Helene St. James | Detroit Free Press

Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press

Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press

As they meet for year-end scouting meetings, the Detroit Red Wings are especially focused on the top four picks they’ll make in June.

General manger Ken Holland and director of amateur scouting Tyler Wright are among the dozen hockey operations personnel immersed in five days of meetings that began Saturday as the Wings prepare for the 2018 NHL entry draft.

“We’ll talk about all the leagues, all the players, come up with some lists and rankings and then go into the combine,” Holland said. “Then we’ll have all our area scouts continue to gather information and interview people about the players who are in their areas. Then the combine is an opportunity to choose who to interview among around 100 players.

“It all leads to Dallas.”

The Wings hold 11 picks at the June 22-23 event at American Airlines Center. Their first is at sixth overall, and there’ll be three more within the top 36 selections: Las Vegas’ first-round pick from the Tomas Tatar trade, Ottawa’s second round pick (32nd overall) from the Brendan Smith trade (via the New York Rangers) and the Wings’ own second-round pick.

The Wings need a high-end defense prospect, but the first pick won’t come down to position.

“At sixth, we’ll look for the best available player, the one we believe will make the biggest impact on our team,” Holland said. “But certainly, we’re trying to build a defense over time through the draft.”

The Wings were not lucky at the April 28th draft lottery, which saw Buffalo win the right to draft consensus top pick Rasmus Dahlin. The defenseman is the prize of the 2018 class, but there will be high-end defensemen and forwards available within the top nine selections.

Romain Blanquart, DFP

Defenseman Evan Bouchard might still be available when the Wings pick sixth. He’s 6-foot-2, shoots right, and is a threat to score from the blue line. He had 87 points in 67 games in the Ontario Hockey League. Defenseman Adam Boqvist is 5-11 and a dynamic skater who can run power plays.

Defenseman Noah Dobson is 6-3, another right-handed shot, and a good skater who makes a good first pass. He had 69 points in 67 games in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Defenseman Quinn Hughes, 5-10, had 29 points in 37 games with Michigan. He’s another elite skater and dynamic puck transporter.

More:

Forward Andrei Svechnikov, brother of Wings forward Evgeny Svechnikov, likely will be gone by the time the Wings pick, as will forward Filip Zadina. Andrei Svechnikov had 40 goals among 72 points in 44 games in the OHL. Zadina had 44 goals among 82 points in 57 games in the QMJHL. Another coveted player is Brady Tkachuk, a 6-3 forward who had 31 points in 40 games with Boston University.

There’s another high-scoring forward who is likely to be available, in Oliver Wahlstrom. He scored 40 goals among 83 points in 54 games with the National Team Development Program. He is a threat to score from almost anywhere on the ice and has a particularly effective one-timer.

This marks the second straight year the Wings have picked inside the top 10, after 25 straight seasons of making the playoffs. The rebuilding process centers on drafting and developing, and the hope is whomever the Wings select with their first pick will be able to claim a role in Detroit as soon as next season.

The exhibition season should be an interesting one this autumn, as several young players could use the games to show they should make Detroit’s roster. Forward Michael Rasmussen, drafted ninth overall last summer, headlines the group after a Western Hockey League playoffs performance of 33 points in 14 games. The 6-6, 220-pounder will have the added benefit of another summer in the gym under the guidance of the Wings. It’ll help his chances that he played wing during the playoffs, maybe Rasmussen starts out in the NHL there, like Dylan Larkin did three years ago.

Other forward prospects who could push for a job include Evgeny Svechnikov, Dominic Turgeon and David Pope (Pope is expected to sign a contract within the next few days).

Defense prospects expected to contend for Detroit jobs include 2016 first-round pick Dennis Cholowski, Filip Hronek, Libor Sulak and Joe Hicketts.

The NHL combine is May 27 to June 2 in Buffalo and will feature around 100 of the. top prospects. The Wings have seven selections over the first three rounds of the draft.