Previously, we took at look back at the first three prospects Detroit took in the 2020 NHL Draft. Head over to read what Lucas Raymond, William Wallinder, and Theodor Niederbach have been up to in the last year. Below, you’ll find the rest of the gang.
#55 – Cross Hanas (LW)
Cross Hanas was taken with the pick the Wings received in the Nick Jensen trade to Washington. At 6’1” and 176, Hanas was drafted as a playmaking forward with a willingness to shoot who needed to do some work on his skating.
Unfortunately, Hanas’ Winterhawks had a tumultuous season with financial troubles. The team sent Hanas to the USHL’s Lincoln Stars where he played 27 games and put up 16 points before returning to Portland for four points in six games.
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Red Wings select forward Cross Hanas with no. 55 pick in 2020 NHL Draft
Hanas will enter his second post-draft season without a Red Wings contract. The team will use this time to decide whether to ink him to his ELC at age 20 or make him a UFA.
#63 – Donovan Sebrango (D)
Detroit’s own third-rounder in 2020, Sebrango was selected from the Kitchener Rangers after putting up 30 points in 56 games on their blueline. With the OHL season delayed, he played five games in on loan to the Slovakian club HK Levice where he earned three points and 50 (fifty!) penalty minutes.
From there, Sebrango became the first of the 2020 picks to ink his entry-level deal with the Wings.
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Detroit Signs Sebrango to Entry-Level Contract
Sebrango returned to the States where he played 31 games with the Griffins, notching four assists. His contract automatically extends by one year because he didn’t play enough games in the NHL, so he still has three years on his ELC remaning.
The Wings site put up a pretty good recap with word from Griffins’ coach Ben Simon about Sebrango. Check it out here.
#70 – Eemil Viro (D)
Viro was selected with this pick after moving back from #65 (a pick they held thanks to the Gustav Nyquist trade to San Jose). An average-sized left shooting defenseman who had been promoted to Finland’s top league before being drafted, Viro had himself a good season. A combined 18 points in 66 games for his club TPS included a playoff run for the league final runners-up and a bronze medal for Viro at the world juniors, Viro’s numbers were impressive for a kid so young.
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Prospect Spotlight: Eemil Viro hopes to build on breakout season
Viro was rewarded with an entry-level contract with the Wings and is likely Grand Rapids bound for next season on a contract which can also be allowed to slide one more year if he doesn’t play in 10 or more NHL games. He’s also eligible to be loaned back to Finland if that’s where Yzerman feels he’ll be best-served.
#97 – Sam Stange (RW)
Stange was taken with another bonus pick Detroit picked up when they moved out of Edmonton’s 2nd round slot last year (the Athanasiou trade) to go from #35th overall to 51 (Theodor Niederbach) and this pick.
The right-shooting winger was taken out of Sioux City of the USHL and moved onto the University of Wisconsin where he put up 7 points in 29 games.
📽️: Sam Stange’s first post season goal 🚨
🍎: Mersch, Baker pic.twitter.com/IZzDAabEq2
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) March 15, 2021
Stange’s badgers won the Big Ten but were eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tourney. You might have heard of his teammate Cole Caufield?
Stange will remain with the Badgers for the foreseeable future. Although he can now profit off his name and likeness, he’s not allowed to sign an entry-level contract while he’s an NCAA athlete. Detroit will retain his signing rights throughout his college career.
#107 – Jan Bednář (G)
Detroit took this Czech goalie with Edmonton’s fourth rounder from the Mike Green trade. A kid who drew comparisons to another free-wheeling high-flying make-a-save-at-any-costs Czech goalie from Detroit’s past, Bednář played five games in the Czech league before heading to the QMJHL where he backstopped the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in 12 regular season and 7 postseason games. While QMJHL numbers trend towards the offensive side, his save percentage in the regular season was middling compared to his peers, although it was better than that in the playoffs.
#132 – Alex Cotton (D)
This was the other pick the Wings got from Minnesota when they traded away the San Jose third rounder received for Gustav Nyquist (Eemil Viro at 70 was the first of these).
Cotton came out of Lethbridge at more than a point-per-game pace for a D-man and spent his post-draft season back with Lethbridge wearing an A on his sweater and mostly picking up where he left off, this time with 26 points in 24 games. Cotton was selected in his 2nd year of draft eligibility and is likely to return to Lethbridge as an overager for the coming season. Detroit holds his rights through next season
#156 – Kyle Aucoin (D)
Detroit’s own sixth round pick in 2020 Kyle is indeed the son of former NHLer Adrian. He was taken as any normal sixth rounder, a kid that needed significant growth to reach the NHL.
Aucoin split time between The Tri-City Storm and the Muskegon Lumberjacks (thanks to a mid-season trade) and ended the USHL season with 13 points in 47 games. He’s committed to play next season at Harvard University where the Wings will retain his signing rights throughout his NCAA career.
#187 – Kienan Draper (RW)
Detroit’s very own seventh-rounder took Kris Draper’s son Kienan. The youngster had seven points in 37 contests with the USHL’s Omaha Lancers and will be heading to Miami (OH) for the coming season.
#203 – Chase Bradley (LW)
Detroit gave up their 2021 seventh-rounder to move back into this draft class and take Chase Bradley at #203. Bradley went from Omaha in 2019-20 to Sioux City last season where he scored 40 points in 52 games (22 goals).
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NHL-bound Chase Bradley turning heads in Sioux City (Sioux City Journal)
Bradley seems to have some promise that’s unusual with a seventh-rounder, which is good because otherwise moving back into the draft just to pick him would have been weird. He’s committed to the University of Connecticut next season so NCAA hockey fans can keep an eye on him there.
