March 27, 2029, will go down in Detroit Red Wings history as the day the franchise changed. The day they turned things around. The day the middling and back-to-back seasons of frustrations are finally over. The day, hopefully for Detroit fans, the ship gets rightened. On March 27, 2029, the Detroit Red Wings surprisingly won the Connor Bedard sweepstakes by winning the FNHL draft lottery. Detroit went into the draft lottery process with the 10th highest odds of landing the most highly touted prospect since McDavid. A percentage so low to win that very few even considered it a true possibility. But then the commissioner started releasing the draft board. Drafting in the 3rd spot; New Jersey. 2nd spot; Phoenix. 1st spot and winners of the draft lottery; Detroit.
"My son drew me a picture of an Octopus clutching the Stanley Cup this morning. So I brought that with me today for luck, and wow. That thing is getting framed and might have to go to the Hall of Fame one day. Obviously, we in Detroit are ecstatic with the draft lottery results today. We were competing for a cup two seasons ago, and today we're here in the draft lottery. Things haven't been clicking for us in Detroit lately. Today clicked and are excited to be on top of the board." - stated GM Tyler Hetherington shortly after the results were released.
Despite being a Top 5 team in the early parts of this past season. The wheels fell off in Detroit in the middle of the season and forced GM Hetherington's hand in tearing the team apart and selling off assets. Thomas McCollum, Mathew Barzal, Aaron Ekblad, Gilbert Brule, Eddie Lack and Sven Adrighetto moved near the deadline for assets looking toward the franchise's future. The future that many thought would start with the Red Wings selecting 10th overall in the upcoming draft. But the hockey gods and a randomizer saw differently, and the future suddenly seemed much brighter.
Connor Bedard is a phenom. The highest-touted prospect since Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, and Sidney Crosby. Some say better. His junior stats surpass many of the stats from the elite players we just listed. He will go first overall and has a chance to be the future face of not only the Detroit Red Wings but the FNHL as well.
So, did this draft result alter Detroit's off-season plans? The answer to that is probably a little. It might have accelerated the agenda after the massive sell-off at the last trade deadline. The Red Wings were heading in this direction already. Many thought they might be a bottom-five team next season and sitting here hoping for good lottery results next year. But now they are getting that a season early, which changes things. The question now becomes; Do the Red Wings continue to sell off top assets and potentially even young assets like Nolan Patrick, Rasmus Kupari, Henri Jokiharju, Ivan Provorov and more to get even more pieces in the Bedard age range? Or do they build those pieces up and bring Connor alongside them?
Decisions to be made. But one has been made already. The pick won't be moving (unless something absolutely insane is offered), and the selection will be Connor Bedard.
4/6/2023 - 538 words
