Why Steve Yzerman saw Simon Edvinsson as the best pick for Detroit Red Wings at No. 6

For the second time in three drafts, Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman went for a big, skilled defenseman with his first pick.

Simon Edvinsson checked the box for best prospect available Friday when the Wings made their selection at No. 6, after defensemen Owen Power and Luke Hughes and centers Matty Beniers, Mason McTavish and Kent Johnson were off the board. Edvinsson is a 6-feet-4, skilled, mobile, physical Swede who the Wings see as a player that can help move the rebuild forward.

“He’s a big, rangy D that can really skate,” Yzerman said. “He’s got good puck skills. We just see his potential to be a defenseman that can log a lot of minutes, a left shot defenseman that can log a lot of minutes and be a solid defender that can add some offense to the game as well. We like his skating ability, his size and his reach.”

[ Wings fans optimistic about Edvinsson but may have preferred this prospect ]

Edvinsson, 18, boosts a defense corps prospect that is headlined by 6-4 Moritz Seider, Yzerman’s top pick in the 2019 draft. Seider is poised to join the Wings this fall; Edvinsson is most likely going to stay in Sweden and play for Frölunda, but at some point the hope is the two will be towering powerhouses on Detroit’s blue line.

“Once you are a solid defensive hockey team, you’re going to be competitive and you can win a lot of nights,” Yzerman said. “Over time, we’ll be able to add to the offense.”

It was nearly three in the morning Saturday in Sweden when the pick was announced. Edvinsson was celebrating with family and friends, after spending the hours leading up to the draft trying to stay calm.

“I’ve been going through adrenaline and nerves,” Edvinsson said. “I’ve been up and eating. I slept a little bit in the afternoon, but then it was just adrenaline and nerves that kept me up.

DRAFT GRADE: Wings get a B for drafting Swedish defenseman Simon Edvinsson

“When Detroit said my name, it was unbelievable feeling. I am proud to be part of Original Six, to be a part of Detroit.”

Edvinsson described himself as “a skating defenseman that likes to have the puck and make things out of it. I like to give the team a good effort on the ice.” He split the 2020-21 season between Vasteras IK (five points in 14 games) in Sweden’s second-tier league and Frolunda (one point in 10 games) in the Swedish Hockey League.

“It was great experience to see all those leagues, all those teams,” Edvinsson said. “It helped me a lot, especially Frölunda.”

His Frölunda teammates included Lucas Raymond, the Wings’ top pick last year. Edvinsson played against Seider, who spent 2020-21 with Rögle in the SHL because of the pandemic.

Edvinsson likely will be best off staying in Sweden, where he can develop in a good program, and aided by Niklas Kronwall, the former Wings defenseman who has worked for the team as an advisor since retiring in 2019. The Wings take a patient approach with their prospects, but there’s great anticipation for his future.

“His edge work and his deception with the puck is something that impressed all of us,” director of amateur scouting Kris Draper said. “We’re very excited to bring him in. Our expectation is he’s going to come in and he’s going to be a top-pair defenseman for us and play a lot of years in a Detroit Red Wings uniform.”

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why Simon Edvinsson made sense for Detroit Red Wings at No. 6