Wings stay in Europe for first three picks in NHL Entry Draft
Red Wings General Manager Ken Holland made a point heading into this year's NHL Entry Draft that his team would strive to get bigger -- from the goal crease out. He also acknowledged that it wouldn't shy away from a 5-foot-9 defenseman if he thought that player might be the triggerman on the power play one day.
And that's exactly what the Wings did with their first selection today.
Unable to swing a trade that would secure a second-round pick the Wings gave up in the trade-deadline deal with Dallas for Erik Cole, Holland used the team's third-round pick, 73rd overall, to select a diminutive blue-liner, Vili Saarijarvi, a 5-9, 163-pound, right-shot defenseman.
In Friday's first-round, the Wings selected 6-2, 195-pound left wing Evgeni Svechnikov, widely described by scouts as a can't-miss NHL player -- a prototypical Russian winger who can score and make plays.
But with their second pick (third round), the Wings left themselves open to some serious second-guessing a few years down the road. Saarijarvi was a significant reach, ranked 145th overall by Red Line Report, an independent scouting agency. It's a good bet -- though never a sure thing -- that he might have been available in the fourth or fifth round.
With the very next selection, 74th overall, the Los Angeles Kings selected 6-4, 200-pound Russian center Alexander Dergachyov, a steal rated 29th best prospect in the draft by Red Line. Scouts raved about his huge upside while suggesting that Saarijarvi might be challenged to survive and thrive in the NHL.
The two picks perpetuate the old adage about how big players almost always get a chance to show they can't play in the NHL while small players always have to prove they can. The Wings surely won't quibble about his size; Saarijarvi is about the same size as Brian Rafalski, who earned three Stanley Cup rings, one with Detroit, before his retirement a few years ago.
Saarijarvi was the first of two right-shot defensemen the Wings selected today, addressing an off-discussed missing ingredient on Detroit's blue line.
"You want take the best player available and address needs at the same time," Wings chief scout Tyler Wright said after the draft. "If you don't draft any right-hand defenseman, you don't have any available in your system. We liked both those players a lot, and we moved them up a little bit in order to get them, so we're pretty excited."
Sarrijarvi's size -- or lack of it -- was not a concern at the Detroit draft table. It never is.
"It's our job to find diamonds in the rough," Wright said. "Look at our third pick. He's not a very big guy. But there are a lot of good players in the NHL who aren't very big. We saw that first-hand in the first round with (Tampa Bay's) Tyler Johnson."
With size at such a premium elsewhere in the NHL, especially in goal with the emergence of players like Tampa Bay's 6-7 Ben Bishop, the Wings were intent on adding a bigger goaltender to their stock of developing prospects. And the Wings were thrilled to get 6-2, 189-pound Joren Van Pottelberghe, of Switzerland with Detroit's fourth-round pick, 110th overall.
"Hakan (Andersson) was very, very high on him," Wright said of the Wings top European scout. "We actually thought about him in the third pick, he's so dynamic at that position."
After three picks from across the pond in Europe -- where they've established a reputation for finding gems -- the Wings took their first North American with their fifth-round pick: Chase Pearson, a 6-2, 200-pound, Alpharetta, Georgia-born center who played with Youngstown of the United States Hockey League and is headed to the University of Maine this fall. He is the son of former NHL player Scott Pearson, the eighth overall selection by Toronto in 1988.
In the sixth round, 170th overall, the Wings added hulking, American-born defenseman Patrick Holway, a 6-4, 200-pound right-hand shot who's also headed to Maine this fall.
With their seventh-round selection, 200th overall, the Wings took a flyer on 6-0, 158-pound left wing Adam Marsh, who comes with some apparent baggage after a season with Saint John in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
"Scoring wiz with poor character. A bad teammate," is how scouts at Red Line Report described him. He was rated 101st among top prospects, but fell to Detroit at 200.
"We thought we addressed a lot of our needs," Wright said. "Everybody is always excited when you leave the draft, but we know we've got a lot of developing to do now."
Red Wings' final picks in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft
Third round, 73rd overall: D Ville Saarijarvi, 18, 5-9, 163-pounds, shoots right, from Rovaniemi, Finland. An outstanding puck-moving defenseman. Highly decorated in several seasons playing with Finland's Under-16, U-17 and U-18 national squads. But small. "He'll be a referendum on 5-9 defensemen in the NHL," Red Line scouts say.
Fourth round, 110th overall: G Joren Van Pottelberghe, 18, 6-2, 201 pounds, from Switzerland. Ranked fifth among European goalies eligible for the draft by the NHL's Central Scouting. Played for Linkoping in the Swedish league last season, posting a 1.89 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage in 11 games.
Fifth round, 140th overall: C Chase Pearson, 17, 6-2, 180 pounds, shoots left, born in Alpharetta, Georgia. He had 12 goals among 26 points with 96 penalty minutes in 57 games for Youngstown of the USHL this season. Scouts like his heart and his hands, but not so much his feet. "Polar ice caps melt faster than his first few steps," according to Red Line. Translation: He needs a lot of work on his skating.
Sixth round, 170th overall: D Patrick Holway, 18, 6-4, 200 pounds, shoots right, of Massachusetts. A scoring machine from the blue line, scoring eight goals among 25 points with 34 penalty minutes in 28 games this season for the Boston Advantage U-18. Big wingspan, great hands, heavy shot and plays physical, scouts say.
Seventh round, 200th overall: LW Adam Marsh, 17, 6-feet, 158 pounds, shoots left, of Chicago. Rated 55th among all prospects in the draft by Central Scouting, but fell to the Wings with the 200th pick. The reason: Off-ice issues scared everyone else away. Clashes with his coach led him to quit his Midget AAA team -- twice. Red Line scouts were also wary: "Tends to be one dimensional. . . Defensively he's frequently lost in his own end, and his work ethic isn't stellar. Word is he's a nightmare off the ice, too.
