The Detroit Red Wings have been forced to dig into their minor league system in order to stay afloat in the playoff race.
The youth infusion of players such as Riley Sheahan, Tomas Jurco and Tomas Tatar has provided a spark for the team and given fans a glimpse into the club’s future. With injuries to Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen and Stephen Weiss, the ice time for these youngsters will continue to increase.
Although the salary cap will force the team’s prospects back to Grand Rapids of the AHL, it brings attention to the franchise’s process to consistently flood its farm system with quality young players.
The attention will then shift to the NHL draft, where general manager Ken Holland will work his magic along with a team of scouts to accurately evaluate, rank and select the players they deem fit for their system.
Early-round picks like Sheahan (21st overall in 2010), Jurco (35th overall in 2011) and Tomas Tatar (60th overall in 2009) are already showing flashes of what Detroit expected when drafted.
Steals like Datsyuk (sixth round in 1998), Zetterberg (seventh round in 1999) and Jon ...
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Article written by Daniel Williams
2014 NHL Draft: 5 Perfect Fits for Detroit Red Wings
January 30th, 2014 by Daniel Williams Leave a reply »
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