Yzerman hoping to continue history of mid-round draft success

DETROIT -- While first-round prospects garner all the national hype leading up to every NHL Draft, general managers know that to win a Stanley Cup, you need to find some diamonds in the rough along the way.

When Steve Yzerman was the general manager for the Tampa Bay Lightning, he used several mid-round and late-round draft picks to form a corps of talented players who fit the Lightning's system and worked perfectly for the club.
And although Yzerman is no longer at the helm in Tampa Bay, his less-heralded draft picks played a huge role in helping the Lightning capture the Stanley Cup last Monday.
[Get all your 2020 NHL Draft news and notes by visiting Red Wings Draft Central]
In his second draft as Lightning GM in 2011, Yzerman used his second-round pick, 58th overall, to select forward Nikita Kucherov, who led the club in points in the 2019-20 regular season (85) and playoffs (34). In the seventh and final round of that 2011 Draft, Yzerman struck gold when he selected eventual top-six left wing Ondrej Palat with the fourth-to-last pick at 208 overall.
In 2014, Yzerman hit on a mid-round pick when he traded up one spot in the third round to select forward Brayden Point 79th overall. Point finished third in points for the Lightning this regular season (64) and was second in the playoffs (33).
Yzerman also worked some mid-round magic in 2015 when he selected Anthony Cirelli in the third round, 72nd overall. Cirelli was a key centerman for the Lightning this season, tying for the team lead in plus-minus and finishing sixth on the club in points.
"A lot of that team was draft choices," Yzerman said in a pre-draft Zoom call with the media on Thursday. "And some of those players were either drafted by the organization or were draft picks or prospects used to get those players."

And now as the Detroit Red Wings' GM, Yzerman is hoping to use a similar formula to help the Wings return to prominence and become a Stanley Cup contender once again.
During the Red Wings' rebuild, the club has quietly acquired several additional draft picks. Detroit owns 10 selections in the 2020 NHL Draft-tied for fourth-most in the NHL-including three second-round picks and two third-round picks.
So the Wings will have several chances for Yzerman to duplicate his mastery during Rounds 2-7 in the NHL's virtual draft this Wednesday.
But Yzerman said there isn't some magic formula to find late-round talent. He said there are several different aspects of a prospect's game that his team of front office members and scouts look for when deciding which player to welcome to Hockeytown.
"We take a lot of things into account. There are lots of skills and abilities that make a player a good player," he said. "They have to have a combination of the things we feel are important. Good hockey players come in a lot of forms. There's no one characteristic that is going to be a telling factor.
"We have criteria that we're looking for in prospects and for players to come into the organization. On-ice and off-ice characteristics. We take all of those into account when we form our list.

As for that list, Yzerman said that with where the Red Wings are in their rebuild, he's looking to select the best players available, instead of focusing on a certain position.
"At this early stage, I don't think we can really target a particular position," he said. "We're going to take the best prospects. The kids are 17, 18, 19 years of age. The vast majority of them are 3, 4, 5 years away from playing in the NHL. Your needs as an organization will change over time. We try to draft the best prospect available with that current pick."

Yzerman knows that with the level of talent spread throughout the NHL, your first-round picks aren't guaranteed. That's what makes exhaustive mid-round scouting so crucial to form a contender.
"You're not going to hit on your first round pick every year, unfortunately," Yzerman said. "The reality is that teams don't. You need players coming in later in the draft to keep you on target or expedite the process. To speed this thing up or to keep it on track, we need some prospects to turn into NHL players, from the second round into the seventh round."
Yzerman also knows that to win the proverbial lottery, you want to have as many tickets as possible. So he's going to stick to his strategy and continue to build the club the way he knows how.
"The more picks we have gives us better odds and increases the odds of them turning into players," he said. "The more lottery tickets you have, the more chance you have of winning."