Next month's NHL Entry Draft will be vital in helping shape the Detroit Red Wings' future and determining how long their rebuild will take.

The Red Wings pick sixth, their highest selection since 1990. They have two first-round selections for the first time since 1978. They have four of the top 36 picks for the first time since 1978. They have 11 picks in all.

It is important for the Red Wings to look back on this draft in a few years knowing they landed some impact players.

"We've got sort of a core group coming in," Tyler Wright, Detroit's director of amateur scouting, said. "We've got to continue to add to this mix in what we've determined to be a pretty deep draft in a lot of positions. I thought Ken (general manager Holland) has given us a great opportunity (by acquiring picks) for all the work we've done through the course of the year to come to fruition. We know the level of importance of it and we'll be ready. It's an exciting time for us as a staff."

The draft is June 22-23 at American Airlines Center in Dallas.

The Red Wings had their amateur scouting meetings last week. There was much debate. Wright indicated they're still formulating their list.

"I don't think it was a unanimous decision going into these meetings," Wright said. "To be honest with you, the decision hasn't been made. We don't spend a lot of time trying to figure out who's taking who. We're trying to identify where we want to go and make sure we have those guys in order.

"Obviously, Rasmus Dahlin is ahead of the class, and rightfully so, as being a generational player. Everybody has identified that. But after that you can really mix or match. We believe we're going to get a really good player at 6. It just depends what happens 2 through 5."

The Red Wings' biggest need is a good-sized defenseman. Their top defense prospects are either average-sized (Filip Hronek, Dennis Cholowski) or smaller (Joe Hicketts, Vili Saarijarvi). They could also use a creative center who can dangle and weave to complement more north-south players in Dylan Larkin and Michael Rasmussen, their 2017 top pick.

"You got some really good puck-moving defensemen, you got some smaller offensive dynamic (defensemen), you got some big, powerful wingers, you got some skilled wingers," Wright said. "Up the middle it might not be as deep as in previous years. With that said, there's still good players.

"I think the industry has identified some separation with certain players. Going into last year's draft it was a little harder to evaluate because you could have gone either way and there's guys that emerged late."

Dahlin, the Swedish defenseman many analysts have tabbed as the best blue line prospect in decades, is a lock to be selected first overall by the Buffalo Sabres, by all accounts.

Wingers Andrei Svechnikov (Barrie, OHL) and Filip Zadina (Halifax, QMJHL) are widely expected to go second and third, in either order, to Carolina and Montreal.

After that, it gets a little unpredictable.

Winger Brady Tkachuk (Boston University) is projected to be selected high, but Ottawa and Arizona, who own the fourth and fifth picks, might be interested in defensemen. The Senators and Coyotes could be seeking a top-flight blue line prospect in anticipation of dealing Erik Karlsson and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, respectively, this off-season or by the trade deadline, before they reach unrestricted free agency in 2019.

Evan Bouchard (London, OHL) might be the second-rated defenseman, behind Dahlin, on the Red Wings' board and could be their pick if he's available.

Other defense possibilities include Adam Boqvist (Brynas Juniors, Sweden), Noah Dobson (Acadie-Bathurst, QMJHL) and Quinn Hughes (Michigan).

Size concerns about Boqvist (5-11, 168) and Hughes (5-10, 170) might preclude the Red Wings from selecting either.

Oliver Wahlstrom (U.S. National Development Program) is a highly rated right wing who might be available at No. 6, but wing is the Red Wings' deepest position (Anthony Mantha, Andreas Athanasiou, Tyler Bertuzzi, 2015 top pick Evgeny Svechnikov and even Rasmussen, who'll start his NHL career at wing before transitioning to center). However, unlike the others, Wahlstrom shoots right.

Finnish centers Jesperi Kotkaniemi (Assat) and Rasmus Kupari (Karpat) aren't projected as top 10 selections by many analysts but could be options for the Red Wings.

"We got a clear understanding what the team we want to try to build is going to look like in the future," Wright said. "You're not going to answer all your concerns and needs in one draft, but certainly we're looking to check off boxes in this draft."

Detroit's second first-round pick, acquired from Vegas for Tomas Tatar, will be anywhere from 28th to 31st, depending on how the Golden Knights fare in the playoffs.

The Red Wings have picks No. 33 (Ottawa's via the New York Rangers from last year's Brendan Smith trade) and 36 (their own) in the second round as well as three third-round selections.

"The beauty with this draft is when you got four picks in the top 36 and you got three thirds, you got more options," Wright said. "You got options to trade up, you got options to trade back. I think that's the exciting thing about this.

"I think we're going to be very active, whether we will be calling or will be receiving calls. I think there's going to be a couple teams that will be really active in either moving up or moving back and taking more kicks at the can. We got the (picks), we just got to make sure we spend them in the right way. We got to come away with some really good prospects that are going to turn into good Detroit Red Wings and hopefully take us back to where we need to go."

Wright will be at the RBC Cup in Chilliwack, British Columbia, a tournament for Tier II players that runs through Sunday. After that, it's the Memorial Cup in Regina, Saskatchewan (May 17-27). Then it's onto the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo May 27 to June 2.