Detroit Draft Review '10

Written by Kyle Kujawa

Saturday, 26 June 2010 16:24

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 25: Riley Sheahan, drafted 21th overall by the Detroit Red Wings, poses for a portrait during the 2010 NHL Entry Draft at Staples Center on June 25, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Every year I enjoy the chess match Detroit plays at the draft. The model for current day drafting success, other teams are always guessing at what the Wings are going to do and trying to imitate that before the Wings can do it. And the Wings adjust, constantly. While a lot of other teams have taken to drafting random Swedes, over the past few years Detroit has been pretty much content with staying on the board and drafting guys who fall in the first few rounds, and then going to weird places later in the draft.

I'm thrilled with this draft for a couple of reasons. For starters, they picked seven players who all provide clear reasons for excitement. And secondly, I've been reading all week about how Detroit is getting away from their puck possession and skill style and Mike Babcock is taking them there. Yes, seriously, people who watch the Red Wings on a regular basis and have come to this conclusion. Apparently, drafting Riley Sheahan was evidence of this too, because he's 6'2 and North American. So I found it a little more than mildly exciting that they went out and drafted little guys almost exclusively.

In total, they took five forwards, one defenseman, and one goaltender. Their picks were wildly spread out, one in the NCAA, one in top Swedish league, one in the top Finnish league, one in each of the three Canadian junior leagues, and one from the Minnesota high school ranks who will eventually be in the USHL.

STORY: Sheahan came into school young, playing a good chunk of the season as a 17-year-old freshman. When you look at how NCAA hockey works, that's absurd. Only the best of the best come in at the age of 18, it is actually quite common to see teams bring in freshman at 19, sometimes even 20 or later. This means that Sheahan was playing in a league which would be predominantly skated in by juniors and seniors that could be anywhere from 21, on the low end, to 24 or 25. The growth a player does from 17 to 25 is pretty significant in the hockey world. Still, Sheahan flourished in his defensive role and even chipped in some offense. He was considered a likely top 15 pick early on in the season, but a slower finish (Notre Dame as a whole fizzled out as a team) in addiction to a drinking-related arrest had him slipping into more of Detroit's range.

STRENGTHS: Sheahan already plays a very mature defensive game. And like I said in the post previous to this one, that doesn't mean he's a future checking line center. That means his defensive skills are very good -- the makings of an elite shut down center. He's a good skater with a great work ethic on the ice. His size and strength already make him difficult to play against and he only looks like he's going to get bigger.

WEAKNESSES: Offensively, he doesn't have the talent of some of the other folks who went in the first round. It needs to be clear though, that offense is not a weakness. Six goals as a 17-year-old is not all that low. Even elite scorers struggle to light it up as freshman. Sheahan's size, work around the net and impressive numbers at the junior A level offer no worries that he can increase on his freshman year numbers.

FUTURE: The Wings don't have as much time with this college pick because he's already in the program. This means they'll have to make a decision on him when he graduates in three years. I believe two strong seasons, complete with at least one where he's the first or second best scorer on Notre Dame will lead to an early exit and an early year of professional hockey in Grand Rapids instead of a senior season. As far as his immediate future goes, Sheahan is one of 24 forwards at Canada's World Junior evaluation camp, and, as a 1991-born, this is his only chance at playing for them. Canada doesn't just take a roster full of scorers, so he's working within a small group for the spots on the checking line.

OTHER: Feature on Hockey's Future, Feature from NHL.com

STORY: The lone Swede Detroit picked up this year, Jarnkrok was considered by most to be the likely first or second highest taken Swede. He could have slipped into the end of the first round, but after he didn't, and two other Swedes went before him, Detroit decided they couldn't pass up on him at 51. Jarnkrok, born ten days late to be eligible for the 2009 draft, established himself as a regular in the Swedish Elitserien -- their top league -- an impressive feat at the age of 18. He spent 33 games in the SEL, and also proved that he was too good to play in the under 20 league, putting up 31 points in 19 games there too.

STRENGTHS: Jarnkrok is an offensive forward. He is known for his vision, creativity, and playmaking ability. He's also got a big shot and played the point on the powerplay, even at the SEL level. Fast skater, good stickhandler, hard-working attitude -- in a lot of ways, like his idol Henrik Zetterberg. Also, his last name literally translates to Ironhook. That's what I'll be calling him the next few years.

WEAKNESSES: Jarnkrok doesn't have great size. He's 5'11 and he looks a little smaller. And at 165 pounds, he's not even touching anywhere close to the NHL until he gains 15 pounds -- and even then, he'll be pushed around. That's a big reason that he slipped, but if he can get to that size, the Wings found themselves a top six forward.

FUTURE: Jarnkrok will be in the SEL for the full year next year, hopefully able to build on his spot on his line with Anton Rodin (VAN) and Jacob Silfverberg (OTT). Both of those players are considered top prospects on their respective teams, and Jarnkrok largely outshined them. He's got his spot secured on Brynas, and as a 1991-born, he should be able to play a big role on Sweden's World Junior team.

STORY: This is the only one that I don't get. It's not too far off the board, but there isn't much about him besides his size that really makes sense. Like the first two picks, he is a late 1991 born, meaning he's at the same development level in terms of years of players who played last year. But Aubry only had 33 points -- not great for a player who only has two years max left in a high scoring QMJHL league.

STRENGTHS: Size? He's a raw talent with not much time to figure it out. If his offensive ability catches up, he's a high end talent. Otherwise, he's a North American Christopher Lofberg. Who? Exactly. He sounds pretty good in his own end, so I think the Wings are shooting for a second or third line center who can play in both zones.

WEAKNESSES: Offensive production is pretty poor, he'll have to have a big year coming up to justify a 3rd round selection. Can't find much on his skating or existing offensive ability.

FUTURE: He can play in the AHL after next season, but he sounds much rawer than that. So he only has two years tops left in the QMJHL, then the Wings have to decide what to do with him.

OTHER: Goal vs. Saint John

STORY: Prior to the 2008-09 season, people were asking who would go first in 2010: Taylor Hall or Teemu Pulkkinen. If you told me then that Detroit would end up with either of them, I probably wouldn't have watched a game this season. Pulkkinen had 35 points in nine games at the U18 level and (yep) in 2008-09 and 28 points in 24 games at the U20 level. He bumped the U20 numbers this year up to 41 points in 17 games, but just three points in 12 games at the Finnish professional level. He fell off a bit, but was still considered a likely first round pick this year. Then he got hurt, and was supposed to slip to the early second. And he couldn't participate at the combine because of his injury, so people worried about it even more, even though he put up a blistering 15 points in six games at the U18 late in the season. So he slipped to the 4th round.

STRENGTHS: Pulkkinen is often called the Finnish Ovechkin. Obviously, he lacks the power game that Ovechkin has because of his size (he's stocky though, and hard to knock off the puck). He's got a big shot and an arsenal of slick stickhandling moves -- pure offense. He's more like Teemu Selanne in that sense, he's a natural scorer. But his flash on the ice and often exuberant celebrations draws many celebrations to Ovechkin. He's also a rare right handed shot.

WEAKNESSES: Pulkkinen isn't nearly as adept in the defensive zone. His consistency from shift-to-shift has also been brought into question, as well as his ability to play in traffic. He's also suffered a few different injuries already, making a healthy season in 2010-11 imperative.

FUTURE: Pretty unknown. He's under contract in Jokerit for another season, but his CHL rights are owned by Kelowna (featuring fellow Red Wing Mitchell Callahan) and he could try the WHL route like fellow Finn and friend Toni Rajala (EDM) who played for Brandon this season. He also got drafted early in the KHL, and could end up there for a big money contract. Or, he could pull a Tomas Tatar and play in the AHL next year. Depends what the Wings think about him at camp.

OTHER: He scores three goals in this 5-1 Finnish win at the U18s. Here's a shootout goal against Canada. Here's a goal in the top Finnish league, and here's another.

STORY: I don't know that much about Mrazek, but I do know with Daniel Larsson heading to Sweden, the Wings need a goalie to groom to step into their AHL ranks in a few years. Mrazek was a pick in the CHL Import Draft last season and was the backup to start the year with the Ottawa 67s. As the year went on he earned more and more playing time, until he took over as the starter completely by the end of the playoffs. Those numbers are the ones to look at -- a 2.38 GAA with a .928 save percentage.

STRENGTHS: Judging from the playoff numbers, Mrazek is a goaltender who can steal a game or two. He's extremely quick, and controls his rebounds well. But I don't know too much about judging goalies anyway and I haven't seen him play, so that's all I can offer.

WEAKNESSES: Size. How many starting goalies can you name that are under six feet? He's listed right at that mark, but he's probably a little smaller.

FUTURE: He's got another two years in the OHL before Detroit needs to make a decision, and even then they can leave him for an overage season. He does seem like a talented goalie worth a shot. He seems to have proved himself as the unquestioned starter, and now it's just taking his game to the next level as one of the OHL's best. A job with the Czech World Junior team won't hurt his case either.

STORY: I don't know much about this fellow either. However, in the 6th and 7th round most teams are gunning for long shots. Detroit landed a proven point-per-game player at the WHL level -- 73 points in 72 games. The kid can score, and you can't teach offense -- the rest of the game can come in time.

STRENGTHS: Macek is a good point producing player with excellent vision. He sounds like he might be one of the quicker players in the WHL and probably the fastest that Detroit picked up and both Pulkkinen and Jarnkrok sound like they have some speed.

WEAKNESSES: He's another little one. That might explain the Aubry pick -- it raises Detroit's average size in this draft by a couple of inches. No word on his defensive game, but I'm still exploring stuff about him.

FUTURE: Two more years in the WHL before Detroit decides if he's ready to play professional hockey. I fully expect he can be an 80-90 point scorer for both of those seasons.

STORY: He played this season in the Minnesota high school ranks -- which means he's raw, but that's still a competitive state, nothing like the high school game in Michigan. He's the lone defenseman taken by Detroit this year.

STRENGTHS: Offense seems to be his strength, he was one of the top scoring juniors this season and was an early favorite to be Minnesota's "Mr. Hockey" for next season as a senior -- the award for the top high school prospect in the state.

WEAKNESSES: He's absurdly small. Also, his coach speaks about him like he's a rover. He'll definitely need to learn the defensive game while in the USHL, and the Wings will surely hope he can keep his obvious offensive gifts.

FUTURE: Like Max Nicastro in 2008 and Nick Jensen last season, Marshall is going to be on the first year of a five year project. He'll play for the Omaha Lancers in the USHL next season, before joining the University of Minnesota to start the 2011-12 season. That gives Detroit until 2015-16 to decide whether or not he's worth signing. He's got a lot of work to do, but he's skilled enough where he could amount to something by that point.

Seven new Red Wings, seven new picks. An amazing day that was endlessly entertaining. I definitely still need to do some homework on the last three picks, but I promise I will be better prepared for the 2011 draft. Bring it on, Hakan.