Rumor: Red Wings insider predicts some of team's offseason moves.

Red Wings may already have a target in mind.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Rumor: Red Wings insider predicts some of team's offseason moves.
Christopher Mast/Icon SMI/Zuma

The Detroit Red Wings have just handed over the reigns of the organization to long time member of the Red Wings organization and former player Steve Yzerman. There's no question that this will likely change the direction that the Red Wings will move in, but one Red Wings insider  believes that they have their finger on the pulse of where the Red Wings are headed.

Fielding questions from the Red Wings faithful in her usual mailbag, Detroit Red Wings insider Helen St. James of the Detroit Free Press shared some of her insight on what she expects from the team she covers this upcoming season. There were a few surprises here including her thoughts on the future development of forward talent Filip Zadina, but unquestionably her most interesting insight was regarding who the Red Wings will draft come this summer and the 2019 National Hockey League Entry Draft.

From St. James(emphasis my own_:

I’d anticipate the Wings pick defenseman Bowen Byram if he’s available, or a center. They like both of the big centers out west — Kirby Dach (6-foot-4, 197, shoots right. Had 73 points in 62 games with Saskatoon in the WHL) and Dylan Cozens (6-3, 180, shoots right.

Considering that there are three names on this list from St. James I think it is a pretty safe bet to suggest that the Red Wings are likely to end up with one of these 3 young men. Although Yzerman may have his own thoughts on who the team should select the fact is that the Red Wings scouting staff has done all the leg work here and with only a few short months before the draft I think it's unlikely Yzerman does anything drastic. 

As for the aforementioned Filip Zadina, St. James expressed some concerns about how he has developed which is of course not a good sign for the Red Wings. Once projected as a top 2 pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft Zadina fell considerably before being picked up by the Red Wings, and his slow development may point to why some teams were quick to pass on him. Again from St. James:

Who might join the youth movement in 2019-20? A good way to gauge a young player’s readiness is whether he’s dominating at his current level of hockey. For example, one of the reasons the Wings traded Tomas Tatar in spring of 2018 was to open a spot for Bertuzzi, who at that time dominated with the Griffins. Filip Zadina, 19, hasn’t done that yet. He returned to the Griffins in mid-March following a nine-game audition with the Wings and produced one goal and three assists the remaining 14 games of the regular season. 

Zadina did improve his production in the playoffs so hopefully that is a sign that he is maturing both physically and mentally. Although St. James does not expect that he will be a part of the opening day roster a strong showing at training camp  and in the preseason could drastically alter that perception of him. Whether or not he can managed that however remains to be seen.

Source: