The Detroit Red Wings can contribute much of their success in their franchise’s history to being effective at one thing: drafting. From drafting Pavel Datsyuk in the 6th round of the 1998 NHL draft to drafting current captain Henrik Zetterberg in the 7th round of the 1999 draft, Detroit is very effective at player assessment and development. Great teams are built through the draft and Detroit can owe much of its past and current success to effective drafting.
The current Detroit Red Wings look to be on pace for a playoff spot. However, they still currently posses their own first round pick instead of squandering it on a rental player at the deadline.