The Detroit Red Wings enter Day 2 of the virtual 2021 NHL draft with six picks after using some of them to pad the rebuild for the present and the future.
Rounds 2-7 began Saturday at 11 a.m. Heading into the day, the Wings held picks at No. 38, 70, 102, 128, 134 and 166, though with the Arizona Coyotes forfeiting their own first-round pick because of combine testing violations, all picks come a slot earlier.
Wings general manager Steve Yzerman used the No. 38 and 128 picks to trade with Vegas to move up to No. 36. The Wings selected Shai Buium, a 6-foot-3 defenseman who shoots left. He had 26 points in 50 games last season in the USHL.
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The Wings picked their first forward, right-shot winger Carter Mazur, at No. 70. He recorded 44 points in 47 games last season with Tri-City Storm in USHL. Mazur grew up in Jackson and played Little Caesars hockey on a team coached by Kris Draper. Draper is now the Wings’ director of amateur scouting.
The Wings were on the clock at 102, but Yzerman traded that pick to Vegas for Nos. 114 and 155. The Wings drafted center Redmond “Red” Savage, a center from the NTDP, at No. 114.
The Wings went back to Sweden, and to the Frölunda hockey club, and selected center Liam Dower Nilsson in the fifth round at No. 134.
At No. 155, the Wings took another defenseman, Oscar Plandowski. At No. 166, their last pick, the Wings selected forward Pasquale Zito from the Windsor Spitfires.
On Friday, Yzerman selected Swedish defenseman Simon Edvinsson at No. 6 and goaltender Sebastian Cossa at No. 15. Yzerman used the No. 48 pick as part of the package to move up and pick Cossa.
Follow along with our live coverage as Yzerman, Draper and a team of hockey operations personnel make picks that should help the Wings regain competitiveness.
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Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.