The Detroit Red Wings, during much of their 25-season playoff streak from 1991 to 2016, drafted low. They traded several first-round picks for immediate help.
That will have a significant impact on the quality of your drafts.
Some of the franchise’s least productive drafts were from that era. They also drafted poorly at times from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, contributing to a stretch in which they missed the playoffs in 15 out of 17 seasons.
One day after we analyzed the five-best drafts in Red Wings’ history, here are the franchise’s first-worst drafts of all-time:
1. 1972
The 1970s were marked by mismanagement, bad drafting and a lot of losing in Detroit, as the team reached the postseason only twice.
Ned Harkness was the general manager in the early ’70s, an era that would be remembered as “Darkness with Harkness.” The only player taken during his second draft as GM to reach the NHL was fourth-round pick Danny Gruen (No. 58). He played more games for the Virginia Red Wings (AHL), Fort Worth Red Wings (Central Hockey League) and Kansas City Red Wings (CHL) than he did for the Detroit Red Wings (20).
Harkness traded his first-round pick (No. 10) to the Rangers for Rick Newell and Gary Doak. Newell played seven games for Detroit over the next two seasons. Doak was traded to Boston midway through the 1972-73 season.
The Rangers used Detroit’s pick to select winger Al Blanchard, the only player drafted in the first round who didn’t reach the NHL.
The Red Wings’ second selection, left wing Pierre Guite, played seven seasons in the World Hockey Association. Their third pick, right wing Bob Krieger, didn’t advance past the AHL.
2. 1996
The Red Wings went through a three-year stretch during the mid-90s without an official GM. Senior vice president Jimmy Devellano handled most of the contract work, coach Scotty Bowman was in charge of personnel moves and assistant GM Ken Holland was responsible for overseeing the draft and amateur ranks.
The Red Wings used their top pick (No. 26) on Jesse Wallin, a decent-sized, puck-moving defenseman (6-2, 190) from Red Deer (WHL) who would go on play for Canada’s 1997 World Junior Championship team and captain the 1998 squad. After a strong third season in juniors, Wallin’s career was derailed by a car accident.
He appeared in only 49 games in parts of four seasons with Detroit before signing with Calgary in 2003. He was sent to AHL Lowell, where a concussion suffered in his first game forced him to retire. He is an amateur scout for the Red Wings.
Eight other selections in this draft didn’t reach the NHL, including goaltender Aren Miller, their second pick (No. 52).
3. 2001
After this draft, the Red Wings shied away from taking Russian players, especially high, for many years.
Top pick Igor Grigorenko, selected 62nd overall in the second round, battled back from a serious car accident in Russia and was prepared to launch his NHL career in 2007. He wasn’t prepared to pay his dues in Grand Rapids, however, and returned to Russia after failing to make the Red Wings roster in training camp. He never returned to the NHL, playing 11 more seasons in the KHL before retiring in 2018.
This was the first of a four-year stretch in which the Red Wings dealt their first-round selections. This year’s pick was shipped to Chicago in the 1999 Chris Chelios trade. The Blackhawks used it on goaltender Adam Munro (29th), whose NHL career consisted of only 17 games.
The only player the Red Wings got anything out of from this draft was Dmitry Bykov, an NHL-ready defenseman taken in the eighth round (No. 258). He played 71 games as a rookie in 2001-02 (two goals, 10 assists) before getting homesick and finishing his career in Russia.
The only other player to reach the NHL was second pick Drew MacIntyre (No. 121 in the fourth round), a goalie who appeared in six games, none for Detroit.
The Red Wings selected defenseman Francois Senez of RPI with the second-to-last pick in the draft (288th). He never advanced past juniors but got a thrill out of attending the draft in Sunrise, Fla., and hearing his name called as the building was emptying out.
4. 1995
The Red Wings had three selections in the top 58 but nobody in this draft left a lasting impression.
Big, lanky defenseman Maxim Kuznetsov (drafted 26th) had difficulty solidifying a lineup spot before being traded to Los Angeles, where he appeared in only 19 games before returning to Russia having played 136 NHL games.
The second and third picks, forward Philippe Audet and Darryl Laplante, appeared in only four and 35 NHL games, respectively.
The Red Wings thought they might have had a sleeper in seventh-round pick Per Eklund (No. 182). He had a good year in AHL Adirondack in 1997-98 (21 goals, 50 points in 73 games) before heading back to Sweden and never returning.
5. 1988
Only one of their 11 picks reached the NHL – Sheldon Kennedy (No. 80) appeared in 310 games for three teams, including 183 for Detroit.
Top pick Kory Kocur (No. 17), cousin of longtime Red Wing Joe Kocur, was a skilled, high-scoring winger from Saskatoon. He suffered a shoulder injury in an exhibition game against a Russian team and was never the same, retiring in 1993 at age 24 after four seasons in the minors.
Defenseman Serge Anglehart (No. 38) played four seasons in the minors before retiring in 1994. Third-round pick Guy Dupuis (No. 47) was a defenseman who played 19 seasons in the minors and two in Germany.
The Red Wings took a flier on 5-8 center Glen Goodall from Seattle (WHL) in the 10th round. He still is the all-time WHL leader in games (399) and goals (262) and is second in points (573). He played 16 seasons in Germany.
More: Five-best Red Wings drafts include epic haul of 1989
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June 05, 2020 at 05:15PM
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Detroit Red Wings’ worst five drafts: Paying price for success - MLive.com
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