The Detroit Red Wings came away with a big group at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.
The Red Wings had ten picks put on the winged-wheel jersey by the end of this weekend's draft at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Their two picks in the first round include their highest first-round pick since the 1990 draft.
That pick was sixth overall, with the Wings selecting right-winger Filip Zadina. The 18-year-old hails from Pardubice, Czech Republic. He was the top rookie in the QMJHL, when he scored 44 goals for 82 points last season with the Halifax Mooseheads. He was named to the league's first All-Star team and All-Rookie team. He also scored seven goals for the Czech team at the 2018 World Junior Championships.
The second first-round pick made by the Red Wings, 30th overall, was another QMJHL star, centre Joseph Veleno. The Montreal native began last season with the Saint John Sea Dogs before being traded to the Drummondville Voltigeurs midseason. He played a combined 64 games, scoring a total 22 goals for 79 points. He won a gold medal for Canada at the 2017 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Championship and represented his country at this year's U-18 World Juniors.
Detroit's remaining draft picks are listed as follows:
- Jonatan Berggren - Right-winger, 33rd overall, second round. Berggren scored 18 goals for 57 points for Skelleftea Jr. in Sweden last season. He also scored five goals and five assists for Sweden at the 2018 U-18 World Juniors.
- Jared McIsaac - Defenceman, 36th overall, second round. The 18-year-old from Truro, Nova Scotia, a teammate of Zadina's at Halifax, scored nine goals for 47 points last year, plus four assists in the QMJHL playoffs. He also had 86 penalty minutes. McIsaac, the nephew of NHL referee Jon McIsaac, was named to the league's all-rookie team for 2016-2017 after scoring four goals for 32 points.
- Alec Regula - Defenceman, 67th overall, third round. Regula was one of four London Knights taken in this year's draft, and he already has a connection to the Red Wings. His father was the team's long-time dentist. The native of West Bloomfield, Michigan scored seven goals for London last season.
- Seth Barton - Defenceman, 81th overall, third round. Barton, 18, is from Kelowna, BC. Last season with the BCHL's Trail Smoke Eaters, he scored six goals for 33 points and had 32 penalty minutes.
- Jesper Eliasson - Goalie, 84th overall, third round. The 6' 3", 209-pound Eliasson was a dominant goalie in the Swedish Junior League-2 last season. He had a 1.93 goals-against-average and four shutouts over 19 games for Troja-Ljungby Junior. He maintained a 93% save percentage.
- Ryan O'Reilly - Right-winger, 98th overall, fourth round. O'Reilly, 18, tied for second in goals among rookies in the USHL last year with 21 goals over 45 games with Madison. The Dallas native has committed to attend and play at the University of Denver for the upcoming season.
- Victor Brattstrom - Goalie, 160th overall, sixth round. The 21-year-old goaltender from Sweden played last season for Timra, with a 1.93 goals-against-average and three shutouts over 15 games, along with a 91.8% save percentage.
- Otto Kivenmaki - Centre, 191st overall, seventh round. Kivanmaki, 18, of Pori, Finland, scored 11 goals for 37 points with Assat in the Finnish Junior League last season. He also scored a goal for Finland at the most recent U-18 Five Nations Tournament.