Happy 2020 NHL Draft Eve, Hockeytown

DETROIT - In 1990, the first George Bush was president, the Hubble Telescope sent its first photographs from space, The Simpsons graced our television screens for the first time, a gallon of gas cost $1.34 and the Detroit Red Wings selected Keith Primeau with the third overall pick in the NHL Draft.

The Red Wings haven't had a top-five draft pick in 30 years, but that impressive streak is set to come to an end tomorrow as the Wings own the No. 4 overall pick in the NHL's first-ever virtual draft.
Detroit entered the 2020 NHL Draft Lottery in June with the best odds to land the No. 1 overall pick, but the ping pong balls floated the wrong way for the Wings, sending them down three spots to pick No. 4.
[Get all your 2020 NHL Draft news and notes by visiting Red Wings Draft Central]
But Red Wings executive vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman refuses to focus on the negative and the teams picking ahead of the Wings, and instead said he's looking forward to welcoming an extremely talented player to Hockeytown.
"As far as the draft order, I have no idea what is going to happen before us," said Yzerman, who was the last player the Red Wings selected at No. 4 overall, back in 1983. "At the 4th pick, we're pretty excited, regardless how it plays out."
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 NHL Draft will be 100-percent virtual instead of the originally scheduled location of the Bell Centre in Montreal.

But Yzerman isn't fazed by the virtual format, and actually welcomes the less-hectic environment he's anticipating, beginning Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET.
"I kind of like this (virtual) format. I think it's going to work really well," the Red Wings GM said. "You do not have the ability to quickly catch the eye of a general manager, but we've got multiple phone lines. You can get a lot done quickly. We're pretty well-organized and prepared and ready to go for Tuesday evening."
Most pundits' mock drafts have the first three picks of this year's draft pretty much set in stone, with QMJHL winger Alexis Lafreniere going No. 1 to the New York Rangers, 6-foot-4 OHL center Quinton Byfield going No. 2 to the Los Angeles Kings and German forward Tim Stutzle going to the Ottawa Senators at No. 3.
But the intrigue, according to most experts, begins with the Red Wings' selection at No. 4, in which Detroit could take Canadian center Cole Perfetti, Swedish winger Lucas Raymond, Canadian defenseman Jamie Drysdale or Swedish goal scorer Alexander Holtz.

Or Yzerman could make a splash and take a surprise pick at No. 4, similar to what he did in last year's draft when he shocked everyone by selecting German defenseman Moritz Seider with the sixth overall pick.

While Yzerman won't reveal who he's leaning toward taking on Tuesday, he said he's confident Detroit will land an exciting young player who will fit into the Wings' system, help build the team and eventually help the club return to prominence.
"We're going to get a great prospect. How good of a player he becomes? Time will tell," Yzerman said. "For myself, it's my second year as general manager, we want to take a step forward and I'm anxious to continue with our rebuilding of our team."