Steve Yzerman previews “exciting” 2023 NHL Draft

The good news for the Detroit Red Wings is that they've got themselves another top-10 selection in the upcoming National Hockey League Draft, which will take place at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN from June 28–29.

The bad news is that yet again, they were unable to have the hockey gods smile upon them when it came to finally getting the top overall selection. That collective groan you heard from across the state of Michigan last night was when the former Western Conference rival Chicago Blackhawks were awarded the top pick that is near 100% guaranteed to be used on Connor Bedard, perhaps the highest regarded prospect since Connor McDavid. 

There will be plentiful options for the Red Wings to pick from when it comes their turn to step up to the podium

“I think it’s going to really interesting,” Yzerman said. “Two, 3, 4, 5, I don’t where these guys should go. It’s going to an exciting hour, hour-and-a-half to get these eight or nine picks out of the way.”

But as far as specifically targeting one position to strengthen within the organization, Yzerman believes the team isn't at that point.

“I don’t think we’re at a point, and I’m not sure it’s ever really the right thing to do is to target a specific position,” Yzerman said. “This thing changes from year to year. … We’ll simply go with who we think the best prospect is at that point in the draft.”

“Ultimately, draft classes seem to be measured, good or bad, basically on how good is it at the top and this year looks very good at the top,” he said. “As we go through our meetings and talk about the players and create your list, we sit down at the end of it and say we’re optimistic at pick 43 we’re going to get one of this group of players. Third-round picks and things like that we say, ‘We’d be happy to get this player.’ Today, it looks like a pretty good draft. Time will tell. We feel good about not only having those three seconds, but our third-round pick and beyond that.”

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