Detroit Red Wings Draft Success: 1963-2002

This is a follow-up to my original article, "Draft Success of all Teams in NHL History: 1963-2002." I will make an in-depth analysis of the draft history of the Detroit Red Wings, highlighting the best and worst draft picks/years. In my league-wide draft study, I used games played in the NHL by each teams' draftees as the basis of draft success. While this method was not fool-proof, I saw it as a great way to measure a team's draft success and overall draft instinct in picking players who actually make the big leagues, whether or not with the team that drafted them. It was meant to show a team's affinity to draft future NHL players. In this Red Wings draft analysis, I will use a variety of variables to measure the Wings' best and worst drafting years, namely regular season games played in the NHL, goals, assists, points, and penalty minutes. For goalies, I will use games played, career goals against average, minutes played, and save percentage (whenever possible). The save percentage statistic has only been kept since the 1976-77 season, and, even after that point, there are many missing numbers. Hockey fans generally give more credence to save percentage over goals against average. I used HockeyDB and hockeygoalies.org for my data. I also used the hockey statistics database of hockeyDB, downloadable here. My hope is to show why the Wings rank 10/31 in my overall franchise ranking: 10. Detroit Red Wings (1963-2004): 141/372 [37.9%] made NHL, 125.8 average games played [46,801 total games] - 40 draft years, 3.5 NHL players/draft - 3 Stanley Cups Red Wings Draft History 1963 2 L Pete Mahovlich - 884 games, 288 goals, 485 assists, 773 points, 916 PIM 8 Bill Cosburn - no NHL experience totals: 2 players, 884 games, 288 goals, 485 assists, 773 points, 916 PIM averages: 442 games, 144 goals, 242.5 assists, 386.5 points, 458 PIM per draftee, .87 pts/game 1964 1 Claude Gauthier - no NHL experience 7 L Brian Watts - 4 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 0 PIM 13 D Ralph Buchanan - no NHL experience 19 C Rene LeClerc - 87 games, 10 goals, 11 assists, 21 points, 105 PIM totals: 4 players, 91 games, 10 goals, 11 assists, 21 points, 105 PIM averages: 22.75 games, 2.5 goals, 2.75 assists, 5.25 points, 26.25 PIM per draftee, .23 pts/game 1965 3 George Forgie - no NHL experience 8 R Bob Birdsell - no NHL experience totals: 2 players, 0 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 0 PIM averages: 0 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 0 PIM per draftee, 0 pts/game 1966 6 R Steve Atkinson - 302 games, 60 goals, 51 assists, 111 points, 104 PIM 12 D Jim Whittaker - no NHL experience 18 D Lee Carpenter - no NHL experience 24 G Grant Cole - no NHL experience totals: 4 players, 302 games, 60 goals, 51 assists, 111 points, 104 PIM averages: 75.5 games, 15 goals, 12.75 assists, 27.75 points, 26 PIM per draftee, .37 pts/game 1967 9 Ron Barkwell - no NHL experience 17 C Al Karlander - 212 games, 36 goals, 56 assists, 92 points, 70 PIM totals: 2 players, 212 games, 36 goals, 56 assists, 92 points, 70 PIM averages: 106 games, 18 goals, 28 assists, 46 points, 35 PIM per draftee, .43 pts/game 1968 11 R Steve Andrascik - no NHL experience 17 R Herb Boxer - no NHL experience totals: 2 players, 0 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 0 PIM averages: 0 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 0 PIM per draftee, 0 pts/game 1969 10 G Jim Rutherford - 457 games, 25895 minutes, 3.65 GAA, 15 assists, 62 PIM 21 L Ron Garwasiuk - no NHL experience 33 C Wayne Hawrysh - no NHL experience 45 Wayne Chernecki - no NHL experience 57 D Wally Olds - no NHL experience totals: 5 players, 457 games, 0 goals, 15 assists, 15 points, 62 PIM, 457 goalie games, 25895 minutes, 3.65 GAA averages: 91.4 games, 0 goals, 3 assists, 3 points, 12.4 PIM per draftee, .03 pts/game 1970 12 D Serge Lajeunesse - 103 games, 1 goals, 4 assists, 5 points, 103 PIM 26 L Bob Guindon - 6 games, 0 goals, 1 assists, 1 points, 0 PIM 40 L Yvon Lambert - 683 games, 206 goals, 273 assists, 479 points, 340 PIM 54 Tom Johnston - no NHL experience 68 D Tom Mellor - 26 games, 2 goals, 4 assists, 6 points, 25 PIM 82 C Bernie MacNeil - 4 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 0 PIM 95 Ed Hays - no NHL experience totals: 7 players, 822 games, 209 goals, 282 assists, 491 points, 468 PIM averages: 117.43 games, 29.86 goals, 40.29 assists, 70.14 points, 66.86 PIM per draftee, .60 pts/game 1971 2 F Marcel Dionne - 1348 games, 731 goals, 1040 assists, 1771 points, 600 PIM 16 C Henry Boucha - 247 games, 53 goals, 49 assists, 102 points, 157 PIM 44 G George Hulme - no NHL experience 58 R Earl Anderson - 109 games, 19 goals, 19 assists, 38 points, 22 PIM 72 D Charlie Shaw - no NHL experience 86 D Jim Nahrgang - 57 games, 5 goals, 12 assists, 17 points, 34 PIM 100 D Bob Boyd - no NHL experience totals: 7 players, 1761 games, 808 goals, 1120 assists, 1928 points, 813 PIM averages: 251.57 games, 115.43 goals, 160 assists, 275.43 points, 116.14 PIM per draftee, 1.09 pts/game 1972 26 L Pierre Guite - no NHL experience 42 R Bob Krieger - no NHL experience 58 L Danny Gruen - 49 games, 9 goals, 13 assists, 22 points, 19 PIM 74 L Dennis Johnson - no NHL experience 90 Bill Miller - no NHL experience 106 G Glen Seperich - no NHL experience 122 D Mike Ford - no NHL experience 138 D George Kuzmicz - no NHL experience 150 Dave Arundel - no NHL experience totals: 9 players, 49 games, 9 goals, 13 assists, 22 points, 19 PIM averages: 5.44 games, 1 goals, 1.44 assists, 2.44 points, 2.11 PIM per draftee, .45 pts/game 1973 11 G Terry Richardson - 20 games, 906 minutes, 5.63 GAA, 1 assist, 6 PIM 39 C Nelson Pyatt - 296 games, 71 goals, 63 assists, 134 points, 69 PIM 43 F Robbie Neale - no NHL experience 59 D Mike Korney - 77 games, 9 goals, 10 assists, 19 points, 59 PIM 75 F Blair Stewart - 229 games, 34 goals, 44 assists, 78 points, 326 PIM 91 Glen Cickello - no NHL experience 107 Brian Middleton - no NHL experience 118 C Dennis Polonich - 390 games, 59 goals, 82 assists, 141 points, 1242 PIM 123 F George Lyle - 99 games, 24 goals, 38 assists, 62 points, 51 PIM 135 Dennis O'Brien - no NHL experience 138 Tom Newman - no NHL experience 139 Ray Bibeau - no NHL experience 151 G Kevin Neville - no NHL experience 154 D Ken Gibb - no NHL experience 155 Mitch Brandt - no NHL experience totals: 15 players, 1111 games, 197 goals, 238 assists, 435 points, 1753 PIM, 20 goalie games, 906 minutes, 5.63 GAA averages: 74.07 games, 13.13 goals, 15.87 assists, 29 points, 116.87 PIM per draftee, .39 pts/game 1974 9 F Bill Lochead - 330 games, 69 goals, 62 assists, 131 points, 180 PIM 44 Dan Mandryk - no NHL experience 45 L Bill Evo - no NHL experience 63 R Michel Bergeron - 229 games, 80 goals, 58 assists, 138 points, 165 PIM 81 D John Taft - 15 games, 0 goals, 2 assists, 2 points, 4 PIM 99 F Don Dufek - no NHL experience 117 F Jack Carlson - 236 games, 30 goals, 15 assists, 45 points, 417 PIM 134 D Greg Steel - no NHL experience 151 D Glen McLeod - no NHL experience totals: 9 players, 810 games, 179 goals, 137 assists, 316 points, 766 PIM averages: 90 games, 19.89 goals, 15.22 assists, 35.11 points, 85.11 PIM per draftee, .39 pts/game 1975 5 D Rick Lapointe - 664 games, 44 goals, 176 assists, 220 points, 831 PIM 23 D Jerry Rollins - no NHL experience 37 D Al Cameron - 282 games, 11 goals, 44 assists, 55 points, 356 PIM 45 Blair Davidson - no NHL experience 50 C Clark Hamilton - no NHL experience 59 D Mike Wirachowsky - no NHL experience 77 C Mike Wong - 22 games, 1 goals, 1 assists, 2 points, 12 PIM 95 D Mike Harazny - no NHL experience 113 C Jean-Luc Phaneuf - no NHL experience 131 F Steve Carlson - 52 games, 9 goals, 12 assists, 21 points, 23 PIM 148 Gary Vaughan - no NHL experience 164 Jean Thibodeau - no NHL experience 176 Dave Hanson - no NHL experience 178 Robin Larson - no NHL experience totals: 14 players, 1020 games, 65 goals, 233 assists, 298 points, 1222 PIM averages: 72.86 games, 4.64 goals, 16.64 assists, 21.29 points, 87.29 PIM per draftee, .29 pts/game 1976 4 Fred Williams - 44 games, 2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points, 10 PIM 22 D Reed Larson - 904 games, 222 goals, 463 assists, 685 points, 1391 PIM 40 C Fred Berry - 3 games, o goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 0 PIM 58 R Kevin Schamehorn - 10 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 17 PIM 76 D Dwight Schofield - 211 games, 8 goals, 22 assists, 30 points, 631 PIM 94 D Tony Horvath - no NHL experience 111 Fern LeBlanc - 34 games, 5 goals, 6 assists, 11 points, 0 PIM 120 G Claude Legris - 4 games, 91 minutes, 2.64 GAA totals: 8 players, 1210 games, 237 goals, 496 assists, 733 points, 2049 PIM, 4 goalie games, 91 minutes, 2.64 GAA averages: 151.25 games, 29.625 goals, 62 assists, 91.63 points, 256.13 PIM per draftee, .61 pts/game 1977 1 F Dale McCourt - 532 games, 194 goals, 284 assists, 478 points, 124 PIM 37 Rick Vasko - 31 games, 3 goals, 7 assists, 10 points, 29 PIM 55 D John Hilworth - 57 games, 1 goals, 1 assists, 2 points, 89 PIM 73 D Jim Korn - 596 games, 66 goals, 122 assists, 188 points, 1801 PIM 91 G Jim Baxter - no NHL experience 109 W Randy Wilson - no NHL experience 125 C Ray Roy - no NHL experience 141 C Kip Churchill - no NHL experience 155 Lance Gatoni - no NHL experience 163 C Rob Plumb - 14 games, 3 goals, 2 assists, 5 points, 2 PIM 170 Alain Belanger - no NHL experience 175 L Dean Willers - no NHL experience 178 C Roland Cloutier - 34 games, 8 goals, 9 assists, 17 points, 2 PIM 181 Ed Hill - no NHL experience 184 L Val James - 11 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 30 PIM 185 R Grant Morin - no NHL experience totals: 16 players, 1275 games, 275 goals, 425 assists, 700 points, 2077 PIM averages: 79.69 games, 17.19 goals, 26.56 assists, 43.75 points, 129.81 PIM per draftee, .55 pts/game 1978 9 D Willie Huber - 655 games, 104 goals, 217 assists, 321 points, 950 PIM 12 F Brent Peterson - 620 games, 72 goals, 141 assists, 213 points, 484 PIM 28 L Glenn Hicks - 108 games, 6 goals, 12 assists, 18 points, 127 PIM 31 G Al Jensen - 179 games, 9974 minutes, 3.35 GAA, 4 assists, 44 PIM 53 C Doug Derkson - no NHL experience 62 Bjorn Skaare - 1 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 0 PIM 78 L Ted Nolan - 78 games, 6 goals, 16 assists, 22 points, 105 PIM 95 C Sylvain Locas - no NHL experience 112 L Wes George - no NHL experience 129 D John Barrett - 488 games, 20 goals, 77 assists, 97 points, 604 PIM 146 Jim Malazdrewicz - no NHL experience 163 Geoff Shaw - no NHL experience 178 Carl Van Harrewyn - no NHL experience 194 Ladislav Svozil - no NHL experience 208 Tom Bailey - no NHL experience 219 G Larry Lozinski - 30 games, 1459 minutes, 4.32 GAA, 1 assist 224 L Randy Betty - no NHL experience 226 Brian Crawley - no NHL experience 228 Doug Feasby - no NHL experience totals: 19 players, 2159 games, 208 goals, 468 assists, 676 points, 2314 PIM, 209 goalie games, 11433 minutes, 3.35 + 4.32 GAA averages: 113.63 games, 10.95 goals, 24.63 assists, 35.58 points, 121.79 PIM per draftee, .31 pts/game 1979 3 F Mike Foligno - 1018 games, 355 goals, 372 assists, 727 points, 2049 PIM 45 R Jody Gage - 68 games, 14 goals, 15 assists, 29 points, 26 PIM 46 Boris Fistric - no NHL experience 66 F John Ogrodnick - 928 games, 402 goals, 425 assists, 827 points, 260 PIM 87 L Joe Paterson - 291 games, 19 goals, 37 assists, 56 points, 831 PIM 108 L Carmine Cirella - no NHL experience totals: 6 players, 2305 games, 790 goals, 849 assists, 1639 points, 3166 PIM averages: 384.17 games, 131.67 goals, 141.5 assists, 273.17 points, 527.67 PIM per draftee, .71 pts/game 1980 11 R Mike Blaisdell - 343 games, 70 goals, 84 assists, 154 points, 166 PIM 46 L Mark Osborne - 919 games, 212 goals, 320 assists, 532 points, 1152 PIM 88 Mike Corrigan - no NHL experience 109 C Wayne Crawford - no NHL experience 130 Mike Braun - no NHL experience 151 D John Beukeboom - no NHL experience 172 Dave Miles - no NHL experience 193 R Brian Rorabeck - no NHL experience totals: 8 players, 1262 games, 282 goals, 404 assists, 686 points, 1318 PIM averages: 157.75 games, 35.25 goals, 50.5 assists, 85.75 points, 164.75 PIM per draftee, .54 pts/game 1981 23 F Claude Loiselle - 616 games, 92 goals, 117 assists, 209 points, 1149 PIM 44 G Corrado Micalef - 113 games, 5794 minutes, 4.24 GAA, 6 assists, 43 PIM 86 D Larry Trader - 91 games, 5 goals, 13 assists, 18 points, 74 PIM 107 L Gerard Gallant - 615 games, 211 goals, 269 assists, 480 points, 1677 PIM 128 G Greg Stefan - 299 games, 16333 minutes, 3.92 GAA, 15 assists, 200 PIM 149 D Rick Zombo - 652 games, 24 goals, 130 assists, 154 points, 728 PIM 170 Don Leblanc - no NHL experience 191 D Robert Nordmark - 236 games, 13 goals, 70 assists, 83 points, 254 PIM totals: 8 players, 2622 games, 345 goals, 614 assists, 959 points, 4082 PIM, 412 goalie games, 22127 minutes, 4.24 + 3.92 GAA averages: 327.75 games, 43.13 goals, 76.75 assists, 119.88 points, 510.25 PIM per draftee, .37 pts/game 1982 17 L Murray Craven - 1071 games, 266 goals, 493 assists, 759 points, 524 PIM 23 R Yves Courteau - 22 games, 2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points, 4 PIM 44 F Carmine Vani - no NHL experience 66 C Craig Coxe - 235 games, 14 goals, 31 assists, 45 points, 713 PIM 86 D Brad Shaw - 377 games, 22 goals, 137 assists, 159 points, 208 PIM 107 R Claude Vilgrain - 89 games, 21 goals, 32 assists, 53 points, 78 PIM 128 Greg Hudas - no NHL experience 149 Pat Lahey - no NHL experience 170 Gary Cullen - no NHL experience 191 Brent Meckling - no NHL experience 212 F Mike Stern - no NHL experience 233 Shaun Reagan - no NHL experience totals: 12 players, 1794 games, 325 goals, 698 assists, 1023 points, 1527 PIM averages: 149.5 games, 27.08 goals, 58.17 assists, 85.25 points, 127.25 PIM per draftee, .57 pts/game 1983 4 C Steve Yzerman - 1453 games, 678 goals, 1043 assists, 1721 points, 906 PIM 25 R Lane Lambert - 283 games, 58 goals, 67 assists, 125 points, 521 PIM 46 L Bob Probert - 935 games, 163 goals, 221 assists, 384 points, 3300 PIM 68 D Dave Korol - no NHL experience 86 L Petr Klima - 786 games, 313 goals, 260 assists, 573 points, 671 PIM 88 R Joey Kocur - 820 games, 80 goals, 82 assists, 162 points, 2519 PIM 106 G Chris Pusey - 1 games, 40 minutes, 4.50 GAA 126 Bob Pierson - no NHL experience 146 Craig Butz - no NHL experience 166 D Dave Sikorski - no NHL experience 186 L Stu Grimson - 729 games, 17 goals, 22 assists, 39 points, 2113 PIM 206 Jeff Frank - no NHL experience 226 Chuck Chiatto - no NHL experience totals: 13 players, 5007 games, 1309 goals, 1695 assists, 3004 points, 10030 PIM, 1 goalie games, 40 minutes, 4.50 GAA averages: 385.15 games, 100.69 goals, 130.38 assists, 231.08 points, 771.54 PIM per draftee, .60 pts/game 1984 7 L Shawn Burr - 878 games, 181 goals, 259 assists, 440 points, 1069 PIM 28 D Doug Houda - 561 games, 19 goals, 63 assists, 82 points, 1104 PIM 49 D Milan Chalupa - 12 games, 0 goals, 5 assists, 5 points, 6 PIM 91 F Mats Lundstrom - no NHL experience 112 G Randy Hansch - no NHL experience 133 D Stefan Larsson - no NHL experience 152 F Lars Karlsson - no NHL experience 154 F Urban Nordin - no NHL experience 175 F Bill Shibicky - no NHL experience 195 D Jay Rose - no NHL experience 216 F Tim Kaiser - no NHL experience 236 F Tom Nickolau - no NHL experience totals: 12 players, 1451 games, 200 goals, 327 assists, 527 points, 2179 PIM averages: 120.92 games, 16.67 goals, 27.25 assists, 43.92 points, 181.58 PIM per draftee, .36 pts/game 1985 8 R Brent Fedyk - 470 games, 97 goals, 112 assists, 209 points, 308 PIM 29 D Jeff Sharples - 105 games, 14 goals, 35 assists, 49 points, 70 PIM 50 D Steve Chiasson - 751 games, 93 goals, 305 assists, 398 points, 1107 PIM 71 G Mark Gowens - no NHL experience 92 D Chris Luongo - 218 games, 8 goals, 23 assists, 31 points, 176 PIM 113 R Randy McKay - 932 games, 162 goals, 201 assists, 363 points, 1731 PIM 134 Thomas Bjuhr - no NHL experience 155 Mike Luckraft - no NHL experience 176 D Rob Schena - no NHL experience 197 D Erik Hamalainen - no NHL experience 218 C Bo Svanberg - no NHL experience 239 D Mikael Lindman - no NHL experience totals: 12 players, 2476 games, 374 goals, 676 assists, 1050 points, 3392 PIM averages: 206.33 games, 31.17 goals, 56.33 assists, 87.5 points, 282.67 PIM per draftee, .42 pts/game 1986 1 R Joe Murphy - 779 games, 233 goals, 295 assists, 528 points, 810 PIM 22 L Adam Graves - 1152 games, 329 goals, 287 assists, 616 points, 1224 PIM 43 D Derek Mayer - 17 games, 2 goals, 2 assists, 4 points, 8 PIM 64 G Tim Cheveldae - 340 games, 19171 minutes, 3.49 GAA, .883 SV%, 16 assists, 18 PIM 85 L Johan Garpenlov - 609 games, 114 goals, 196 assists, 310 points, 276 PIM 106 Jay Stark - no NHL experience 127 D Par Djoos - 82 games, 2 goals, 31 assists, 33 points, 58 PIM 148 D Dean Morton - 1 games, 1 goals, 0 assists, 1 points, 2 PIM 169 R Marc Potvin - 121 games, 3 goals, 5 assists, 8 points, 456 PIM 190 G Scott King - 2 games, 61 minutes, 2.95 GAA, .813 SV%, 211 L Tom Bissett - 5 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 0 PIM 232 Peter Ekroth - no NHL experience totals: 12 players, 3108 games, 684 goals, 832 assists, 1516 points, 2852 PIM, 342 goalie games, 19232 minutes, 3.49 + 2.95 GAA, .883 + .813 SV% averages: 259 games, 57 goals, 69.33 assists, 126.33 points, 237.67 PIM per draftee, .49 pts/game 1987 11 D Yves Racine - 508 games, 37 goals, 194 assists, 231 points, 439 PIM 32 D Gord Kruppke - 23 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 32 PIM 41 D Bob Wilkie - 18 games, 2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points, 10 PIM 52 C Dennis Holland - no NHL experience 74 G Mark Reimer - no NHL experience 95 Radomir Brazda - no NHL experience 116 Sean Clifford - no NHL experience 137 L Mike Gober - no NHL experience 158 L Kevin Scott - no NHL experience 179 Mikko Haapakoski - no NHL experience 200 D Darin Banister - no NHL experience 221 Craig Quinlan - no NHL experience 242 Tomas Jansson - no NHL experience totals: 13 players, 549 games, 39 goals, 199 assists, 238 points, 481 PIM averages: 42.23 games, 3 goals, 15.31 assists, 18.31 points, 37 PIM per draftee, .43 pts/game 1988 17 R Kory Kocur - no NHL experience 38 D Serge Anglehart - no NHL experience 47 D Guy Dupuis - no NHL experience 59 R Petr Hrbek - no NHL experience 80 R Sheldon Kennedy - 310 games, 49 goals, 58 assists, 107 points, 233 PIM 143 R Kelly Hurd - no NHL experience 164 Brian McCormack - no NHL experience 185 D Jody Praznik - no NHL experience 206 C Glen Goodall - no NHL experience 227 R Darren Colbourne - no NHL experience 248 C Don Stone - no NHL experience totals: 11 players, 310 games, 49 goals, 58 assists, 107 points, 233 PIM averages: 28.18 games, 4.45 goals, 5.27 assists, 9.73 points, 21.18 PIM per draftee, .35 pts/game 1989 11 C Mike Sillinger - 829 games, 166 goals, 232 assists, 398 points, 507 PIM 32 D Bob Boughner - 589 games, 14 goals, 51 assists, 65 points, 1328 PIM 53 D Nicklas Lidstrom - 1016 games, 173 goals, 553 assists, 726 points, 276 PIM 74 C Sergei Fedorov - 988 games, 431 goals, 588 assists, 1019 points, 629 PIM 95 C Shawn McCosh - 9 games, 1 goals, 0 assists, 1 points, 6 PIM 116 R Dallas Drake - 822 games, 166 goals, 267 assists, 433 points, 747 PIM 137 D Scott Zygulski - no NHL experience 158 D Andy Suhy - no NHL experience 179 Bob Jones - no NHL experience 200 D Greg Bignell - no NHL experience 204 L Rick Judson - no NHL experience 221 D Vladimir Konstantinov - 446 games, 47 goals, 127 assists, 174 points, 838 PIM 242 R Joe Frederick - no NHL experience 246 G Jason Glickman - no NHL experience totals: 14 players, 4699 games, 998 goals, 1818 assists, 2816 points, 4331 PIM averages: 335.64 games, 71.29 goals, 129.86 assists, 201.14 points, 309.36 PIM per draftee, .60 pts/game 1990 3 C Keith Primeau - 900 games, 265 goals, 347 assists, 612 points, 1535 PIM 45 L Vyacheslav Kozlov - 800 games, 252 goals, 307 assists, 559 points, 532 PIM 66 D Stewart Malgunas - 129 games, 1 goals, 5 assists, 6 points, 144 PIM 87 D Tony Burns - no NHL experience 108 D Claude Barthe - no NHL experience 129 D Jason York - 708 games, 41 goals, 180 assists, 221 points, 589 PIM 150 D Wes McCauley - no NHL experience 171 F Tony Gruba - no NHL experience 192 D Travis Tucker - no NHL experience 213 D Brett Larson - no NHL experience 234 L John Hendry - no NHL experience totals: 11 players, 2537 games, 559 goals, 839 assists, 1398 points, 2800 PIM averages: 230.64 games, 50.82 goals, 76.27 assists, 127.09 points, 254.54 PIM per draftee, .55 pts/game 1991 10 R Martin Lapointe - 757 games, 148 goals, 165 assists, 313 points, 1143 PIM 32 D Jamie Pushor - 517 games, 13 goals, 44 assists, 57 points, 648 PIM 54 G Chris Osgood - 568 games, 32604 minutes, 2.44 GAA, .907 SV%, 1 goal, 12 assists, 111 PIM 76 R Mike Knuble - 510 games, 101 goals, 107 assists, 208 points, 224 PIM 98 D Dmitri Motkov - no NHL experience 142 D Igor Malykhin - no NHL experience 186 C Jim Bermingham - no NHL experience 208 C Jason Firth - no NHL experience 230 Bart Turner - no NHL experience 252 C Andrew Miller - no NHL experience totals: 10 players, 2352 games, 263 goals, 328 assists, 591 points, 2126 PIM, 568 goalie games, 32604 minutes, 2.44 GAA, .907 SV% averages: 235.2 games, 26.3 goals, 32.8 assists, 59.1 points, 212.6 PIM per draftee, .25 pts/game 1992 22 L Curtis Bowen - no NHL experience 46 R Darren McCarty - 643 games, 119 goals, 154 assists, 273 points, 1275 PIM 70 C Sylvain Cloutier - 7 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 0 PIM 118 C Mike Sullivan - no NHL experience 142 R Jason MacDonald - 4 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 19 PIM 166 G Greg Scott - no NHL experience 183 D Justin Krall - no NHL experience 189 G C.J. Denomme - no NHL experience 214 Jeff Walker - no NHL experience 238 D Dan McGillis - 607 games, 56 goals, 176 assists, 232 points, 534 PIM 262 G Ryan Bach - 3 games, 108 minutes, 4.44 GAA, .879 SV% totals: 11 players, 1264 games, 175 goals, 330 assists, 505 points, 1828 PIM, 3 goalie games, 108 minutes, 4.44 GAA, .879 SV% averages: 114.91 games, 15.91 goals, 30 assists, 45.91 points, 166.18 PIM per draftee, .40 pts/game 1993 22 D Anders Eriksson - 412 games, 21 goals, 109 assists, 130 points, 158 PIM 48 D Jon Coleman - no NHL experience 74 C Kevin Hilton - no NHL experience 97 D John Jakopin - 113 games, 1 goals, 6 assists, 7 points, 145 PIM 100 D Benoit Larose - no NHL experience 126 G Norm Maracle - 66 games, 3430 minutes, 3.10 GAA, .897 SV% 152 Tim Spitzig - no NHL experience 178 D Yuri Yuresko - no NHL experience 204 D Vitezslav Skuta - no NHL experience 230 R Ryan Shanahan - no NHL experience 256 G Jamie Kosecki - no NHL experience 282 L Gordy Hunt - no NHL experience totals: 12 players, 591 games, 22 goals, 115 assists, 137 points, 303 PIM, 66 goalie games, 3430 minutes, 3.10 GAA, .897 SV% averages: 49.25 games, 1.83 goals, 9.58 assists, 11.42 points, 25.25 PIM per draftee, .23 pts/game 1994 23 D Yan Golubovsky - 56 games, 1 goals, 7 assists, 8 points, 32 PIM 49 R Mathieu Dandenault - 616 games, 48 goals, 101 assists, 149 points, 342 PIM 75 D Sean Gillam - no NHL experience 114 G Frederic Deschenes - no NHL experience 127 D Doug Battaglia - no NHL experience 153 F Pavel Agarkov - no NHL experience 205 G Jason Elliott - no NHL experience 231 C Jeff Mikesch - no NHL experience 257 L Tomas Holmstrom - 541 games, 96 goals, 140 assists, 236 points, 387 PIM 283 L Toivo Suursoo - no NHL experience totals: 10 players, 1213 games, 145 goals, 248 assists, 393 points, 761 PIM averages: 121.3 games, 14.5 goals, 24.8 assists, 39.3 points, 76.1 PIM per draftee, .32 pts/game 1995 26 D Maxim Kuznetsov - 136 games, 2 goals, 8 assists, 10 points, 137 PIM 52 L Philippe Audet - 4 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 0 PIM 58 C Darryl Laplante - 35 games, 0 goals, 6 assists, 6 points, 10 PIM 104 F Anatoly Ustyugov - no NHL experience 125 D Chad Wilchynski - no NHL experience 126 G Dave Arsenault - no NHL experience 156 C Tyler Perry - no NHL experience 182 R Per Eklund - no NHL experience 208 F Andrei Samokhvalov - no NHL experience 234 L David Engblom - no NHL experience totals: 10 players, 175 games, 2 goals, 14 assists, 16 points, 147 PIM averages: 17.5 games, .2 goals, 1.4 assists, 1.6 points, 14.7 PIM per draftee, .09 pts/game 1996 26 D Jesse Wallin - 49 games, 0 goals, 2 assists, 2 points, 34 PIM 52 G Aren Miller - no NHL experience 108 L Johan Forsander - no NHL experience 135 G Michal Podolka - no NHL experience 144 L Magnus Nilsson - no NHL experience 162 R Alexandre Jacques - no NHL experience 189 C Colin Beardsmore - no NHL experience 215 R Craig Stahl - no NHL experience 241 Evgeny Afanasiev no NHL experience totals: 9 players, 49 games, 0 goals, 2 assists, 2 points, 34 PIM averages: 5.44 games, 0 goals, .22 assists, .22 points, 3.78 PIM per draftee, .04 pts/game 1997 49 L Yuri Butsayev - 99 games, 10 goals, 4 assists, 14 points, 28 PIM 76 C Petr Sykora - 2 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 0 PIM 102 L Quintin Laing - 3 games, 0 goals, 1 assists, 1 points, 0 PIM 129 D John Wikstrom - no NHL experience 157 R B.J. Young - 1 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 0 PIM 186 Mike Laceby - no NHL experience 213 Steve Wilejto - no NHL experience 239 D Greg Willers - no NHL experience totals: 8 players, 105 games, 10 goals, 5 assists, 15 points, 28 PIM averages: 13.13 games, 1.25 goals, .63 assists, 1.88 points, 3.5 PIM per draftee, .14 pts/game 1998 25 D Jiri Fischer - 283 games, 8 goals, 44 assists, 52 points, 262 PIM 55 L Ryan Barnes - 2 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 0 PIM 56 L Tomek Valtonen - no NHL experience 84 G Jake McCracken - no NHL experience 111 L Brent Hobday - no NHL experience 142 L Calle Steen - no NHL experience 151 L Adam DeLeeuw - no NHL experience 171 C Pavel Datsyuk - 209 games, 53 goals, 101 assists, 154 points, 55 PIM 198 D Jeremy Goetzinger - no NHL experience 226 D David Petrasek - no NHL experience 256 Petja Pietilainen - no NHL experience totals: 11 players, 494 games, 61 goals, 145 assists, 206 points, 317 PIM averages: 44.91 games, 5.55 goals, 13.18 assists, 18.73 points, 28.82 PIM per draftee, .42 pts/game 1999 120 L Jari Tolsa - no NHL experience 149 Andrei Maximenko - no NHL experience 181 R Kent McDonell - 32 games, 1 goals, 2 assists, 3 points, 36 PIM 210 L Henrik Zetterberg - 140 games, 37 goals, 50 assists, 87 points, 22 PIM 238 L Anton Borodkin - no NHL experience 266 R Ken Davis - no NHL experience totals: 6 players, 172 games, 38 goals, 52 assists, 90 points, 58 PIM averages: 28.67 games, 6.33 goals, 8.67 assists, 15 points, 9.67 PIM per draftee, .52 pts/game 2000 29 D Niklas Kronwall - 20 games, 1 goals, 4 assists, 5 points, 16 PIM 38 C Tomas Kopecky - no NHL experience 102 G Stefan Liv - no NHL experience 127 Dmitri Semenov - no NHL experience 128 D Alexander Seluyanov - no NHL experience 130 R Aaron Van Leusen - no NHL experience 187 C Par Backer - no NHL experience 196 D Paul Ballantyne - no NHL experience 228 Jimmie Svensson - no NHL experience 251 F Todd Jackson - no NHL experience 260 Evgeni Bumagin - no NHL experience totals: 11 players, 20 games, 1 goals, 4 assists, 5 points, 16 PIM averages: 1.82 games, .09 goals, .36 assists, .45 points, 1.45 PIM per draftee, .25 pts/game 2001 62 Igor Grigorenko - no NHL experience 121 G Drew MacIntyre - no NHL experience 129 D Miroslav Blatak - no NHL experience 157 R Andreas Jamtin - no NHL experience 195 G Nick Pannoni - no NHL experience 258 D Dmitry Bykov - 71 games, 2 goals, 10 assists, 12 points, 43 PIM 288 D Francois Senez - no NHL experience totals: 7 players, 71 games, 2 goals, 10 assists, 12 points, 43 PIM averages: 10.14 games, .29 goals, 1.43 assists, 1.71 points, 6.14 PIM per draftee, .17 pts/game 2002 58 C Jiri Hudler - 12 games, 1 goals, 2 assists, 3 points, 10 PIM 63 C Tomas Fleischmann - no NHL experience 95 Valtteri Filppula - no NHL experience 131 D Johan Berggren - no NHL experience 166 G Logan Koopmans - no NHL experience 197 C Jimmy Cuddihy - no NHL experience 229 L Derek Meech - no NHL experience 260 D Pierre-Olivier Beaulie - no NHL experience 262 L Christian Soderstrom - no NHL experience 291 D Jonathan Ericsson - no NHL experience totals: 10 players, 12 games, 1 goals, 2 assists, 3 points, 10 PIM averages: 1.2 games, .1 goals, .2 assists, .3 points, 1 PIM per draftee, .25 pts/game 2003 64 G Jim Howard - no NHL experience 132 D Kyle Quincey - no NHL experience 164 C Ryan Oulahen - no NHL experience 170 R Andreas Sundin - no NHL experience 194 Stefan Blom - no NHL experience 226 L Tomas Kollar - no NHL experience 258 L Vladimir Kutny - no NHL experience 289 Mikael Johansson - no NHL experience totals: 8 players, 0 games 2004 97 C Johan Franzen - no NHL experience 128 C Evan McGrath - no NHL experience 151 D Siarhei Kolasau - no NHL experience 162 C Tyler Haskins - no NHL experience 192 L Anton Axelsson - no NHL experience 226 R Steve Covington - no NHL experience 257 R Gennady Stolyarov - no NHL experience 290 D Nils Backstrom - no NHL experience totals: 8 players, 0 games Totals *Note: Statistics are not counting 2003, 2004 drafts unless otherwise noted. Draftees: 372 (1963-2002), 388 (1963-2004) NHL Players: 141/372 [37.9%] Games: 46,801 (125.8 average games played/draftee) Goals: 9255 (24.88 goals/draftee, 231.38 goals/draft) Assists: 14300 (38.44 assists/draftee, 357.5 assists/draft) Points: 23555 (63.32 points/draftee, 588.88 points/draft, .5 pts/game) PIM: 54296 (145.96 PIM/draftee, 1357.4 PIM/draftee) Total Red Wings Games (1963-2004): 58713 (79.7% via draft) Total Red Wings Goals (1963-2004): 10730 (86.3% via draft) Total Red Wings Assists (1963-2004): 17733 (80.6% via draft) Total Red Wings Points (1963-2004): 28463 (82.8% via draft) Total Red Wings PIM (1963-2004): 55446 (97.9% via draft) Total Red Wings +/- (1963-2004): +4789 Total Red Wings Powerplay goals (1963-2004): 2586 Total Red Wings Shorthanded goals (1963-2004): 429 Total Red Wings Shots (1963-2003): 89787 Total Red Wings Goal Percentage (1963-2003): 12.0% Goalies Drafted: 34 Goalies Made NHL: 13 (38.24% of drafted goalies made NHL) Goalie Games: 2082 (4.45% of total draftee games) Minutes: 115866 (3407 minutes/drafted goalie, 8912 minutes/NHL goalie) GAA: 48.67/13 = 3.74 SV%: (N/A: only viable statistic since 1976-77 season) Rankings (1963-2002): 10/31 Franchise, 15/41 Clubs, 11/21 Vintage, 5/6 Original Six Years (1963-2002): 40, 3.5 NHL players/draft Stanley Cups: 3 Diamonds in the Rough To be considered a diamond in the rough, the player must be picked in the second half of their respective draft and produce commendable numbers. Note: they don't have to necessarily be a superstar to be considered a "diamond." For example, they could be a 10 karat diamond, a 100 karat diamond, or somewhere in between: 1973: 118 C Dennis Polonich - 390 games, 59 goals, 82 assists, 141 points, 1242 PIM 1978: 129 D John Barrett - 488 games, 20 goals, 77 assists, 97 points, 604 PIM 1981: 128 G Greg Stefan - 299 games, 16333 minutes, 3.92 GAA, 15 assists, 200 PIM 149 D Rick Zombo - 652 games, 24 goals, 130 assists, 154 points, 728 PIM 191 D Robert Nordmark - 236 games, 13 goals, 70 assists, 83 points, 254 PIM 1983: 186 L Stu Grimson - 729 games, 17 goals, 22 assists, 39 points, 2113 PIM 1989: 221 D Vladimir Konstantinov - 446 games, 47 goals, 127 assists, 174 points, 838 PIM 1990: 129 D Jason York - 708 games, 41 goals, 180 assists, 221 points, 589 PIM 1992: 238 D Dan McGillis - 607 games, 56 goals, 176 assists, 232 points, 534 PIM 1994: 257 L Tomas Holmstrom - 541 games, 96 goals, 140 assists, 236 points, 387 PIM 1998: 171 C Pavel Datsyuk - 209 games, 53 goals, 101 assists, 154 points, 55 PIM 1999: 210 L Henrik Zetterberg - 140 games, 37 goals, 50 assists, 87 points, 22 PIM Bombs The players that turn out to be busts when picked early in the draft shall be named in this section. I won't go through the first half of the draft and name every player who never made the NHL. Rather, I will pick the most notable disappointments, in the range of picks 1-35: 1964: 1 Claude Gauthier - no NHL experience 1970: 26 L Bob Guindon - 6 games, 0 goals, 1 assists, 1 points, 0 PIM 1972: 26 L Pierre Guite - no NHL experience 1973: 11 G Terry Richardson - 20 games, 906 minutes, 5.63 GAA, 1 assist, 6 PIM 1976: 4 Fred Williams - 44 games, 2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points, 10 PIM 1982: 23 R Yves Courteau - 22 games, 2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points, 4 PIM 1987: 32 D Gord Kruppke - 23 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 32 PIM 1988: 17 R Kory Kocur - no NHL experience 1992: 22 L Curtis Bowen - no NHL experience Best Draft Years In chronological order, these are the 10 best drafts the Wings have had: 1971 2 F Marcel Dionne - 1348 games, 731 goals, 1040 assists, 1771 points, 600 PIM 16 C Henry Boucha - 247 games, 53 goals, 49 assists, 102 points, 157 PIM 44 G George Hulme - no NHL experience 58 R Earl Anderson - 109 games, 19 goals, 19 assists, 38 points, 22 PIM 72 D Charlie Shaw - no NHL experience 86 D Jim Nahrgang - 57 games, 5 goals, 12 assists, 17 points, 34 PIM 100 D Bob Boyd - no NHL experience totals: 7 players, 1761 games, 808 goals, 1120 assists, 1928 points, 813 PIM averages: 251.57 games, 115.43 goals, 160 assists, 275.43 points, 116.14 PIM per draftee, 1.09 pts/game 1978 9 D Willie Huber - 655 games, 104 goals, 217 assists, 321 points, 950 PIM 12 F Brent Peterson - 620 games, 72 goals, 141 assists, 213 points, 484 PIM 28 L Glenn Hicks - 108 games, 6 goals, 12 assists, 18 points, 127 PIM 31 G Al Jensen - 179 games, 9974 minutes, 3.35 GAA, 4 assists, 44 PIM 53 C Doug Derkson - no NHL experience 62 Bjorn Skaare - 1 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 0 PIM 78 L Ted Nolan - 78 games, 6 goals, 16 assists, 22 points, 105 PIM 95 C Sylvain Locas - no NHL experience 112 L Wes George - no NHL experience 129 D John Barrett - 488 games, 20 goals, 77 assists, 97 points, 604 PIM 146 Jim Malazdrewicz - no NHL experience 163 Geoff Shaw - no NHL experience 178 Carl Van Harrewyn - no NHL experience 194 Ladislav Svozil - no NHL experience 208 Tom Bailey - no NHL experience 219 G Larry Lozinski - 30 games, 1459 minutes, 4.32 GAA, 1 assist 224 L Randy Betty - no NHL experience 226 Brian Crawley - no NHL experience 228 Doug Feasby - no NHL experience totals: 19 players, 2159 games, 208 goals, 468 assists, 676 points, 2314 PIM, 209 goalie games, 11433 minutes, 3.35 + 4.32 GAA averages: 113.63 games, 10.95 goals, 24.63 assists, 35.58 points, 121.79 PIM per draftee, .31 pts/game 1979 3 F Mike Foligno - 1018 games, 355 goals, 372 assists, 727 points, 2049 PIM 45 R Jody Gage - 68 games, 14 goals, 15 assists, 29 points, 26 PIM 46 Boris Fistric - no NHL experience 66 F John Ogrodnick - 928 games, 402 goals, 425 assists, 827 points, 260 PIM 87 L Joe Paterson - 291 games, 19 goals, 37 assists, 56 points, 831 PIM 108 L Carmine Cirella - no NHL experience totals: 6 players, 2305 games, 790 goals, 849 assists, 1639 points, 3166 PIM averages: 384.17 games, 131.67 goals, 141.5 assists, 273.17 points, 527.67 PIM per draftee, .71 pts/game 1981 23 F Claude Loiselle - 616 games, 92 goals, 117 assists, 209 points, 1149 PIM 44 G Corrado Micalef - 113 games, 5794 minutes, 4.24 GAA, 6 assists, 43 PIM 86 D Larry Trader - 91 games, 5 goals, 13 assists, 18 points, 74 PIM 107 L Gerard Gallant - 615 games, 211 goals, 269 assists, 480 points, 1677 PIM 128 G Greg Stefan - 299 games, 16333 minutes, 3.92 GAA, 15 assists, 200 PIM 149 D Rick Zombo - 652 games, 24 goals, 130 assists, 154 points, 728 PIM 170 Don Leblanc - no NHL experience 191 D Robert Nordmark - 236 games, 13 goals, 70 assists, 83 points, 254 PIM totals: 8 players, 2622 games, 345 goals, 614 assists, 959 points, 4082 PIM, 412 goalie games, 22127 minutes, 4.24 + 3.92 GAA averages: 327.75 games, 43.13 goals, 76.75 assists, 119.88 points, 510.25 PIM per draftee, .37 pts/game 1983 4 C Steve Yzerman - 1453 games, 678 goals, 1043 assists, 1721 points, 906 PIM 25 R Lane Lambert - 283 games, 58 goals, 67 assists, 125 points, 521 PIM 46 L Bob Probert - 935 games, 163 goals, 221 assists, 384 points, 3300 PIM 68 D Dave Korol - no NHL experience 86 L Petr Klima - 786 games, 313 goals, 260 assists, 573 points, 671 PIM 88 R Joey Kocur - 820 games, 80 goals, 82 assists, 162 points, 2519 PIM 106 G Chris Pusey - 1 games, 40 minutes, 4.50 GAA 126 Bob Pierson - no NHL experience 146 Craig Butz - no NHL experience 166 D Dave Sikorski - no NHL experience 186 L Stu Grimson - 729 games, 17 goals, 22 assists, 39 points, 2113 PIM 206 Jeff Frank - no NHL experience 226 Chuck Chiatto - no NHL experience totals: 13 players, 5007 games, 1309 goals, 1695 assists, 3004 points, 10030 PIM, 1 goalie games, 40 minutes, 4.50 GAA averages: 385.15 games, 100.69 goals, 130.38 assists, 231.08 points, 771.54 PIM per draftee, .60 pts/game 1985 8 R Brent Fedyk - 470 games, 97 goals, 112 assists, 209 points, 308 PIM 29 D Jeff Sharples - 105 games, 14 goals, 35 assists, 49 points, 70 PIM 50 D Steve Chiasson - 751 games, 93 goals, 305 assists, 398 points, 1107 PIM 71 G Mark Gowens - no NHL experience 92 D Chris Luongo - 218 games, 8 goals, 23 assists, 31 points, 176 PIM 113 R Randy McKay - 932 games, 162 goals, 201 assists, 363 points, 1731 PIM 134 Thomas Bjuhr - no NHL experience 155 Mike Luckraft - no NHL experience 176 D Rob Schena - no NHL experience 197 D Erik Hamalainen - no NHL experience 218 C Bo Svanberg - no NHL experience 239 D Mikael Lindman - no NHL experience totals: 12 players, 2476 games, 374 goals, 676 assists, 1050 points, 3392 PIM averages: 206.33 games, 31.17 goals, 56.33 assists, 87.5 points, 282.67 PIM per draftee, .42 pts/game 1986 1 R Joe Murphy - 779 games, 233 goals, 295 assists, 528 points, 810 PIM 22 L Adam Graves - 1152 games, 329 goals, 287 assists, 616 points, 1224 PIM 43 D Derek Mayer - 17 games, 2 goals, 2 assists, 4 points, 8 PIM 64 G Tim Cheveldae - 340 games, 19171 minutes, 3.49 GAA, .883 SV%, 16 assists, 18 PIM 85 L Johan Garpenlov - 609 games, 114 goals, 196 assists, 310 points, 276 PIM 106 Jay Stark - no NHL experience 127 D Par Djoos - 82 games, 2 goals, 31 assists, 33 points, 58 PIM 148 D Dean Morton - 1 games, 1 goals, 0 assists, 1 points, 2 PIM 169 R Marc Potvin - 121 games, 3 goals, 5 assists, 8 points, 456 PIM 190 G Scott King - 2 games, 61 minutes, 2.95 GAA, .813 SV% 211 L Tom Bissett - 5 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 0 PIM 232 Peter Ekroth - no NHL experience totals: 12 players, 3108 games, 684 goals, 832 assists, 1516 points, 2852 PIM, 342 goalie games, 19232 minutes, 3.49 + 2.95 GAA, .883 + .813 SV% averages: 259 games, 57 goals, 69.33 assists, 126.33 points, 237.67 PIM per draftee, .49 pts/game 1989 11 C Mike Sillinger - 829 games, 166 goals, 232 assists, 398 points, 507 PIM 32 D Bob Boughner - 589 games, 14 goals, 51 assists, 65 points, 1328 PIM 53 D Nicklas Lidstrom - 1016 games, 173 goals, 553 assists, 726 points, 276 PIM 74 C Sergei Fedorov - 988 games, 431 goals, 588 assists, 1019 points, 629 PIM 95 C Shawn McCosh - 9 games, 1 goals, 0 assists, 1 points, 6 PIM 116 R Dallas Drake - 822 games, 166 goals, 267 assists, 433 points, 747 PIM 137 D Scott Zygulski - no NHL experience 158 D Andy Suhy - no NHL experience 179 Bob Jones - no NHL experience 200 D Greg Bignell - no NHL experience 204 L Rick Judson - no NHL experience 221 D Vladimir Konstantinov - 446 games, 47 goals, 127 assists, 174 points, 838 PIM 242 R Joe Frederick - no NHL experience 246 G Jason Glickman - no NHL experience totals: 14 players, 4699 games, 998 goals, 1818 assists, 2816 points, 4331 PIM averages: 335.64 games, 71.29 goals, 129.86 assists, 201.14 points, 309.36 PIM per draftee, .60 pts/game 1990 3 C Keith Primeau - 900 games, 265 goals, 347 assists, 612 points, 1535 PIM 45 L Vyacheslav Kozlov - 800 games, 252 goals, 307 assists, 559 points, 532 PIM 66 D Stewart Malgunas - 129 games, 1 goals, 5 assists, 6 points, 144 PIM 87 D Tony Burns - no NHL experience 108 D Claude Barthe - no NHL experience 129 D Jason York - 708 games, 41 goals, 180 assists, 221 points, 589 PIM 150 D Wes McCauley - no NHL experience 171 F Tony Gruba - no NHL experience 192 D Travis Tucker - no NHL experience 213 D Brett Larson - no NHL experience 234 L John Hendry - no NHL experience totals: 11 players, 2537 games, 559 goals, 839 assists, 1398 points, 2800 PIM averages: 230.64 games, 50.82 goals, 76.27 assists, 127.09 points, 254.54 PIM per draftee, .55 pts/game 1991 10 R Martin Lapointe - 757 games, 148 goals, 165 assists, 313 points, 1143 PIM 32 D Jamie Pushor - 517 games, 13 goals, 44 assists, 57 points, 648 PIM 54 G Chris Osgood - 568 games, 32604 minutes, 2.44 GAA, .907 SV%, 1 goal, 12 assists, 111 PIM 76 R Mike Knuble - 510 games, 101 goals, 107 assists, 208 points, 224 PIM 98 D Dmitri Motkov - no NHL experience 142 D Igor Malykhin - no NHL experience 186 C Jim Bermingham - no NHL experience 208 C Jason Firth - no NHL experience 230 Bart Turner - no NHL experience 252 C Andrew Miller - no NHL experience totals: 10 players, 2352 games, 263 goals, 328 assists, 591 points, 2126 PIM, 568 goalie games, 32604 minutes, 2.44 GAA, .907 SV% averages: 235.2 games, 26.3 goals, 32.8 assists, 59.1 points, 212.6 PIM per draftee, .25 pts/game Worst Draft Years These are the most notable bad drafts the Wings have had: 1972 26 L Pierre Guite - no NHL experience 42 R Bob Krieger - no NHL experience 58 L Danny Gruen - 49 games, 9 goals, 13 assists, 22 points, 19 PIM 74 L Dennis Johnson - no NHL experience 90 Bill Miller - no NHL experience 106 G Glen Seperich - no NHL experience 122 D Mike Ford - no NHL experience 138 D George Kuzmicz - no NHL experience 150 Dave Arundel - no NHL experience totals: 9 players, 49 games, 9 goals, 13 assists, 22 points, 19 PIM averages: 5.44 games, 1 goals, 1.44 assists, 2.44 points, 2.11 PIM per draftee, .45 pts/game 1987 11 D Yves Racine - 508 games, 37 goals, 194 assists, 231 points, 439 PIM 32 D Gord Kruppke - 23 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 32 PIM 41 D Bob Wilkie - 18 games, 2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points, 10 PIM 52 C Dennis Holland - no NHL experience 74 G Mark Reimer - no NHL experience 95 Radomir Brazda - no NHL experience 116 Sean Clifford - no NHL experience 137 L Mike Gober - no NHL experience 158 L Kevin Scott - no NHL experience 179 Mikko Haapakoski - no NHL experience 200 D Darin Banister - no NHL experience 221 Craig Quinlan - no NHL experience 242 Tomas Jansson - no NHL experience totals: 13 players, 549 games, 39 goals, 199 assists, 238 points, 481 PIM averages: 42.23 games, 3 goals, 15.31 assists, 18.31 points, 37 PIM per draftee, .43 pts/game 1988 17 R Kory Kocur - no NHL experience 38 D Serge Anglehart - no NHL experience 47 D Guy Dupuis - no NHL experience 59 R Petr Hrbek - no NHL experience 80 R Sheldon Kennedy - 310 games, 49 goals, 58 assists, 107 points, 233 PIM 143 R Kelly Hurd - no NHL experience 164 Brian McCormack - no NHL experience 185 D Jody Praznik - no NHL experience 206 C Glen Goodall - no NHL experience 227 R Darren Colbourne - no NHL experience 248 C Don Stone - no NHL experience totals: 11 players, 310 games, 49 goals, 58 assists, 107 points, 233 PIM averages: 28.18 games, 4.45 goals, 5.27 assists, 9.73 points, 21.18 PIM per draftee, .35 pts/game Analysis Looking at the data, it is clear to me that the Wings' drafting, beginning in 1983 through 1994, led to the Stanley Cup wins of 1997 and 1998, and even 2002 (although additions such as Luc Robitaille, Brett Hull, and Dominik Hasek were also big factors). The Cup core of Steve Yzerman, Joey Kocur, Nicklas Lidstrom, Sergei Fedorov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Chris Osgood, Martin Lapointe, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Darren McCarty, Tomas Holmstrom, and Mathieu Dandenault came out of these years. After years of playoff failures, this group came together and ended a 42 year Cup drought in 1997, sweeping the Philadelphia Flyers. One can see why the Dead Wings Era existed. While the Wings had some respectable drafts, they never really hit a home run between 1972 and 1978. The Wings were brought to life with the 1983, which produced franchise player and captain, Steve Yzerman, the Bruise Brothers, Bob Probert and Joey Kocur, as well as tough man Stu Grimson. The best draft pick the Wings ever did was picking Steve Yzerman fourth in the 1983 draft, especially when Pat LaFontaine went at three, doomed to a concussion-ended NHL career. LaFontaine was a local boy from Waterford and the Wings had their eye on him before Yzerman, but, luckily, the New York Islanders took him at three. It is also important to mention the Wings' drafting during years of success. When they were doing well during the regular season and getting late draft picks, many of which they ended up trading away (Shanahan, Hasek deals), they still maintained a good pool of talent. For example, Vladimir Konstantinov in 1989, Dan McGillis in 1992, Tomas Holmstrom in 1994, Pavel Datsyuk in 1998, Henrik Zetterberg in 1999, and Dmitry Bykov in 2001. And, whenever people tell you that the Wings bought their three Stanley Cups of the modern era, remind them of these players. The only Cup I will even remotely say the Wings bought was in 2002, after summer signings of Luc Robitaille, Dominik Hasek, and Brett Hull. But the core of the team still played a major part in that season's success. In addition, it is important to consider that good drafting and retention of drafted talent leads to a high salary payout. The Wings drafted Sergei Fedorov, Nicklas Lidstrom, and Steve Yzerman, so are you going to complain that the Wings buy their Cups when they pay these stars top dollar? You can't punish the Wings for drafting well and retaining many of the great players club scouts earmarks. The Wings helped open the gate to the USSR when they drafted Sergei Fedorov in 1989 (Alexander Mogilny was the first to defect in 1988), and have had a great success rate with Swedish-born players (Nicklas Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom, Henrik Zetterberg, and Anders Eriksson). So never compare the Wings to the New York Rangers, a team that has an overall better drafting history than the Wings but have bought their current roster. The New York Rangers we know today are more about prestige and big-name presentation than locker room chemistry. Here's an article from the Detroit News, highlighting the Wings' draft of 1989, one of the greatest drafts in NHL history. Quotes These are two quotes about the NHL draft: Scotty Bowman, at the 1983 NHL entry draft as general manager of the Buffalo Sabres:

"After today, those numbers mean nothing, except to the kids and their agents trying to get a better contract...When they come to training camp, they won't have those same numbers on their backs, they will be just like the rest of the guys -- trying to earn a job. Then, the numbers will mean nothing."

Hall of Fame goaltender Ken Dryden, now the president of the Toronto Maple Leafs, on diamonds in the rough:

"Dominik Hasek was the 207th pick in his draft year (1983 by Chicago), Brett Hull was 117th (by Calgary in 1984), Luc Robitaille was No. 171 (by Los Angeles in '84). Scouts and players in this great game have learned long ago that you never give up, no matter what number they attach to you on draft day."