After a dismal 2016-17 NHL season, Ken Holland and the Detroit Red Wings possessed a tremendous opportunity to utilize their highest first round draft pick since 1991, and to put it mildly, they may have completely blown it.
The above statement is not a personal attack or critique of Michael Rasmussen, who ranked anywhere from five to twenty in most mock drafts/rankings, but as of right now, I’m almost at a loss for words, or at least non-expletive words, in regards to the Red Wings 2017 ninth overall pick.
With players such as Gabriel Vilardi, Owen Tippett, Nick Suzuki, Timothy Liljegren, Martin Necas, and Cal Foote all still available when the Red Wings took the stage at the United Center on Friday evening to announce their selection, the odds of landing one of these dynamic player seemed to be in Detroit’s favor.