Wings Draft Grade

[redwings1914 18]

I give it a C+

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

I'll say B-..even though it's not up there.

[Bliz 0]

Looks like it was an average draft for the Wings, so my grade is a C+. Jakub Kindl *might* be a great defenseman in the future, but calling his 04-05 point totals bad would be generous. 3 goals and 11 assists for an offensive defenseman doesn't cut it. He has potential but also needs a lot of work. I haven't seen much on Abdelkader, so I'm on the fence regarding him.

At this point, who can say what unknowns like Helms and Lofberg might develop into, but also consider the players Holland passed on: The biggest miss was probably leaving Guillaume Latendresse on the board in the second round, but potential missed opportunities included talents like TJ Hensick, Dan Bertram, Slava Trukhno, and Kenndal McArdle. Bottom line, the story of this draft might not be the players Holland drafted, but instead the ones he let slip by.

[eva unit zero 271]

Had he grabbed Alexander Sundstrom I would have given it an A or A-...instead it's a B+.

[Hockey Master 0]

B. They did decently, especially to nab some guys with size. The picks for the players from the WHL are okay...but I totally think that some of the European picks could have been used on other players. (Hensick, Syvret, Dan Collins).

[Seth 0]

D+ could of done a hell of alot better.

[Rice 42]

I dont think you can grade until you see how these players turn out.

[ToddDaGod 0]

D+ could of done a hell of alot better.

Bingo. Didn't address any of our problems. Toughness, HUGE hole in right wing, or playoff scoring. I understand that you can't tell if someone is going to be a playoff bust until they make the playoffs, but 0 points in 11 games in their post season doesn't help. Not to mention their 1st pick was an offensive d-man who went 3 months without scoring.

[fightfan24 0]

Good draft if you are already a physical team like Philly, but we are not... D+

[redwings1914 18]

i think we dropped the ball not getting hensick

[Saran 1]

C+

[Heaton 1]

  Bingo. Didn't address any of our problems. Toughness, HUGE hole in right wing, or playoff scoring. I understand that you can't tell if someone is going to be a playoff bust until they make the playoffs, but 0 points in 11 games in their post season doesn't help. Not to mention their 1st pick was an offensive d-man who went 3 months without scoring.

Both Ryno and Lofberg are going to be 6'3'' 205+ by the time they get into the NHL, he addressed our problems just not in the first round. Kindl will be an awesome addition once he gets to the Wings. I've seen people compare Kindl to Gonchar.

Scouting reports and projections are almost always USELESS in drafts, every decent player can score 100+ points in juniors. You never know what you have until you see them in an NHL jersey.

edit: B+

Edited August 17, 2005 by Heaton

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

waaay too early to tell.

[TNBT 3]

I went with what turned out to be the majority and gave Holland a B.

I'm not too sure how the other guys will turn out, but I'm happy that we got Kindl. He struggled a bit last season, but he has a lot of talent and I'm confident that once he adjusts to the North American style of play he will start to thrive.

A 1st defensive pairing of Kindl and Kronwall in the future is going to be very good. I was really hoping to add Benoit Pouliot, but when our 1st round pick turned out to be as low as it was, I was happy with Kindl who I think will prove to be a steal.