The Detroit Pink Wings have wants at each place, and it’s on basic supervisor Steve Yzerman to find out which top-ranked prospect can be his first alternative subsequent month.

That’s the subject of this mailbag, with reader Henry W., asking “ought to the Wings take a ahead or defenseman with their first choose within the 2020 draft?”

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The Wings have been bumped again so far as potential within the draft lottery. When the NHL paused the season on March 12 due to COVID-19, the Wings have been ensured they’d end in final place — however the lottery left them with the fourth general choice.

Erie Otters defenseman Jamie Drysdale

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The New York Rangers, who have been a part of the Stanley Cup playoffs, received the primary general choose. The Los Angeles Kings (who, just like the Wings, have been one among seven groups excluded from the “return to play” bubbles) maintain the second choose, and the Ottawa Senators choose third. The Senators additionally personal the fifth choose, making them the primary group because the Islanders in 2000 (Nos. 1 and 5) to select twice within the first 5 spots. The primary spherical is scheduled to be held just about on Oct. 6, adopted by rounds 2-7 on Oct. 7

Left wing Alexis Lafreniere is the consensus No. 1 choose. The Kings are anticipated to pick out Quinton Byfield, the top-rated middle within the draft. Then it will get fascinating — will the Senators use the third choose on Tim Stutzle, a artistic ahead with excessive hockey IQ, or Jamie Drysdale, projected to be a No. 1 defenseman within the NHL? Senators GM Pierre Dorion may go for Drysdale, figuring out there’ll be a high-end ahead accessible at fifth.

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If Dorion chooses a ahead at third, Yzerman could be sensible to leap on Drysdale. The Wings missed out on defenseman Quinn Hughes in 2018, thrilled to seek out ahead Filip Zadina accessible at sixth. Zadina (at present nursing an upper-body damage whereas on mortgage to a membership in his native Czech Republic) appears to be like like he’ll be a top-six ahead, however Hughes, 20, is a top-pair defenseman who completed as runner-up for rookie of the yr this season. He led NHL rookies in assists (45), factors (53) and power-play factors (25) in 68 video games.

Drysdale would shore up the Wings’ protection, headlining the depth chart subsequent to Moritz Seider, Yzerman’s first-round choose from 2019. The Wings would have Drysdale, Seider and Filip Hronek to anchor the blue line for the following decade, complemented by prospects Antti Tuomisto, Jared McIsaac and Gustav Lindstrom.

Drysdale, 5-foot-11 and 170 kilos, is an elite skater who’s sound defensively and gifted offensively. Like Hughes, Drysdale isn’t a giant man, however he’s swift on his toes and succesful along with his stick.

[ Yzerman must nail this draft pick for Wings’ rebuild to succeed. Here’s why ]

If Drysdale isn’t accessible, Yzerman’s decisions will embody both Stutzle or Byfield. Yzerman may additionally shock — like he did final yr with Seider — and draft Marco Rossi, an elite playmaking middle and the primary European scoring chief in OHL historical past, or Cole Perfetti, a artistic ahead who amends for his less-than-stellar velocity with goal-scoring potential

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Observe her on Twitter @helenestjames. Learn extra on the Detroit Pink Wings and join our Pink Wings e-newsletter. Her e-book, The Massive 50: The Males and Moments that made the Detroit Pink Wings can be revealed in October by Triumph Books. To preorder, go to Amazon.

This text initially appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pink Wings mailbag: Why Jamie Drysdale is sensible in NHL draft