When he checked into the old Ponchartrain Hotel in Detroit in late January 1994, Kris Draper’s reservation was only for one night. The Red Wings had called him up from their farm team in upstate New York because they needed a fresh body. Draper had joined the organization at the end of June 1993, in what turned out to be one of the most lopsided trades ever.
Thirty years later, the dynamo of a player who helped the Wings win four Stanley Cups from 1997-2008 is a newly promoted member of the front office, trying to get the team back to contending. He has been director of amateur scouting since being named to the position by general manager (and former teammate) Steve Yzerman in July 2019; earlier this summer, he added the title of assistant general manager.
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The promotion
Draper, 52, was uneasy when Yzerman called him into his office a few weeks ago.
“I was never a big fan of being called down to the office,” Draper said, smiling. “I saw the principal way too much in elementary school.”
But it turned out to be a laudatory visit: Yzerman offered to expand Draper’s title, and Draper jumped at the opportunity to gain insight into the business side of being a GM.
“I want the opportunity to sit on meetings like last week with free agency, the negotiations of contracts, entry-level deals,” Draper said. “I’d love to learn how to do those. But my main role is exactly what it’s been since Steve has come here, and that’s running the draft.
“I take a lot of pride in my job right now as director of amateur scouting and to be added to assistant general manager by Stevie means a lot. It is a big stepping stone. To earn that trust from Steve Yzerman is something that means a lot. Obviously, he appreciates the hard work, what I’ve been doing, where we’re at and the direction we’re going.”
The anniversary
Draper celebrated three decades with the Wings on June 30, the day in 1993 he was traded from the Winnipeg Jets for future considerations, which turned out to be $1. Scotty Bowman went to Glen Falls, N.Y., to watch Draper play with the Adirondack Red Wings and decided the Wings could use Draper’s faceoff prowess. He was called up — and ended up retiring in 2011 after 17 seasons and 1,157 games in a Wings uniform.
“It’s been 30 years since I’ve been part of this organization and it’s something I take a ton of pride in,” Draper said. “The Detroit Red Wings are one of the most important things in my life, it’s been like that for years. I want to be a big part of us getting back into the playoffs and then from there, being Cup contenders to being Cup champions again. I want the players in this dressing room to go through what I went through as a player. It’s something I’ve never forgotten. Once the season ended and we went into the playoffs, it was different around here. Detroit Red Wings fans are absolutely incredible, but it goes next level come playoff time, and I want that group in that dressing room to go through what we were able to go through and then they’re going to understand what playoff hockey means in Detroit.”
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The (front) Office
As soon as he retired, Draper, like Yzerman had done in 2006 when he retired, shifted to the front office. Anyone who watched The Office and followed the career path of Dwight Schrute would appreciate the fact Draper started out as assistant to the general manager under Ken Holland.
“I was officially special assistant and then I asked Ken if we could drop the special,” Draper said. “Ken was very gracious with the title. I wasn’t in charge of anything, really. I just went and watched hockey games and put reports in and I don’t know if anybody read them. That was the role there.
“And then when Stevie came in, putting me in charge of the draft and director of amateur scouting and running a staff, and that was something that was totally different. It was a great opportunity for me to be around Ken and learn everything in all areas of the game. That was special and I appreciate that, to be able to walk out of the Detroit Red Wings room into the Detroit Red Wings front office was something that Ken gave me that opportunity and that’s a big reason why I’m sitting here.”
The future
Management, coaching and scouting are popular career paths for players as they transition into retirement. Draper was able to coach Little Caesars youth hockey when he retired in 2011 while also scouting for the Wings.
“We are in such a great area here in Detroit, to watch the OHL, the Canadian hockey leagues, we’ve got college hockey, the (USA Hockey) development program,” Draper said. “I just kind of really started enjoying that part of it. I started going to more games and the challenge of trying to find a prospect and then when Stevie came in, we had a conversation of, ‘What do you want to do with the Detroit Red Wing organization?‘ Stevie offered me the job of director of amateur scouting and I’ve been doing that ever since and it’s something I enjoy.”
Ultimately Draper would like to be a GM in the NHL, and learning the business side as he continues his role running the draft is invaluable experience.
“I understand the challenges of it,” Draper said. “Watching 17-, 18-year-old prospects and trying to project what they’re going to be, I enjoy it. You walk upstairs and Nick Lidstrom is there, Niklas Kronwall is, Stevie, Dan Cleary, Jiří Fischer. Kirk Maltby is on the pro side. It’s incredible to be able to see a lot of former teammates and we’re all in this for the same thing — we want to be good again and we all take a lot of pride in what the Detroit Red Wings organization meant to all of us. We played arguably in the greatest era of the Detroit Red Wings organization and we want to bring that back.”
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
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Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.