Dylan Larkin has in every way reinforced the Detroit Red Wings’ decision to use their first-round pick on him in 2014.
This weekend’s All-Star Game was the second of his career, and he’s on pace to top 30 goals for the second time in his career. He made the NHL at 19, and in his first year scored 23 goals and became the first Wings rookie to play in an All-Star Game since Steve Yzerman in 1984.
HEY NOW, YOU’RE AN ALL-STAR: How being himself enabled Dylan Larkin to be the All-Star the Wings need
Larkin emerged aș a leader at a young age and was named captain by Yzerman in January 2021.
Drafted at No. 15, Larkin ranks fifth in his draft class with 333 points, behind Leon Draisatl (drafted No. 3, 569 points), David Pastrnak (No. 25, 470), Brayden Point (No. 79, 340) and Sam Reinhart (No. 2, 339).
After Larkin, the Wings’ first-round picks yields mixed reviews.
2015
Pick: Forward Evgeny Svechnikov, No. 19.
Buzz: Svechnikov was billed as the complete package by then-director of amateur scouting Tyler Wright. Svechnikov scored 20 goals in his first season in the AHL, but from there his pro career went downhill. He missed 2018-19 after undergoing major knee surgery and never was able to gain a foothold. He was waived last season, and when there were no takers, the Wings decided to part ways with Svechnikov by declining to tend him a qualifying offer. (He landed with the Winnipeg Jets, and had an assist when they visited Little Caesars Arena in December). In drafting Svechnikov, the Wings passed on, among others, Brock Boeser and Travis Konecny — each of whom has posted three 20-goal seasons.
2016
Pick: Defenseman Dennis Cholowski, No. 20.
Buzz: This was the offseason when Pavel Datsyuk quit with a year to go on his contract, and then-general manager Ken Holland decided to rid the team of the $7.5 million in dead cap space by making a deal with the Arizona Coyotes. The Coyotes got the Wings’ pick at No. 16, and the Wings got the Coyotes’ first-round and second-round picks. Had the Wings picked Filip Hronek first, and Cholowski second, this wouldn’t be such a stinker of a pick, because Hronek has served in a top-four role. Though he’s a gifted skater and passer, Cholowski’s lack of assertiveness has prevented him from living up to the billing of being a first-round pick. The Wings exposed him in last summer’s expansion draft, but the Seattle Kraken gave up on Cholowski in October and placed him on waivers, where he was claimed by the Washington Capitals. He has appeared in seven games, posting one assist and a minus-4 rating.
2017
Pick: Forward Michael Rasmussen, No. 9.
Buzz: This was the first draft after the Wings’ 25-season playoff streak ended, and the first time the Wings picked in the top 10 since 1991, the year the streak began. Rasmussen has found a role as a third-line center; a defense-first forward whose 6-foot-6 body has earned him net-front duties on the power play at times. He’s only 22, and may grow more adept at using his big body to create space for himself and create more offensively. Still, that’s not the return expected of a top-10 pick. Rasmussen ranks 17th in his draft class with 45 career points in 147 games. The Wings could have had Nick Suzuki (No. 13), who already has posted two 40-point seasons.
2018
Picks: Filip Zadina, No. 6; Joe Veleno, No. 30.
Buzz: The Wings were eyeing 6-3, right-shot defenseman Evan Bouchard, but then Filip Zadina fell from where he was projected to go, No. 3, and was available when the Wings were on the clock. The Wings jumped at the chance to add a potential game-changer known for his shot to the rebuild. But Zadina has struggled to be a scoring threat at the NHL level, and his 51 points in 131 career games pale next to No. 7 pick defenseman Quinn Hughes, who has 131 points in 174 games. (Bouchard, who went at No. 10, has 30 points in 63 games, giving him a 0.48 points-per-game average that tops Zadina’s 0.39.) Maybe Zadina eventually becomes a 20-goal scorer, but for where he was taken, more was expected. Veleno has only begun to forge his NHL career, but there are fewer expectations on him as the next-to-last pick in the first round.
ZADINA’S STRUGGLES: The message the Wings are sending Filip Zadina in making him a healthy scratch
2019
Pick: Defenseman Moritz Seider, No. 6.
Buzz: This was the first draft with Yzerman at the helm. He upended pundits’ projections when he selected Seider, and what a marvelous upending it was. Seider is a leading candidate for the Calder Trophy — the Wings haven’t had a rookie of the year winner since goalie Roger Crozier in 1965 — and a future All-Star. He’s the most exciting defenseman the Wings have had since Nicklas Lidstrom and, at just 20 years old, already is the team’s top blueliner. Seider leads the Wings with 25 assists and ranks fourth with 29 points in 47 games. This is a pick that moved the needle on the rebuild.
POISED, TALENTED AND MAKES HIS OWN BED: Why the Wings adore Moritz Seider
2020
Pick: Forward Lucas Raymond, No. 4.
Buzz: Here’s another future All-Star, one Yzerman snatched from the draft after the Wings finished at the bottom of the standings. The Wings were pushed back to fourth, while the New York Rangers went from the playoff bubble to drafting first, where they chose Alexis Lafreniere. Raymond has 35 points in 47 career games, while Lafreniere has 34 in 101. Raymond has given the Wings a much-needed top-six winger and is another top candidate for rookie of the year. Just as Yzerman said when he drafted Raymond, the guy has no weaknesses.
GO AHEAD AND SMIRK, STEVE: Wings’ Lucas Raymond is NHL Rookie of Month
2021
Picks: Defenseman Simon Edvinsson, No. 6; goaltender Sebastian Cossa, No. 15.
Buzz: By the time Yzerman made his first choice, top centers Matty Beniers, Mason McTavish and Kent Johnson were off the board. Yzerman made the best pick available, choosing a 6-f5 left-shot defenseman. Edvinsson, who turned 19 Saturday, is continuing his development this season in the Swedish Hockey League with Frölunda (Raymond’s former club), where he has one goal and 11 assists in 26 games playing top-four minutes. Edvinsson impresses in size, speed and skill and projects to anchor the defense opposite Seider as soon as next season. Cossa (6-6) tops the goaltending depth chart. He’s playing for the Edmonton Oil Kings in the Western Hockey League, where he has a .914 save percentage in 30 games.
WHAT HE SAID: Why Steve Yzerman saw Simon Edvinsson as the best pick for Wings at No. 6
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.