Promotion to Red Wings Assistant GM 'pretty special' for Kris Draper

DETROIT -- For more than a decade, Kris Draper has ascended in the Detroit Red Wings' front office.

That upward career trajectory continued Wednesday, as Red Wings Executive Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman announced that Draper was promoted to assistant general manager in addition to his current role of director of amateur scouting.

"It's pretty special," Draper said Wednesday at Little Caesars Arena. "To be an assistant general manager of the Detroit Red Wings is obviously a big stepping stone. It's a goal for me, but to earn that trust from Steve Yzerman is something that means a lot. Obviously, he appreciates the hard work, what I've been doing, where we're at and the direction we're going."

Draper will continue to lead Detroit's amateur scouting efforts, but his duties are expanding. As assistant general manager, the 52-year-old will also work alongside Yzerman and other Red Wings assistant general manager Shawn Horcoff on all organization-related hockey operations matters.

"I'm just gonna to stay the course, keep very highly motivated and understanding there's still so much work to be done," Draper said. "But it's obviously nice to be promoted and rewarded."

Draper expressed excitement about his new responsibilities, citing an eagerness to get more involved on the business side of the organization.

"In talking with Steve about it, I want the opportunity to sit in on meetings like last week with free agency, the negotiations of contracts and entry-level deals," Draper said. "I'd love to sit in and learn how to do those."

Draper is entering his 12th season in the Red Wings' front office. He was named the organization's director of amateur scouting before the 2019-20 campaign after working the previous eight seasons as assistant to former GM Ken Holland.

"It was a great opportunity for me to be around Ken and learn everything in all areas of the game," Draper said. "It was obviously special. I appreciate being able to walk out of the Detroit Red Wings' dressing room into the front office. Ken gave me that opportunity and that's a big reason why I'm sitting here."

Draper is fortunate to be part of Detroit's front office, which includes his "friends for life" and former Red Wings teammates in Yzerman, (Vice President of Hockey Operations) Nicklas Lidstrom, (Pro Scout) Kirk Maltby, (Associate Director of Player Personnel) Jiri Fischer, (European Player Development) Niklas Kronwall and (Assistant Director of Player Development) Dan Cleary.

"We're all in this for the same thing," said Draper, who played 17 of his 20 NHL seasons and won four Stanley Cups with Detroit. "We want to be good again and we want to be great. We all take a lot of pride in what the Detroit Red Wings organization meant to all of us. We played arguably in the greatest era of the Detroit Red Wings organization, and we want to bring that back. We all understand how hard it's going to be but we're all in this together."

Draper said that he has a longtime goal to be an NHL general manager.

"With the direction of where I'm kind of going with my career, it's something that one day I would love to do," Draper said. "If an organization feels that I'm ready and I've put the time in, then we'll see where that goes. For me, the commitment from the Detroit Red Wings is something that means a lot to me."

But the future Draper is most concerned about is that of the Red Wings. According to Draper, his focus is all about "getting back to winning."

"We know how hard it's going to be and the work that we have to do," Draper said. "We're all in this together. That's obviously the big goal - is to become Stanley Cup champions again. It's gonna be hard, but we're all in this together for sure."