Sam Stange (4th Round, 97th Overall)
This right-shot right wing played in the USHL last season with the Sioux City Musketeers, where he put up 42 points (24G, 18A) in 44 games. At 19 years old he’s an overager with 200 pounds on his 6’0” frame. Next year he will play for the University of Wisconsin. NA Central Scouting puts Stange at 110th while Future Considerations has him all the way down at 256th.
Interesting side note is that he’s a high caliber two-sport athlete with some serious baseball chops to his credit.
Jan Bednar (4th Round, 107th Overall)
Bednar is a Czech goaltender (goalie of the future no pressure, man) on his way to the QMJHL next season. He’s big as a house at 6’4”. Elite Prospects lauds his athleticism and range, while Future Considerations has this to say about him:
“Bednar is an active goaltender who can push side-to-side effortlessly (but still must work on his explosiveness) while managing to pin his shoulders on the cross bar not to get bypassed upstairs. Plays with a ‘’follow through’’ style where he moves his body towards the puck when making a save in butterfly position. Still, his butterfly style may at the same time be a strength and one of his main weakness. Could stand to add more structure in his crease. He needs to work to have a little bit more dimension in his game, reading releases and not going down on every single shot. Big in size, he covers a lot of net for opposing shooters. His size alone is intimidating and he plays a poised mental game. He likes to come out of his net and challenge opponents on shots, but he must be careful with creative shooters and on rebounds. He may not be the fastest moving goalie in the draft, but he makes up for it with this positioning and understanding of the game. He is skilled at playing the puck, choosing carefully when to leave the crease, and when he does, his passes to teammates are usually on tape. He catches the puck extremely well and never hesitates to rotate his mitt to adjust to the angle of the puck.”
Alex Cotton (5th Round, 132nd Overall)
From the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the WHL, Detroit drafted Alex Cotton, a 6’2” defenseman. Cotton shoots right and loves getting involved in the offensive zone. He turned 19 in May and put up 67 points (20G, 47A) in 63 games last season. Not too shabby.
Kyle Aucoin (6th Round, 156th Overall)
Kyle Aucoin, a defenseman from Ottawa, was taken in the sixth round. He put up 13 points in 48 games for the USHL’s Tri-City Storm last season and is committed to Harvard for the 2021-22 season. He’s 5’11” and only 163 lbs, so this is a definite wait and see pick. It will be quite a while before he’s ready to make the pro transition, so fans will have plenty of time to get a measure of him.
Kienan Draper (7th Round, 187th Overall)
The guy with maybe the most name recognition to Detroit fans on draft day thanks to his father, Kienan Draper was selected with Detroit’s second-to-last pick of the 2020 NHL Draft. He’s a right wing headed to the BCHL for a year, then Miami of Ohio, according to Elite Prospects. There will be lots of time to see how he develops, just like Aucoin, before we can make any comparison between him and his father.
Chase Bradley (7th Round, 203rd Overall)
And with an 11th hour trade we get the final, final draft pick of the day for Detroit, Chase Bradley. He’s a 190 pound center who stands at an even 6’0” and will be joining the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL next season before heading to Northeastern. Elite Prospects actually has a blurb on him:
The Lancers played Bradley on their third line. Nice off-puck movement put him in position for a scoring chance when his teammate found him with the puck. Led a 2-on-1, showed pass for much of it, then fired a hard shot — I liked the decision given what the defender & goaltender gave him. Showed off the Mohawk stride on the perimeter a few times to open his passing options.
Conclusion
That’s a lot of draft picks. If Detroit manages to find one or more NHL mainstays from this lot, it will be a heck of win.
