In the seventh round of the NHL Draft and later, the Detroit Red Wings have found a Triple Gold Club center, a fan-favorite defenseman and one of the greatest screeners ever
In the seventh round of the NHL Draft and later, the Detroit Red Wings have found a Triple Gold Club center, a fan-favorite defenseman and one of the greatest screeners ever
Through the first six rounds of the NHL Draft, the Red Wings have found tons of talent. The seventh round — and, in days of old, the rounds long after that — are no exception.
The final All-Draft team in this series will cover the seventh round and later. As with the other rounds, these selections take into account the players’ games played, points and historical significance.
When it comes to Detroit’s picks in the seventh round and later, the talent is just as elite as other All-Draft teams in this series. The final team includes one of the greatest net-front players ever, one of the greatest Swedish forwards of the 2000s and a beloved defenseman whose career ended far too soon.
Left Wing: Tomas Holmstrom
10th round, 257th overall, 1994
Back in April, a total solar eclipse crossed the United States and Canada and caused tons of buzz. From 1996 to 2012, Holmstrom created eclipses himself by parking right in front of goaltenders. He perfected an art that earned him cross checks, goalie chops and other rough stuff in return, but one that put countless goals on the scoreboard for some of the Red Wings’ best teams.
Holmstrom was more than just a role-playing screener, though. He went to the net because that’s where plays happened, and he was a playmaker of the gritty variety. He made those plays all over the ice, scoring 530 points in his career. Many were redirections on the power play, where his screens and Nicklas Lidstrom’s point blasts made a potent combination. He also possessed some grit and snarl in his game, which earned him the nickname “Demolition Man.”
Even playing such a physically taxing role, Holmstrom was reliable throughout his 16-year career. He was the sixth Red Wing in history to play 1,000 games with the organization.
Detroit has drafted other high end left wingers in the draft’s final rounds. Feared enforcer Stu Grimson joined the team in the 10th round of the 1983 draft — then promptly had to fight fellow ‘83 draft class members Joey Kocur and Bob Probert in his career. The Red Wings also used a 16th round pick in 1977 to pick Val James, the first Black hockey player born in the United States to play in the NHL. He played those games with the Buffalo Sabres.
Center: Henrik Zetterberg
7th round, 210th overall, 1999
In the 1999 NHL Draft, the Red Wings had traded so many assets that it didn’t have a pick until the fourth round, 120th overall. They were just fine, however, drafting Zetterberg in the seventh. In that draft class, only fellow Swedes, Henrik and Daniel Sedin, scored more points.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYN43xSEqAw[/embed]
Zetterberg was a gifted playmaker, and he excelled in his own end, too. He was consistently in the Hart, Selke and Lady Byng trophy conversations at the prime of his career, though he never won them. He probably could have won a couple if he hadn't played on the same team as Pavel Datsyuk, who won multiple Selkes and Lady Byngs. Together, Datsyuk and Zetterberg formed a potent duo dubbed the "Euro Twins" that could not only score at will, but also excelled defensively to completely overmatch opponents.
What Zetterberg did win was special. He helped Sweden win the Men’s World Championship and the Winter Olympics in 2006, then joined the Triple Gold Club when he won the Stanley Cup in 2008. He also won the Conn Smythe, the second European to do so six years after Lidstrom became the first.
Right Wing: Marc Potvin
9th round, 169th overall, 1986
Potvin made it to the NHL as an enforcer who would throw hands with anyone, bringing fans to their feet and opponents to frustration. He’s also an example of the tragic cost of such frequent head injuries caused by hockey fights.
Due to his trade, Potvin was a bit of a journeyman. He played 121 games for the Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, Hartford Whalers and Boston Bruins. He finished his career with 456 penalty minutes and eight points. And the sheer volume of penalty minutes is only the half of his resume. In the AHL, Potvin logged well over 300 penalty minutes in the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons, winning the Calder Cup with the Adirondack Red Wings in ‘92.
After his hockey career, Potvin became a coach in the AHL and UHL. Sadly, he died by suicide in 2006. His mental health struggles were never attributed to symptoms of head injuries sustained during his career, but Potvin’s situation resembled the issues faced by other enforcers in his day. Hockey fights, and especially an abundance of them, are associated with the development of CTE, a brain disorder that develops from repeated head trauma. While fights are entertaining on the ice and serve to inspire teammates, there’s a human cost paid by enforcers that is too often ignored.
Defense: Vladimir Konstantinov
11th round, 221st overall, 1989
As a physically punishing defenseman in his playing career, Konstantinov was beloved. But after that playing career was tragically cut short by a car crash that left him paralyzed, Konstantinov became revered.
Konstantinov was part of Detroit’s legendary 1989 NHL Draft class, brought to Detroit in a wild way. At a time when Soviet hockey players were not allowed to go to the NHL, Konstantinov had to defect. To do so, he faked cancer, with the help of the Red Wings.
Once he joined Detroit, their international risks proved well worth it. He was an imposing blueliner who could also jump into the offensive play. Part of the famed Russian Five, Konstantinov helped Detroit win the 1997 Stanley Cup.
Then, tragedy struck as a limousine carrying Konstantinov, teammate Slava Fetisov and team massage therapist Sergei Mnatsakanov crashed after a team party. Konstantinov was left paralyzed, and Mnatsakanov was paralyzed from the waist down. In the aftermath, the Red Wings dedicated their 1998 season to their two injured teammates, winning again in 1998 and bringing Konstantinov on the ice in his wheelchair for a lap with the Stanley Cup.
Konstantinov is still a regular fixture in Detroit, where he often attends games and even recently took the ice in a sled hockey game with Belle Tire. And when his access to medical care was threatened by changes to Michigan auto insurance laws, Konstantinov’s story helped inspire support to keep the original law — and health care for thousands of Michiganders — on the books.
Defense: Jason York
7th round, 129th overall, 1990
Because the Red Wings often drafted well throughout their history, some players have been left behind by a deep depth chart in front of them. For York, he could only muster a sparing role in 19 games over three seasons with the Red Wings. But thanks to trades to Anaheim and Ottawa, York became a top four defenseman with a strong two-way game once he left Detroit. And when his career was over following a one-year comeback with Boston in 2006-07, he had played the most games (757) of all blueliners drafted by Detroit in the seventh round or later.
York’s game wasn’t especially dominant. He wasn’t a Norris nominee or an All-Star at any point. But York was consistent, good for 20 to 30 points without giving up so much in his own end. For an Anaheim organization in its second season and an Ottawa Senators team only a few years older, York was the kind of player who made them better without costing a whole bunch of assets.
Detroit has found other late round defensemen outside of Konstantinov and York. The Red Wings picked Dan McGillis in the 10th round of 1992, watching as he played 634 games with the Oilers, Flyers, Sharks, Bruins and Devils. Jonathan Ericsson, a Red Wings defenseman for 680 games, was picked in the ninth round, last overall, of the 2002 NHL Draft.
Goaltender: Greg Stefan
7th round, 128th overall, 1981
When he was in net at the 1974 Quebec Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament, Stefan shared a team with a young Wayne Gretzky. Little did they know that 13 years later, they would face off in two back-to-back conference final series, the final of Gretzky’s career in Edmonton.
Stefan spent his 1980s career as a tandem starter for the Red Wings, sharing the crease for many seasons with Cory Micalef, Eddie Mio and Glen Hanlon. Once he earned a full-time role, Stefan was a consistent quantity, putting up between an .850 and .870 save percentage in all but his first and last seasons.
In the postseason, Stefan helped Detroit make its first conference finals of the expansion era. As part of a tandem with Hanlon in 1987, Stefan was a big part of the Red Wings’ iconic comeback from down 3-1 against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the conference semifinals, kickstarted when he pitched a Game 5 shutout.
After knee injuries ended Stefan’s career, but he continued as a coach and scout. Working both positions for the Carolina Hurricanes in the early 2000s, Stefan won the Stanley Cup in 2006.
Previous All-Draft Selections
First Round
LW: Pete Mahovlich
C: Steve Yzerman
RW: Mike Foligno
D: Niklas Kronwall
D: Moritz Seider
G: Jim Rutherford
Second Round
LW: Adam Graves
C: Calle Jarnkrok
RW: Darren McCarty
D: Reed Larson
D: Bob Boughner
G: Jimmy Howard
Third Round
LW: Vyacheslav Kozlov
C: Valterri Filppula
RW: Johan Franzen
D: Nicklas Lidstrom
D: Steve Chiasson
G: Chris Osgood
Fourth Round
LW: Teemu Pulkinnen
C: Sergei Fedorov
RW: John Ogrodnick
D: Kyle Quincey
D: Stewart Malgunas
G: Tim Cheveldae
Fifth Round
LW: Petr Klima
C: Darren Helm
RW: Bob Probert
D: Jim Korn
D: Brad Shaw
G: Petr Mrazek
Sixth Round
LW: Gerard Gallant
C: Pavel Datsyuk
RW: Randy McKay
D: Tony Horvath
D: Richard Nedomlel
G: Victor Brattstrom
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