Detroit Red Wings stock up on defensemen, big bodies in 2017 NHL draft

Helene St. James | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Watch: Meet three Red Wings draft picks Detroit Red Wings draft picks Colin Fraser, Zach Gallant and Keith Petruzzelli talk with reporters Saturday, June 24, 2017 at United Center in Chicago.

CHICAGO -- The Detroit Red Wings came away from the 2017 draft bigger and stronger, and with some intriguing prospects, especially on defense.

After drafting 6-foot-6 center Michael Rasmussen in the first round, the Wings used Saturday’s Rounds 2-7 at United Center to draft five defensemen, four more forwards, and a goaltender. Ten of their 11 total picks are at least 6 feet.

“We wanted to get bigger, but we wanted to get bigger and still keep the identity of what we are known for,” director of amateur scouting Tyler Wright said Saturday. “And that is skill and sense.”

The Wings picked defenseman Gustav Lindstrom in Round 2. Four third-round picks saw the Wings add defenseman Kasper Kotkansalo, forward Lane Zablocki, forward Zach Gallant, and goaltender Keith Petruzzelli. Defenseman Malte Setkov was added in Round 4 and defenseman Cole Fraser in Round 5. Two sixth-round picks were spent on forward Jack Adams and defenseman Reilly Webb, and the last round brought forward Brady Gilmour. Three of the five forwards are centers.

Lindstrom, Kotkansalo and Setkov are all skilled defensemen to varying degree.

“You just can’t have enough of those guys that can skate and move pucks,” Wright said. “That’s why we tried to load up on those guys.”

Lindstrom’s name brought to mind how often legendary Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom’s last name was mispronounced, prompting director of European scouting Hakan Andersson to joke “we are trying to get the ‘n’ away from his name.”

Andersson invoked the name of superstar Erik Karlsson, and 20-year-old Jacob Larsson, while elaborating on Lindstrom.

“He is a good all-around defenseman,” Andersson said. “Competes well, has a good first pass, good shot. I can’t tell you he has an Erik Karlsson upside, but one name that comes to mind is the guy in Anaheim — Jacob Larsson. Just a good, all-around player. A lot of teams thought they would get him in later rounds.

“You tell him something, and he learns.”

Watch: Red Wings scouts analyze draft picks Red Wings director of amateur scouting Tyler Wright and director of European scouting Hakan Andersson break down the Wings' draft selections Saturday, June 24, 2017 at United Center in Chicago.

Andersson also scouted Setkov a good deal as he plays in Malmo, Sweden (while commuting from his native Denmark).

“The junior coach told me, they have junior A team there, and a junior B team,” Andersson said. “He started the season on the junior B team. And the junior A coach told me, when I was watching the junior B team practice in August, I kind of laughed at this big, little bit wobbly, kid.

“And he said, come January-February, he was on my power play on the junior A team. So he developed like that. It looks like he is on a mission. And he is still growing. He is 6 feet 6 and still growing.”

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Andersson said the Wings wanted big defensemen because “we have three smaller defensemen that we all believe in very much in (Joe) Hicketts, (Ville) Sarijaarvi and (Filip) Hronek. But can you play with a team full of guys of that size? Probably not. So we talked about (that).

“At the same time, the main thing is, are they good hockey players? Do they have a weapon? I think the big Danish kid has maybe the higher upside of the two. But Gustav Lindstrom is just a very good all-around player.”

Kotkansolo “is a little bit like Gustav Lindstrom,” Andersson said. “Just a good, all-round player. Seems to compete well.”

Fraser was added for his unaffected love of physical play.

“We are not expecting him to run a power play by any means,” Wright said. “When he is out there, people are going to be aware of him being on the ice. He is going to make life miserable for the opponent’s skilled players. Can he be a Radko Gudas-type of player? That is why we targeted him.”

Meet Red Wings draft pick Michael Rasmussen Detroit Red Wings draft pick Michael Rasmussen talks on June 23, 2017 at United Center in Chicago.

The only Wings picks in attendance Saturday were Fraser, Gallant and Petruzzelli. Fraser came away with a funny anecdote.

“I thought because there was a timeout I’d have time to go to the washroom and get back,” he said, smiling. “I was going down the steps as I heard my name.”

Fraser oozed personality. Asked which NHLers he admires, Fraser didn’t hesitate to name Shea Weber and Niklas Kronwall. Especially Kronwall (in his prime) because “if your head is down he is going to catch you and you are going to regret it.” Fraser described himself as a “physical shut-down defenseman. I like to play hard in the corners and I won’t let you get to the puck.”

Gallant described himself as, “a good two-way guy, I play competitively, I like to finish my check and I go to the net hard. I have to work on my skating, my first step. I've got to shoot more and play with the puck a little more.

Petruzzelli said he admires Montreal’s Carey Price for his fluid style, “so I try to incorporate that. I have to continue to work on foot work and try to put some muscle mass on.”

The Wings missed the playoffs for the first time in 26 seasons this spring. The goal is to get back there as soon as possible. This draft saw the Wings pick the highest they’ve had since 1991. The hope is at least some of the class of 2017 can, within a few years, help a cast consisting of the likes of Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha, Evgeny Svechnikov, Tyler Bertuzzi and Andreas Athanasiou, among others.

“I think the days of us leaving kids down in the AHL for 3-plus years — we don’t have the luxury of having Nick Lidstrom & Pavel Datsyuk and such up top,” Wright said. “Larkin has shown that, AA, Mantha shown that, Bert is going to push this year. We are trying to speed up that process, but it is a real fine line.

“Not all these kids are going to play. But if they do, they are going to bring an element that we lack. We wanted to be bigger, and we want to be a harder team to play against. We addressed that.”

Watch: Jeff Blashill praises Bertuzzi, Frk Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill excited to have plenty of bites at the apple in NHL draft, praises Tyler Bertuzzi's playoff run with Grand Rapids and Martin Frk on Saturday, June 24, 2017 at United Center in Chicago.

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.

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