Red Wings 2009 Draft

The 2009 Draft is over and, yet again, the best drafting team in the world has been over-looked. The focus was on the top three picks, with no mention of Detroit, who didn't even make their first choice until the second round. Since I don't know a lot about each player right now, I'll just give the basics and try to include a video of them doing their thing.

32nd overall: LANDON FERRARO. A Center from Red Deer of the WHL, the word on this kid is that he's probably awesome. Probably. He puts up pretty good numbers but plays for a bad team and doesn't have the best line mates. The thinking is, if he gets put on a good team with good players around him, he'll be good. Kind of reminds me of the thinking behind Yzerman when he was drafted. Not that the kid will be a Stevie Y, but I look forward to watching him try. Based on this video, I just might like the guy.

Number 13

60th overall: TOMAS TATAR. Another Center who currently plays in Slovakia. Tatar has a weird name, but has a lot of potential.


75th overall: ANDREJ NESTRASIL. Center/Right Wing. Only video of him was over ten minutes long, had some guy speaking a language I don't know and wasn't very interesting. Hockey's Future, a web page dedicated to rookie prospects, had this to say: "Nestrasil's ability to make plays at high speed allows him to surprise his opponents and catch opposing defensemen flat-footed. At 6'2 and 194 pounds, Nestrasil has decent size, but he still has some work to do in adapting to the physical style in North America and playing a more complete game."

90th overall: GLEASON FOURNIER. First D-man the Red Wings chose this year. A French-Canadian who scored 28 points in 66 games with Sebastien Piche's Rimouski Oceanic. Once again, I turn to Hockey's Future to tell the tale: "Talented offensively, the problem for Gleason Fournier is that he is a defenseman first and foremost, but sometimes he doesn't play like one. Able to make quick decisions with the puck and move it well, he sometimes struggles in his own end, especially when under pressure. A valuable tool on the power play, at 6'0 and 174 pounds, he would benefit tremendously if he can get larger and stronger on his skates in the coming years." Kind of sounds like Mathieu Dandenault.

150th overall: NICK JENSEN. He's a Defenseman from Minnasota, currently playing in the USHL in Green Bay. No usefull videos found, but the St. Cloud Times had this interesting story about his draft day experience: "In the fifth round, the Detroit Red Wings picked defenseman Nick Jensen, who is expected to play a second season at Green Bay of the USHL before coming to SCSU next fall.
Jensen, who returned from a trip to Texas for a cousin's wedding late Friday, slept through the draft proceedings until a phone call woke him up with the news.
'I was in the car for about 15 hours, so I pretty much came home and passed out,' said Jensen, who is from St. Paul. '(The Wings) called last night, asking me questions. They wanted to get to know me a little better and they were wondering who else was following me. I'm as excited as anyone. Detroit is one of the best programs in the NHL, winning the Cup and going to the finals a lot. And most of my mom's family is from Michigan, so they were really pleased.'" I have to say, though, if I knew I could possibly be Drafted into the NHL at any moment, I would not be sleeping. I look forward to seeing what he's got.

180th overall: MITCHELL CALLAHAN. Nice hockey name. Strange hockey hometown. He's a Right Wing from Whittier, CA. That's 'California' not 'Canada' in case you were wondering. He's a small guy with a mean streak. I don't see him scoring more than 10 goals a year on a good year, but I do see him being a fan-favorite if he makes it to the NHL.


210th overall: ADAM ALMQVIST. He's a Defenseman from the HV-71 jr team. He scored 36 points in 41 games as a defenseman, which is quite good. He does need to bulk up a bit though. I don't think we'll see or hear much about him in the next few years, but I wouldn't be shocked if he ends up being yet another late-round gem for the Wings.

Sorry about the music in the videos. Congrats to all seven new Red Wings and good luck.