DETROIT, MICH — With the 2015 NHL Draft launching Friday, June 26th at 7PM ET, It’s in every Red Wings fan’s best interest to know who could be available when they’re on the clock with the 19th overall pick.
It’s in Ken Holland’s best interest to draft the best player available, as with any other GM. The debate is that Detroit needs a top defenseman, but they won’t acquire an NHL-ready defenseman at 19th overall. This opens up a lot of possibilities for potential 1st round candidates.
Detroit does not have a 2nd round pick. They dealt their 49th overall pick to the Dallas Stars to acquire forward Erik Cole in the 2014-2015 season. With that being said, there is a great possibility that the Red Wings trade down 19th overall to acquire either a later 1st and a 2nd. But is it worth it?
Below are the over/under odds for Draft Position in this year’s NHL Draft:
Over/Under Draft Position
Mith Marner
Over/Under 5½
Mikko Rantanen
Over/Under 7½
Ivan Provorov
Over/Under 7½
Mathew Barzal
Over/Under 7½
Lawson Crouse
Over/Under 9½
Zach Werenski
Over/Under 9½
Pavel Zacha
Over/Under 9½
Kyle Connor
Over/Under 12½
Timo Meier
Over/Under 13
Travis Konecny
Over/Under 13½
Jakub Zboril
Over/Under 15½
Evgeny Svechnikov
Over/Under 17
Nick Merkley
Over/Under 20½
Over/Under 21½
Daniel Sprong
Over/Under 28½
Judging by the odds, the Red Wings could end up with a player like Russian winger Evgeny Svechnikov, or center Nick Merkley at 19th overall. Two very promising prospects with tremendous offensive upside. If they trade down, they could land players like center Colin White, or winger Daniel Sprong. This opens up an opportunity to draft a defenseman like Thomas Chabot, or Brandon Carlo in the second round.
On the flip side, there are teams aggressively pursuing the option to trade up. One of the picks on the docket is Arizona’s 3rd overall pick. This opens up the option to draft a player like centers Mitch Marner, Dylan Strome, and defensemen Noah Hanifin, and Ivan Provorov. While I don’t think this is a smart move, if it were to happen the Red Wings should skip out on drafting a defenseman, and stick with best player available. Players like Marner and Strome are top talent who can make a gigantic impact in any organization. Again, the cost of trading up to a top-five pick is likely one that would not be worth making. Not only would you be shelling up draft picks, but valuable assets to the team such as Tomas Tatar, Gustav Nyquist, Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha… The list goes on.
We’ve heard so much about how deep this draft is, and with that thought.. Why bother trading up? If you can somehow get a likable value trading for 3rd overall, you end up drafting a player like Marner or Strome. Not saying that’s bad, but why not trade down into the later picks of the 1st round and acquire a 2nd round pick? Whichever way you choose to look at it, Ken Holland and company have a lot of options to consider. All we can do is hope that they make the right decision.
Should the Red Wings make a trade happen?
| Yes, trade down and get a 2nd round pick. | 330 |
| Yes, trade up for a higher pick. | 101 |
| No, keep 19th overall. | 212 |
