The 18-year-old Finland-born defenseman was prepared to wait for as long as it took, but to his pleasant surprise his hopes were answered early on the second day of the draft. The Detroit Red Wings took Tuomisto in the second round (No. 35), higher than he was rated on most prospect lists.
"That was a great feeling," Tuomisto said at Red Wings development camp in June. "I thought I'd get drafted but I didn't have big expectations, so I was maybe a little surprised."
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The pick was almost a duplicate of when the Red Wings chose Germany-born defenseman
Moritz Seider
at No. 6. The picks gave them a pair of 6-foot-4, right-handed, European-trained defensemen who can also move the puck.
That wasn't an accident. Former Red Wings director of amateur scouting Tyler Wright watched the St. Louis Blues defeat the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final and it solidified his conviction Detroit needed to get bigger on defense.
"You see the size of the guys on Boston and St. Louis, and we talked about that at length," Wright said. "They aren't just big, though. Tuomisto**
