Helene St. James | Detroit Free Press

Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Steve Yzerman put his first imprint on the Detroit Red Wings on Friday, adding what he sees as a valuable fit to the rebuild.

Speaking after Friday’s first round of the NHL draft at Rogers Arena, Yzerman admitted selecting German defenseman Moritz Seider at sixth overall was a bold decision. Seider had been projected to go in the 12-to-20 range, and Yzerman did explore trading back a few spots. When he could not find a deal he liked, Yzerman walked onto the stage and announced his first draft pick as general manager of the Wings, confident in his selection.

“We think he has excellent hockey sense,” Yzerman said. “He’s a big kid, 6-foot-3, a real good skater. In our opinion, he was one of the top defensemen in the draft.

“I know our fans don’t know much about him, but if people come to development camp and see him move, Google him, watch him play a little bit, I think they will be pleasantly surprised.”

Anne-Marie Sorvin, USA TODAY Sports

Seider has personality and potential. He wore a bow tie with his suit; it stuck out above the Wings sweater he donned on stage. He expected to be drafted in the 15-to-20 range, so when his name was called at sixth, his face showed surprise. Seider had met with the Wings in Buffalo at the NHL combine last month, and a very good interview signaled the Wings’ interest.

“I spent some time with him, talked to his coaches, talked to a lot of people,” Yzerman said. “I’m sure he had a little bit of inclination that we were interested.”

Seider did, but there were very talented forwards available in Dylan Cozens, Trevor Zegras and Vasili Podkolzin after Jack Hughes went first overall to New Jersey, Kaapo Kakko second to the Rangers, Kirby Dach third to Chicago, Bowen Byram fourth to Colorado, and Alex Turcotte fifth to Los Angeles.

The Wings had drafted forwards with five of their last six first-round picks.

"I look at it, I wasn’t really going by position,” Yzerman said. “I think anyone we would have picked we’d have felt would fill a need based on where we’re at. But again, he’s a big, good-skating, smart D-man — that’s his potential. I think it’s a very valuable asset.

“I think he’s a good, solid two-way guy. He can play the power play, he can walk the line with his head up and get his shot through. I think he’ll play with your top players and play against your top players because he can move the puck. He’s not going to be Erik Karlsson weaving through traffic, but he can skate it and he can pass it. I think he’s going to be a player that can play in all situations.”

Seider played last season for Adler Mannheim of the Deutsch Eishockey Liga, Germany’s highest league, as a 17-year-old. He was named rookie of the year. He had six points in 29 games, plus five assists in 14 playoff games as Mannheim won the DEL championship, contributing five assists. Moritz, who shoots right, is listed as 6-foot-4, 207 pounds.

He first caught Yzerman’s attention in December.

“When I first saw him, I was surprised,” Yzerman said. “You go see a young kid in Germany, I didn’t expect to see the hockey IQ that I saw. He handled it well in a men’s league against a good team. Played in the World Championship on a men’s team, against the Czechs, Slovaks, NHL players. Didn’t look out of place.”

Moritz will join recent Wings draft picks at development camp beginning Tuesday at Little Caesars Arena. If he ends up spending another season in Mannheim, that’s fine with Yzerman. He believes he drafted a guy who will mesh well with young defensemen either on the team or in the system such as Filip Hronek, Dennis Cholowski and Oliwer Kaski.

“We think we got an excellent prospect and someone that will really fit into what we’re doing,” Yzerman said, “and that our fan base will really enjoy watching and getting to know."