2008 NHL Draft: Detroit Red Wings First Round Possibilities

The annual NHL draft is nearly upon us. This Friday, 30 NHL teams will do their best to pick from a variety of 18-year old kids in hopes that they become NHL men.

What separates the NHL draft from the NFL’s or NBA’s is that you rarely get immediate help. In both the above-mentioned leagues, it’s very rare for one of your selections to not make the big club the following season. In the NFL’s case, it’s even likely to see a late-round selection suit up in some capacity.

Unfortunately for NHL fans, that’s hardly the case. In most instances, your first round pick, if you’re lucky, is anywhere from two to four years away from skating in the NHL.

In fact, a great majority of time, your farm team will be the first home for a high-end selection. Players like Columbus Bluejacket Rick Nash or Carolina Hurricane Eric Staal who made a successful jump in their first year are few and far between.

So while pro football and basketball general managers are afforded immediate help, the same cannot be said for their hockey counterparts.

In the NHL, if a team is thin at one position, it’s in their best interest to focus on that void. However, since picking 18 year-olds, some of whom aren’t even shaving yet, can be as unpredictable as Kelly Hrudey’s hairstyle, most teams will pick the best player available.

For the most part, that’s what the Detroit Red Wings have done over the last few years.

Assistant general manager Jim Nill and his excellent scouting department have addressed needs in the past, like when they selected goaltender Jimmy Howard out of Maine University with their first pick of the 2003 draft.

With the retirement of Dominik Hasek, Howard will have his best chance of becoming a full-time Red Wing this fall.

Nevertheless, the Wings usually attempt to draft whichever player they see as the best option available.

That might change this year.

The Red Wings won the Stanley Cup with their strength on the backend. Nick Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, Niklas Kronwall, Brad Stuart, Chris Chelios, Brent Lebda, and Andreas Lilja made up their defensive core. Waiting in the wings are NHL-ready Kyle Quincy, Derek Meech, and Jonathan Ericsson.

In the form of prospects, Detroit has high hopes for the offensive-minded Logan Pyett, who’s been stellar so far in his junior career. Last year's first round selection, Brendan Smith, another puck moving, slick skating rearguard, enjoyed a successful first year playing for the Wisconsin Badgers of the NCAA.

In regards to defensemen, it’s safe to say the Wings have their cupboards stocked.

The same cannot be said for forwards. While the shelf is hardly bare, the Wings best offensive forward prospects aren’t as strong.

Playmaking junior Cory Emmerton, scoring winger Dick Axelsson from Sweden,  left-wing Jan Mursak, and newly signed Finnish winger Ville Leino all have potential to be producers at the highest level. Emmerton has even been compared to Cory Stillman.

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