Red Wings - Should Yzerman Target a Specific Position in the 2024 NHL Draft

Tony, what about you? Is there a particular position that you think the Red Wings need to add some depth to him draft

You know, I was giving this a lot of thought today after we send out our plans for what we're going to discuss today, but

You know, looking at Detroit's organizational depth, I'll start in that and work my way out. Obviously, the Red Wings have Sebastian Kosa and Trey Augustine and that they're they're good there

There's no first round like elite bully anyway, so nothing to worry about there

On defense, you're looking at kind of a full pipeline, to be honest

You have if you're looking at like if you're ranking Detroit's defensemen in terms of tiers, you have Sider, Edmondson and Sandin Pelican in like your tier one and then tier two just below that

More bottom for number four or bottom pair defenseman you're looking at Albert Johansson, William Wallander, Shai Buyam, Andrew Gibson, Antetuo Misto

And then there are additional prospects beyond that in your tier three, but. There's depth there, there's a good amount of players there, you like having a top four that consists of Sider, Edmondson and Sandin Pelican plus TBD, other defensemen, whether it's a free agent, a draft pick, a trade acquisition, you name it

And then that brings us to forward here down the road, like five years down the road, you got Larkin entering his 30s, you have Lucas Raymond, Alex DeBrinckhead

Probably, hopefully, will still be here. Danielson, Casper, the Red Wings are still lacking

A game breaker up front at that point, you're looking at the current prospect pipeline, maybe a Carter Mazer will slot into the second line, maybe it's Bergeron at that point

Still, someone's missing. So, looking at this draft, in my opinion, as like the last time the Red Wings are going to be eligible for the lottery, hopefully next season, they're in the playoffs and they're picking, you know, 17, 18, 19, 20, later on

This is really their last opportunity to select a potential game breaking player

And since they have pretty solid depth on defense. I'm leaning towards a forward. And with the run of defense that's expected to go in the top 10 or top 12, that should play out nicely for the Red Wings

As Evan alluded to earlier, Beckett Senecke might still be there, Cole Iserin might be there, Kosta Heleneus might be there

I really think the Red Wings should hone in on a forward. I think that's just how things are going to play out in front of them, but that's to their advantage as well

That's where the biggest opportunity lies. So, hopefully it turns out nicely for the Red Wings and they get to select a game breaker who plays in their top six down the road