The eerily silent Wings front office appear to have picked up a 7th round pick from 2014. It feels a bit bizarre, but is a welcome bit of news after the league has hinted at giving top draft access to more of the league. You can read about that here
Tell me if this sounds familiar, a 6’5” center who plays a “heavy” game without too much offensive output. 11g/29pts in 59 games. (But, the goal above is pretty sweet, from 2017) If you guessed Rasmussen, you may well be correct. Of course, Rasmussen is still only 20/21 and a full inch taller. That is a detail that is lost in so many rants. There is time to develop still for both he and Svech, though Svechnikov is on the clock a bit more right now.
Last year, when Adam Erne was brought on board, I opined that he sounded like Abdelkader part 2. That wasn’t far off. And so, what has the front office excited about a draft pick most of us haven’t thought about or followed? More than likely it is work ethic. At the first draft as Detroit’s new GM, Yzerman continually cited the work ethic and intensity of the players that were selected. Without having been able to watch Kadeykin, we’re at the mercy of whatever limited information is released thus far. Given that there is no release from the team at this point, there is still the air of speculation. The article link above indicates that an AHL start is possible (if not probably) for the big Russian.
In recent days, I’ve poured over the roster of this past season. So many underperformances that it is mind boggling. I still associate a lot with horrible goal tending (a GAA of 4 is flat out nasty), and that was exacerbated by inexperienced or over experienced defensemen. This team was buried on a nightly basis. And, with only one line to focus on, other teams enjoyed piling on. I take some solace in knowing that Ericsson, Daley and Green are moving on. Seider could well find his way onto the squad. But, there seems to be some consensus that it takes around 200 NHL games for defensemen to really adjust to the league. The squad is still fairly green in that respect.
I’m still trying to grasp the lack of signings or any real information about who is staying and who is going. This could be due to the uncertainty regarding the draft and the season as a whole. We’re all going to have to wait this one out. At this point I hope that Yzerman has an idea of what Bertuzzi/Mantha and Fabbri are looking for. Given that Biega has been the only extension to date, it doesn’t instill a lot of confidence that the process is in full swing yet.
So, as tidbits trickle out, I’ll do my best to get in front of them. Let me know your thoughts on this potential signing. Also, did Detroit swing and miss on any of the college free agents? It doesn’t sound like they’ve been involved much this year. Most of those players tend to be inexpensive depth players, and Detroit is overflowing with bottom 6 and bottom 3 players. It’s those other 9 slots (and one in goal) that seem to be the problem right now.
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