Detroit — On a night when they absolutely needed to ace a pick, the Red Wings selected the forward with perhaps the best scorer’s shot in the NHL Draft — a player who already is noted for playing the game all along the 200 feet of ice.
Filip Zadina, ranked third or fourth in the draft by most authoritative scouts, came sixth to a club that needs solid NHL careers from more of its entry draft selections, as certainly as it needs stars to stock its next Stanley Cup contender.
The 18-year-old, 6-foot-1, 195-pound native of Pardubice, Czech Republic, could well play in the NHL by 20, a month into the 2019-20 season.