Kris Draper had a goaltender to lure.

In charge of drafting the Detroit Red Wings' alumni roster that will take on the Toronto Maple Leafs alumni Saturday at Exhibition Stadium, Draper’s prize acquisition was Chris Osgood. Osgood had declined to play in the previous alumni game, last February at Denver, and his absence was lamented after the Wings lost to their old rivals, 5-2.

Draper set out to make sure that Osgood couldn’t say no again, executing with Machiavellian glee.

“I must admit I talked to his wife and I got her to talk to their son,” Draper told the Free Press in an exclusive interview. “Max talked to his Daddy about how fun it’d be to see him play.

“He was hemming and hawing, and I played a little dirty pool. Within 48 hours, he was convinced.”

Max Osgood, 5, never saw his father play in the NHL.

“I am glad Ozzie is coming,” Draper said. “It’s great for him to be a part of this. He is going to enjoy himself, and I am excited for Max to see his dad on the ice. He never saw him with us, so that is why I used that angle.”

The rest of the roster for the event -- a sort of All-Star alumni game that serves as an appetizer for Sunday’s Centennial Classic between the Wings and Leafs at BMO Field -- was built by enthusiasm.

Nicklas Lidstrom will be there, which, of course, means that Tomas Holmstrom will be there. So will Chris Chelios, Martin Lapointe and Igor Larionov. And Kirk Maltby, Darren McCarty and Joe Kocur, enabling the formation of both versions of the Grind Line. Jiri Fischer and Paul Coffey are in. Ditto Doug Brown and Slava Kozlov.

But neither Steve Yzerman, the general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, nor Sergei Fedorov, general manager of CSKA Moscow of the KHL, are playing. “We were hoping,” Draper said, “but we understand why they are not.”

One NHL executive who is playing? None other than Brendan Shanahan, who won Stanley Cups with the Wings in 1997, 1998 and 2002, and now serves as president of the Maple Leafs.

“He is a big reason why this alumni game happened, he was very hands-on with the organizing,” Draper said. “The one we had last year, at Colorado, was a blast. These things, they mean a lot to the players. I think he is like all of us -- he is really excited.”

Osgood, 44, is using the equipment belonging to Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard, who is sidelined by injury. When asked recently whether he has mastered the reverse-VH technique emphasized by goaltending coach Jeff Salajko, Osgood replied, “The only thing I reverse is beer.”

Fair enough. But his weekend general manager knows Osgood’s tricks.

“All I’ll say is I am checking Ozzie’s water bottle before the game,” Draper said. “My expectations of him are very high.”

1997 Wings sad to see Joe go, but excited for Little Caesars Arena

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