The Detroit Red Wings will have the 13th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. This was determined as the team fell in the draft lottery from 12th place. No team has fallen more spots in the draft lottery than the Red Wings. The 63rd NHL Draft will begin on June 27th in Los Angeles, California. I have written in the past that the Red Wings have had bad luck when it comes to the draft lottery. No team has fallen more cumulative spots in the lottery than the Detroit Red Wings. What type of player should general manager Steve Yzerman select in the upcoming draft?
The Red Wings missed out on the chance to draft defenseman Matthew Schaefer number one overall. With the emergence of both Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson during the 2024-25 season, this was not necessarily a position of need. The roster is lacking an elite “sniper” who has high-end shooting talent. Lucas Raymond, a Steve Yzerman draft pick, led the Red Wings with 80 points during the 2024-25 season. Alex DeBrincat led the team with 39 goals.
Had it not been for two different seven-game winning streaks under new head coach Todd McLellan, the Red Wings may have had better odds to draft number one overall. The Red Wings fired Derek Lalonde on December 26th, just one season after the Red Wings were eliminated from playoff contention on the final day of the 2023-24 season. With 86 points during the 2024-25 season, the Red Wings had five fewer points this season than they did in 2023-24.
In a recent mock draft for The Athletic, Red Wings beat writer Max Bultman had the team selecting right-winger Victor Eklund out of Djurgården of the Swedish Hockey League. Eklund is a 5’11”, 161 lb. right-winger with a high motor and plenty of offensive ability for his size. Eklund scored 19 goals and added 12 assists in 42 games played for Djurgården during their 2024-25 season. Eklund’s older brother William is a left-winger who just completed his second season with the San Jose Sharks.
Eklund finished the 2024-25 season with 19 goals and 12 assists in 42 games for Djurgården. This statistical output matched just five other draft-year players in the SHL’s history to have 0.60 points per game or better in at least 20 games played. Those players are Elias Pettersson, teammate Anton Frondell, William Nylander, Alex Wennberg, and David Pasterňák. Living up to these players’ careers in the NHL is an entirely different thing for Eklund.
If Eklund is not the player the Red Wings end up choosing with the 13th overall pick, there are plenty of other forwards that the Red Wings could look to draft. Right-winger Justin Carbonneau has been recently linked with the Red Wings. The 18-year-old is a powerful skater with the ability to make plays using his elite puck-handling skills. In 62 games played for the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, Carbonneau had 46 goals and 43 assists during the 2024-25 season.
Whatever player the Red Wings draft at 13th overall will more than likely not play for the team for at least two seasons. In that time, the Red Wings needed to have made the Stanley Cup playoffs, if not for the coaching tenure of McLellan, but of the “Yzerplan.” Eklund’s offensive upside is certainly intriguing. On the other hand, Yzerman has a track record of throwing curveballs when it comes to the draft.
ITR 38: Quenneville is a Duck – Inside The Rink
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