Red Wings select nine players on second day of 2023 NHL Entry Draft
Four defensemen, three forwards and two goaltenders chosen by Detroit in Nashville
The Red Wings used three selections in the second round, adding goaltender Trey Augustine (41st overall) and defensemen Andrew Gibson (42nd overall) and Brady Cleveland (47th overall). From there, Detroit chose left wing Noah Dower-Nilsson (73rd overall) in the third round and defenseman Larry Keenan (117th overall) in the fourth round. The Red Wings picked defenseman Jack Phelan (137th overall) and left wing Kevin Bicker (147th overall) in the fifth round before taking goaltender Rudy Guimond (169th overall) in the sixth round and center Emmitt Finnie (201st overall) in the seventh round.
Detroit's first pick of the day was the ninth choice of the second round (41st overall), which the team used on goaltender Trey Augustine. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound netminder has spent the last two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Mich. Augustine posted a 29-1-2 record with a 2.13 goals-against average, a 0.926 save percentage and one shutout in 33 games with the NTDP's under-18 squad during the 2022-23 campaign. He also finished with a 10-1-0 record with a 2.34 goals-against average, a 0.928 save percentage and one shutout in 14 games with Team USA in the United States Hockey League. On the international stage, Augustine won a bronze medal at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, owning a 4-1-0 record with a 2.85 goals-against average and an 0.891 save percentage in six appearances. He backstopped Team USA to a gold medal at the 2023 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, holding a perfect 6-0-0 record with a 1.61 goals-against average and a 0.934 save percentage in six appearances. Augustine also earned a silver medal at the 2022 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, posting a 3-1-0 record with a 2.77 goals-against average and an 0.882 save percentage in four contests. A native of South Lyon, Mich., Augustine is committed to Michigan State University for the 2023-24 season.
The Red Wings used the following pick on defenseman Andrew Gibson (42nd overall), who spent the 2022-23 season with the Ontario Hockey League's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. The 6-foot-3, 202-pound blueliner paced the team's rookies with 21 points (7-14-21) and 30 penalty minutes in 45 games. Gibson made his major junior debut with the Greyhounds in 2021-22, tallying a plus-one rating and six penalty minutes in six games. Gibson spent the majority of the 2021-22 season with the Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League and was named the league's top defenseman after logging 51 points (21-30-51) and 30 penalty minutes in 40 regular-season games. He helped the Thunderbirds win a NOJHL championship after posting 11 points (3-8-11) and 20 penalty minutes in 25 postseason contests. The LaSalle, Ont., native developed with the Windsor Jr. Spitfires AAA program prior to his major junior career. On the international stage, Gibson won a bronze medal with Team Canada at the 2023 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, finishing with three assists, a plus-five rating and 25 penalty minutes in seven games.
Detroit originally held another selection in the second round (43rd overall), but dealt it to the Nashville Predators in exchange for a second-round pick (47th overall) and a fifth-round pick (147th overall) in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. With their third and final selection of the second round, the Red Wings drafted defenseman Brady Cleveland (47th overall). The 6-foot-5, 210-pound blueliner has spent the last two seasons with the NTDP, recording six assists, a plus-19 rating and 106 penalty minutes in 55 games with the under-18 squad in 2022-23. He also dished out three assists, a plus-nine rating and 60 penalty minutes with Team USA in 19 USHL contests. During the 2021-22 season, Cleveland had one assist and 36 penalty minutes in 17 games with the under-18 squad, in addition to three assists and 41 penalty minutes in 26 appearances with the under-17 group. He made his USHL debut in 2021-22, logging two helpers and 75 penalty minutes in 26 matchups. A native of Wausau, Wis., Cleveland is committed to the University of Wisconsin for the 2023-24 season.
The following round, the Red Wings selected left wing Noah Dower-Nilsson (73rd overall), a 6-foot, 185-pound forward who spent the majority of the 2022-23 season with Frölunda's under-20 squad. Dower-Nilsson paced Sweden's top junior league with 54 points (26-28-54) in 37 regular-season games, in addition to two assists in two postseason appearances. He becomes the first Red Wings draft pick to lead Sweden's under-20 circuit in scoring since Jonatan Berggren tallied 57 points (18-39-57) in 38 games with Skelleftea AIK's junior team in 2017-18. A native of Stromstad, Sweden, Dower-Nilsson helped Sweden capture a silver medal at the 2023 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, recording six points (2-4-6) and six penalty minutes in seven games. He also won a silver medal at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, notching four points (1-3-4) in five games. Additionally, Dower-Nilsson made two appearances with Sweden's bronze-medal entry at the 2022 World Junior "A" Challenge. He is the younger brother of Red Wings prospect Liam Dower-Nilsson, who was selected by the organization in the fifth round (134th overall) of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.
With their lone pick in the fourth round, the Red Wings chose Larry Keenan (117th overall), a 6-foot-3, 186-pound defenseman who has played the last two seasons at Culver Military Academy in Culver, Ind. Keenan racked up 37 points (11-26-37) and 34 penalty minutes in 49 games with Culver Military Academy Prep during the 2022-23 campaign. He previously logged 13 points (4-9-13) in 28 games with the program's under-16 squad in 2021-22. The Midhurst, Ont., native added 28 points (13-15-28) and 18 penalty minutes in 41 games with the York Simcoe Express under-15 team during the 2019-20 season. His grandfather, also named Larry Keenan, recorded 102 points (38-64-102) and 28 penalty minutes in 233 NHL games over parts of six seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Blues, Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers from 1961-62 and 1967-72. Keenan is committed to the University of Massachusetts for the 2024-25 season.
The Red Wings used their first of two fifth-round selections to pick defenseman Jack Phelan (137th overall). The 6-foot-2, 171-pound blueliner played the 2022-23 season with the USHL's Sioux Falls Stampede, registering five points (1-4-5) and 26 penalty minutes in 59 games. Phelan spent part of the 2021-22 season with the North Iowa Bulls of the North American Hockey League, dishing out two assists and four penalty minutes in 12 games. The Hinsdale, Ill., native also competed with the Chicago Express AAA program in 2021-22, showing 14 points (2-12-14) and 36 penalty minutes in 24 games at the under-18 level. Phelan is committed to the University of Wisconsin for the 2024-25 season.
Later in the fifth round, Detroit selected left wing Kevin Bicker (147th overall), a 6-foot, 176-pound forward who spent the majority of the 2022-23 season with Jungadler Mannheim in Germany's top junior league, recording 21 points (10-11-21) and 16 penalty minutes in 20 regular-season games before notching 16 points (10-6-16) and 37 penalty minutes in 10 postseason contests. Bicker made his professional debut with Adler Mannheim in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga during the 2022-23 campaign, making one appearance in Germany's highest professional league. A native of Schwabach, Germany, Bicker also played with Jungadler Mannheim in 2021-22, totaling six points (2-4-6) and 37 penalty minutes in 23 games, in addition to two goals in five playoff matchups. On the international stage, Bicker represented his country at the 2023 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, logging two points (1-1-2) and two penalty minutes in six games. He also competed for Germany at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, notching four points (1-3-4) in four games.
With their sixth-round pick, the Red Wings chose another goaltender in Rudy Guimond (169th overall). The 6-foot-2, 166-pound netminder has played the last two seasons at Taft School in Watertown, Conn., posting a 0.940 save percentage in 28 appearances during the 2022-23 campaign. Guimond also spent time with the Yale Jr. Bulldogs AAA program in 2022-23, logging a 0.939 save percentage in 17 contests with the under-18 team. A native of Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Guimond spent two seasons at Kuper Academy in his home province, posting a 5-2-0 record with a 2.25 goals-against average in eight games during the 2019-20 season and a 4-2-1 mark with a 3.14 goals-against average in seven games in 2018-19. Guimond is committed to Yale University for the 2025-26 season.
The Red Wings made their final pick by taking center Emmitt Finnie in the seventh round (201st overall). The forward spent the 2022-23 season with the Western Hockey League's Kamloops Blazers, recording 35 points (9-26-35), a plus-11 rating and 12 penalty minutes in 64 games, in addition to seven points (4-3-7) in 14 postseason contests. Finnie also skated in four games at the 2023 Memorial Cup, which was hosted by Kamloops. He debuted with the Blazers in 2021-22, posting six assists, a plus-three rating and two penalty minutes in 48 regular-season games before making one playoff appearance. Prior to his major junior career, Finnie competed at Yale Hockey Academy of the Canadian Sport School Hockey League from 2018-21, appearing in five games at the under-18 level in 2020-21 after compiling 107 points (51-56-107) in 60 games with the under-15 squad from 2018-20.
