VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The Detroit Red Wings used the opening round of the 2019 NHL draft to add a mobile, puck-moving defenseman to their rebuild.
This is the first draft with Steve Yzerman as general manager. He enters Saturday’s conclusion holding nine picks spread across rounds two through seven. Three of the picks are in the second round, at 35th (the Wings’ own), 54th (the Islanders’ pick via Vegas, part of the 2018 Tomas Tatar trade), and 60th (from San Jose and part of the Gustav Nyquist trade). The rest of the picks come at 66th, 96th, 128th, 143rd, 159th and 190th.