in their first draft after joining the NHL from the WHA — from the OHA’s Sudbury Wolves. Hunter broke into the NHL at age 20 with a physical rookie season in which he had 19 goals, 44 assists and 226 penalty minutes — 10th-most in the league. Hunter posted at least 200 PIMs in each of his first 11 healthy seasons (he had 135 while playing only 46 games in 1986-87) en route to 3,565 career PIMs — second-most in NHL history. Oh, and the 1997 All-Star also posted 323 goals and 697 assists over 1,407 games with the Nordiques, the Washington Capitals and one final season (1998-99) with the Colorado Avalanche after they’d moved from Quebec.
The worst: He’s not done yet, but 27-year-old Joshua Jacobs’ career trajectory has disappointed since the New Jersey Devils nabbed him in 2014 from the USHL’s Indiana Ice. The Shelby Township native spent one season at Michigan State — with nine assists in 35 games — before heading to juniors for a season. After that year, and three more in the AHL, the defenseman made his NHL debut in March 2019. In three NHL games over two seasons, Jacobs has two PIMs and four shots on net in 48:06 of ice time.
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No. 42: F Neal Broten, 1979
The best: Broten starred first at the University of Minnesota and then for the gold medal-winning 1980 U.S. Olympic team after the North Stars picked him. He played 17 seasons with three franchises (Stars, Devils, Los Angeles Kings) and finished with 274 goals and 593 assists over 1,099 NHL games. Inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000, Broten is the only player ever to win the Hobey Baker Award (college hockey’s version of the Heisman Trophy), Olympic gold and the Stanley Cup (with the Devils over the Red Wings in 1995).
The worst: Jeff Paul, the Chicago Blackhawks’ 1996 pick made it into just two NHL games — both with the Avalanche in October 2002 — while playing eight seasons in the AHL. He completed his NHL time by nearly achieving a statistical oddity: Almost as many penalty minutes (seven) as career minutes on the ice (7:03).
No. 43: F Pat Verbeek, 1982
The best: It’s oh-so-close, but we’ll go with Verbeek, an ex-Wing known as “The Little Ball of Hate” and taken by the Devils out of Sudbury, over defenseman P.K. Subban (Montreal Canadiens, 2007), who retired in 2022 after 13 seasons. Subban’s peak — a Norris Trophy in 2013 and two other top-three finishes — might be higher, but Verbeek lasted 20 seasons despite standing just 5 feet 9. The 1999 Stanley Cup winner (with the Dallas Stars) finished with 522 goals, 540 assists and 2,905 PIMs (11th all time — he’s one of three NHL players all-time with at least 500 goals and 2000 PIMs; Brendan Shanahan and Keith Tkachuk are the others.)
The worst: Defenseman Doug Lynch was fantastic in the WHL the season after the Edmonton Oilers selected him in 2001, with 21 goals, 27 assists and 202 penalty minutes in 71 games. But he fell off after that, with 13 goals over 55 WHL games the next two seasons. He made two NHL appearances, mustering two shots on goal in 20:31 of ice time.
No. 73: F Bernie Nicholls, 1980
The best: For most players, the NHL draft itself is a defining moment in their careers. But for the Kings’ pick, his defining moment came in August 1988, just before his eighth NHL season — when the Kings pulled off a blockbuster deal for Wayne Gretzky. With “The Great One” centering the top line and drawing most of the defensive attention, Nicholls had a season for the ages: 70 goals and 80 assists in 79 games. Nicholls was a talented scorer — and a physical one, too, with at least 76 PIMs in 11 of his 18 seasons — but after putting up 70 goals, he never again even reached 40 despite playing 10 more seasons. (Getting traded to the Rangers the next season probably didn’t help.) He finished with 475 goals and 734 assists in 1,127 games, and his 1,209 points is second among eligible players not in the Hall of Fame.
The worst: We’ve already reached the tipping point where it’s more likely for a pick to miss the NHL than make it — 25 No. 73s have reached the league, while 29 have not (though the past few obviously still have some time left). Of those that did make it, none had a shorter stint than Greg Crozier, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ pick in 1994. The forward scored 38 goals over four seasons at Michigan — while winning NCAA titles in 1996 and 1998 — but made it into just one NHL game, with 4:10 of ice time over five shifts in December 2000.
No. 118: G Igor Shesterkin, 2014
The best: We’re going to pass on a former Red Wings captain (1973 pick Dennis Polonich, who wore the “C” in 1976-77) and an Olympic gold-winning goalie (1993 N.Y. Islanders pick Tommy Salo) in favor of NHL’s next big thing in net. The Rangers’ pick has played just four NHL seasons, but already holds a Vezina Trophy (as the NHL’s top goalie, in 2022) and a top-three finish in MVP voting. He didn’t quite live up to that this season, but did finish 10th in save percentage (.916) and goals-against average (2.48).
The worst: Mike Siklenka, the Washington Capitals’ pick in 1998, made it to the NHL for two games — one apiece with the Flyers and Rangers in January and October 2003, respectively. They didn’t use him much, though, as he had just 6:48 of ice time. After his cup of coffee in the NHL, he spent nine seasons playing in Austria.
No. 137: D Carson Soucy, 2013
The best: Only 15 No. 137s have made the league, though four of those have at least 240 NHL games played. Soucy, the Minnesota Wild’s pick form the Spruce Grove Saints of the AJHL in Alberta, Canada, was a solid defender at Minnesota-Duluth and with the Wild. But when left exposed in the 2021 expansion draft, he stepped up his offensive game, giving the Seattle Kraken 10 goals and 11 assists in 64 games last season, then adding 16 points and a plus-18 rating in 78 games this season, plus a plus-six in the Kraken’s 14 playoff games.
The worst: When we did this exercise last season, the Wings also had the No. 137 pick and went with defenseman Tnias Mathurin. We’ll give him a few years to make the NHL — he played in just one game for his OHL squad in 2022-23, so it may be a while — and stick with our pick then: Goalie Michel Larocque. The Boston University standout shared a first and last name with Canadiens great Michel “Bunny” Larocque, a 1972 Montreal first-rounder and worthy backup to Hall of Famer Ken Dryden in net for the Canadiens during the late 1970s. Unfortunately, the Sharks’ 1996 pick didn’t share the same goaltending ability; Larocque the Younger gave up nine goals in 152 minutes over three appearances in January 2001.
No. 169: F Vincent Hinostroza, 2012
The best: The Blackhawks pick’s 53 goals (in 360 games) are as many as the 10 other NHL’ers at this pick combined. The Notre Dame product has bounced around the league, with stints in Chicago, Arizona, and Florida before landing in Buffalo before the 2021-22 season, when he posted 13 goals and 12 assists in 62 games.
The worst: Alan Hepple, the Devils’ pick in 1982, is a member of a class almost as exclusive as “No. 169 picks to make the NHL”: He’s one of 50 NHLers born in the United Kingdom. A surprise addition to the Devils’ 1983-84 roster just a year after being a ninth-round pick, Hepple played in one game that year, picking up seven penalty minutes and a minus-one rating. He played in one more game in each of the next two seasons before spending the next seven seasons in the minors.
No. 201: D Slava Fetisov, 1978
The best: It didn’t work out so well for the Montreal Canadiens, who had the foresight to try and nab the future Russian star at the start of his career but couldn’t get him past the Iron Curtain. He didn’t end up making it to the NHL until he was 31, after winning Olympic silver in 1980 and gold in 1984 and 1988. By then, he was a New Jersey Devil, having been drafted again (at No. 145) in 1983 and debuting in October 1989. But the best was yet to come: Two Stanley Cups (1997-98) as the leader (at age 37) of the Red Wings’ Russian Five. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001, but not on the strength of his NHL days. Rather, he was one of the greatest players in international history; in 2008’s balloting for the IIHF’s Centennial All-Star Team, he was named on 54 of 56 ballots — 16 more than Wayne Gretzky received — as the team’s starting center.
The worst: It’s another repeat pick for the Wings here — last year, they picked Owen Mehlenbacher, who had 19 goals and 31 assists in 57 USHL games this season. Back in 2022, we went with former Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Casey Hankerson — the Blackhawks’ pick in 1995 — as the worst, and there hasn’t been much to change things. His career totals: one assist and a minus-five rating over 18 NHL games.
Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @theford.