SUNRISE, Fla. – For Tyler Wright and the Red Wings amateur scouting staff, Evgeny Svechnikov was too good to pass on in the first round of Friday night’s NHL draft at BB&T Center.
The Red Wings used the No. 19 overall pick on the 6-foot-2 Russian forward.
Recently converted from left wing to center, Svechnikov is the highest drafted Russian-born player ever taken by the Red Wings, who have drafted a few good ones in the past 25 years.
“We were talking about possible trade options because we don’t have a second (round pick),” said Wright, the club’s director of amateur scouting.