Detroit City Wire

LAS VEGAS -- Detroit Red Wings Executive Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman, along with his amateur scouting staff, reconvened at Sphere in Las Vegas on Saturday morning for Day 2 of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The team aimed to bolster its roster by adding promising prospects.

The Red Wings made seven selections on the final day of this year’s draft, choosing four forwards, two defensemen, and one goaltender. Yzerman expressed satisfaction with the new additions to the team.

“We were keeping our fingers crossed with each pick, thinking these are one of the guys we want in that spot,” Yzerman said after Rounds 2-7. “At each spot, we got a kid that we were very excited about that we had projected in that range of a pick. We feel good about it today. We’ll see down the road how it plays out.”

Detroit began Day 2 by drafting winger Max Plante with their second-round pick (47th overall). Plante spent the 2023-24 season with the U.S. National Team Development Program’s U-18 club and recorded 61 points (15 goals, 46 assists) in 51 games.

“I’m a competitive playmaker,” Plante said. “I love to win hockey games and find my teammates on the ice, set them up.”

Yzerman praised Plante's on-ice awareness: “He moves the puck really well,” he said. “Very deceptive skater, he moves well on the ice. I really like his hockey sense and his creativity.”

In the third round, Detroit selected center Ondrej Becher (80th overall). Becher tallied 96 points (32 goals, 64 assists) in 58 games with the Western Hockey League’s Prince George Cougars this season.

Red Wings Assistant General Manager and Director of Amateur Scouting Kris Draper commented on Becher’s abilities: “He’s a kid that certainly put up great numbers,” Draper said. “His skating is something when you watch him play; he has that extra gear that you talk about.”

In the fourth round (126th overall), Detroit picked goaltender Landon Miller. Miller posted a record of 17-6-2 with a goals-against average of 2.79 and a save percentage of .889 in 30 games with the Ontario Hockey League’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds this season.

Miller described hearing his name called as an "amazing feeling": “I feel like I blacked out after I heard Soo Greyhounds because I thought it could be me here,” he said.

The Red Wings chose defenseman John Whipple in the fifth round (144th overall). Whipple registered 17 points (two goals, 15 assists) in 61 games with USNTDP’s U-18 squad this season.

Draper highlighted Whipple's confidence: “At the U18s and any international event, (Whipple) looked comfortable playing against other teams’ top players,” Draper said.

With their sixth-round pick (176th overall), Detroit drafted winger Charlie Forslund from Falu IF in Sweden’s third division.

“Playing against those men on a lower level, Charlie stood out,” Draper noted.

Detroit used its first seventh-round pick (203rd overall) to select winger Austin Baker from White Lake, Mich., who collected 31 points (15 goals, 16 assists) in 59 games with USNTDP’s U-18 team.

“A big, strong kid,” Draper said about Baker. “Powerful skater."

Five picks later at number 208 overall, Detroit made its final selection by taking defenseman Fisher Scott from Dubuque Fighting Saints of USHL.

“Our U.S. scouts were pounding the table at that round," Draper remarked about Scott's selection.

The Red Wings’ front office will now shift focus to free agency starting Monday at Noon ET.

“We’ll continue to talk to our own guys here,” Yzerman stated regarding current pending restricted and unrestricted free agents.