Steve Yzerman secured a critical building block in his project of rebuilding the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday night — the second-year GM took Lucas Raymond with his first pick. Was it a surprising pick? For most, no, not really. Raymond was a popular name among the top-five prospects in this class, and certainly the second-best European prospect behind German winger-center Tim Stutzle.

The Red Wings didn’t hesitate to post the Lucas Raymond hype video following the pick:

Shortly after the pick came down, once all of the “virtual” dust settled, the Red Wings hosted the 2020 top-pick in an online press briefing. In the interview, Raymond comes off as your model Swedish star: Smart and humble, well-spoken, and most importantly — excited.

Raymond will most certainly be spending the next year in Sweden. The SHL is in full-swing, and Raymond is looking to secure a top role with Frölunda. There are a lot of question marks with the upcoming NHL season, even after Gary Bettman announced that the league is aiming at returning on January 1. Raymond is a high-ceiling pick, a player that reminds me of Elias Pettersson. Let him have his time in Sweden’s big league.