The Detroit Red Wings and Steve Yzerman drafted Lucas Raymond with the 4th overall pick in the NHL Draft last night. Raymond will be a top-line player and rumors are he is an absolute beast.
After the NHL draft came and went last night. The Lucas Raymond era is underway for Steve Yzerman and the Detroit Red Wings. But that era might stay in Sweden for a few years to develop. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Former Red Wing defenseman Niklas Kronwall will be watching all of his progress.
Steve Yzerman on Lucas Raymond
“We think he has all the tools to be an elite forward in the NHL. He’s a very creative player, good shooter. Good all-around skills. Very competitive. We like the whole package. We don’t see any real glaring weaknesses.”
“There were several very good options for us at that pick. Ultimately we chose Lucas. We think he’s a very intelligent, very highly skilled player, very competitive. We think he fits in with the type of team we want to build.”
“It’s just filling out physically, developing, getting stronger. Going from a teenager to a man. You do that through training and playing. We think he has all the tools and skills. He just has to put the time in and the work in.”
Lucas on being drafted 4th overall
“When they called my name. I was extremely excited and there are many different feelings and emotions at the same time.”
Draper on Raymond’s skills
“It was watching a lot of games, all in season, and then when the world stopped, we relied on video. Then we went back and we double-checked that we had seen live, watched more games on video, and from there it’s discussion.”
“We kept talking and our list didn’t really change much. The one name we kept coming back to was Lucas Raymond. Every time we came away from watching him, there were a lot of comments amongst our group of just how smart of a hockey player he is.
Detroit Red Wing Fans React to Draft
Overview
Overall, I like this pick. If he is the “Mr Everything” that Steve Yzerman and Chris Draper say he is, we now have a solid building block for the future. In Steve I trust!
