Detroit Red Wings 2013 NHL Draft Picks: Grades, Results and Analysis

The Detroit Red Wings went into the 2013 NHL draft with the highest pick (No. 18 overall) that Detroit had held in the first round of a draft since 1991.

The Red Wings traded down to 20th, while picking up the San Jose Sharks' 58th overall selection as well.

The Red Wings also had a pick in every round and spread their selections over different leagues. Their picks were 20th, 48th, 58th, 79th, 109th, 139th, 169th and 199th overall.

Grades and breakdowns of each Red Wings' draft pick can be found over the rest of this slide show.

The Detroit Red Wings traded their No. 18 overall selection to San Jose for the 20th overall selection as well as the 58th overall selection in the second round.

With the 20th overall selection, the Red Wings selected Anthony Mantha from Val D'Or of the QMJHL.

Mantha was the only 50-goal scorer in the CHL this season. His falling into the Red Wings' lap at 20th overall could not be a more welcome relief to Red Wings' fans that have felt as though the team hasn't had a bonafide goal scorer since Marian Hossa departed.

Mantha will likely not be coming into the Red Wings' lineup right away, but still could contribute on a scoring line in a couple years.

Excellent selection for Detroit here.

Grade: A+

Analysis: How can a team go wrong by selecting a 50-goal scorer at 20th overall? Well, long story short, it doesn't seem possible right now. Time will tell how good Mantha ends up being in the NHL.

Zach Nastasiuk fits what the Red Wings are looking for in a bottom-six forward. The 18-year-old right wing works hard in the corners and has a nose for the net.

But the Red Wings are, yet again, getting what appears to be another steal at No. 48 overall. To put it in perspective, Isaac Smith of Bleacher Report had him as an ideal player to select in the first round let alone falling all the way to 48th overall in the second round.

Nastasiuk finished as the No. 13 ranked North American skater, per Central Scouting on NHL.com. But the grinder fell a long way into the Red Wings' lap in the second round.

Grade: A-

Analysis: Another great pickup for the Red Wings here. They don't need Nastasiuk to be a great player, just another role player that plays hard in the corners on maybe the third or fourth line. Nastasiuk has shown that he has the talent level to play at a higher level than that, but it will be demonstrating that level on a higher basis in the NHL if he wants to play more minutes.

The Red Wings selected Tyler Bertuzzi at 58th overall in the second round. Tyler's uncle is current Red Wings' forward, Todd Bertuzzi, so there is definitely hockey in the blood lines for the younger Bertuzzi.

Bertuzzi is thought of as a grinder, but per his NHL.com draft profile, weighs just 178 pounds. He is also ranked at just 207th overall for North American skaters in NHL.com's Central Scouting.

It is puzzling why Bertuzzi would be taken this early in the draft at 58th overall, but Ken Holland has been known to take a few players that nobody would have taken in similar circumstances.

Red Wings fans can only hope that this is one of those players.

Grade: C+

Analysis: Can't find fault with the Red Wings for taking Tyler after seeing his uncle play in the league with such longevity. Unfortunately for Bertuzzi, that is all he has going for him as the Red Wings look like they are grasping at straws right now.

Mattias Janmark-Nylen is a center from AIK of the Swedish Elite League.

Janmark-Nylen is 21 and has been eligible to be drafted for the past few years, but put up 31 points in 55 games this past season in Sweden's top league.

He was also the 98th ranked European skater per NHL.com, but it is somewhat of a surprise that he made it all the way up to 79th overall at that rate.

Grade: B-

Analysis: It isn't a surprise to see the Red Wings draft another Swedish forward, but for a player that has been undrafted in three previous years leading up to this one, it does have the ring of a Tyler Bozak selection in round two.

The Red Wings selected David Pope with the 109th selection in the fourth round.

Pope will be attending the University of Nebraska in Omaha in 2014-15, so he is still a long ways off in terms of playing professional hockey, but he did finish ranked 67th overall in the Central Scouting rankings on NHL.com.

The ranking is promising, but with 39 points in 42 BCHL games, one will have to see how he pans out in college and how long he stays in college before he ever comes to the AHL or NHL.

Grade: B

Analysis: The Red Wings did what they had to do at 109th overall. Not too much, just took the safe bet. Pope could be a project or he could decide that college isn't for him. 

The Red Wings took Michael Wheaton 139th in the fifth round of the NHL draft.

Wheaton is a huge prospect at 6'4" and 230 pounds, but is an effective defenseman in his own zone, but only played 39 games this season due to a shoulder injury.

That likely dropped his draft stock on many boards from No. 69 North American skater overall in the Central Scouting rankings to 139th overall to the Detroit Red Wings.

Wheaton will be another possible steal for the Red Wings if he can get over his shoulder injury and get back to playing full time in juniors.

Grade: B+

Analysis: This is a Jonathan Ericsson type of pick. Ericsson wasn't injured when the Red Wings picked him in the ninth round of his draft, but he was a huge player with undervalued talent.

The Red Wings sixth-round selection was Marc McNulty, the defenseman from the Prince George Cougars.

McNulty is a huge defenseman at 6'5" and 185 pounds, but he needs to make better decisions with the puck and improve his skating before he has a ghost of a chance of playing professional hockey.

This poor decision making is evidenced in McNulty's minus-18 rating from last season. He picked up 15 points in 52 games last season, but will need to make monumental strides to make an NHL lineup.

Grade: C+

Analysis: McNulty fell from 84th to 105th in the difference from the midterm to final rankings of Central Scouting on NHL.com. Although a solid selection at 169th overall, the Red Wings need to try and find players with puck skills and better defensive numbers. McNulty doesn't exactly fit the bill in either of those areas.

Detroit's final selection in the 2013 NHL Draft is Hampus Melen, a right wing from Sweden.

Melen is obviously a long shot to ever make an NHL roster, but being from Sweden and being drafted in the seventh round obviously would seem to help his chances if fans want to make comparisons to Henrik Zetterberg.

Obviously it is way too early to make considerations to a player of Zetterberg's quality, but Melen did put up 40 points in 24 games with Tingsryds AIF's under-18 team.

Melen wasn't listed on the NHL's Central Scouting rankings, so maybe this is another case of a Red Wings' scout finding a diamond in the rough.

Far too early to tell however.

Grade: C

Analysis: The Red Wings again go off the grid so to speak with this pick. Time will tell if Hampus Melen ever becomes a household name, but for now he is just another seventh round pick that would be considered by most scouts to be a long shot to ever make an NHL team.