MONTREAL — Steve Yzerman has said numerous times a team can’t be rebuilt solely on first-round picks.
To that end, the Onus is on Yzerman to use Friday’s Rounds 2-7 at the 2022 NHL draft. Yzerman used the first day at Bell Center to address the need at center, choosing Austrian center Marco Kasper at No. 8.
The Wings drafted forward Dylan James in Round 2 at No. 40, and added forward Dmitri Bulchenikov at No. 52. They used their third-round pick to acquire goaltender Ville Husso from the St. Louis Blues.
James led all draft-eligible forwards in the USHL with 61 points and landed just inside the top-10 in points per game with 0.98. Bulchenikov is an undersized forward out of Russia.
ROUND 4:Wings add two forwards, one defenseman in Round 4 of 2022 NHL draft
The Wings drafted 6-4, right-shot defenseman Anton Johansson at No. 105, and center Amadeus Lombardi from the Flint Firebirds at No. 113. Left wing Maximilian Kilpinen from Sweden was taken at No. 129, and defenseman Tnias Mathurin at No. 137.
Centers Owen Mehlenbacher (No. 201) and Brennan Ali (No. 212) were added in the seventh round.
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The Wings are optimistic that two second-day picks from 2019 – defenseman Albert Johansson (No. 60) and forward Elmer Soderblom (No. 159) are ready to begin their North American careers this fall.
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.