Ranking Detroit Red Wings’ all-time Top 5 strongest NHL draft classes

The Detroit Red Wings have been fortunate to pluck individual stars over the years in the NHL Draft. However, highly successful full draft classes have been hard to come by.

The Red Wings’ recent draft history has been mixed, despite holding multiple picks. That’s why the best Detroit draft classes go back in time at a different juncture in the team’s history.

So, let’s take a look at the top five Detroit Red Wings' strongest NHL draft classes.

Top five Detroit Red Wings’ strongest NHL draft classes

#5 2005

The 2005 NHL Draft had the Detroit Red Wings take Jauk Kindl with the #19 pick. Kindl wasn’t quite a bust, but he did not make an impact in Detroit.

The Wings did find longtime defenseman Justin Abdelkader with the #42 pick and hit paydirt with Darren Helm in the fifth round. Helm was on the 2007-08 Stanley Cup championship team.

#4 1998/1999

The 1998 and 1999 NHL draft classes for the Detroit Red Wings were virtually regrettable. In 1998, the Wings took Jiri Fischer at #25. He’d play 300 NHL games. In 1999, the Wings didn’t have a pick in the first three rounds. But they managed to land Henrik Zetterberg in the seventh round.

Similarly, the Red Wings found Pavel Datsyuk in the sixth round in 1998. The pair would become staples in Detroit. Datsyuk won two Cups in Detroit, with Zetterberg being instrumental in the 2008 Cup run.

#3 1991

In 1991, the Detroit Red Wings found several longtime NHLers. Martin Lapointe landed in Detroit with the #10 pick. Goaltender Chris Osgood was also a notable pick, taken in the third round.

Another longtime NHLer was Mike Knuble, who appeared in over 1,000 NHL games. Lapointe and Osgood were part of the back-to-back championships in 1997 and 1998, with Knuble on the 1997 team.

The Wings also selected Jamie Pushor, a 500-game veteran, in the second round. He was also a member of the 1997 team, though he played the bulk of his career away from Detroit.

#2 1983

1983 is remembered as the Steve Yzerman draft. The Red Wings held the #1 overall pick and used it on their Hall of Fame captain and three-time Stanley Cup winner.

The draft class also produced longtime enforcer Bob Probert and forward Joey Kocur. Kocur won a Cup in New York in 1994 and another with the Red Wings in 1997.

The Wings took 700-game vet Petr Klima as well. Klima won a Stanley Cup with the Edmonton Oilers in 1990.

#1 1989

The 1989 Detroit Red Wings draft class has been the best by far. The Wings selected four 1,000-game players.

The team landed Mike Sillinger with the #11 pick, though Sillinger made his career away from the Red Wings.

In the third round, the Red Wings got future captain and Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom. In the fourth round, the Wings landed Sergei Fedorov, and in the sixth round, Dallas Drake hit Detroit.

Lidstrom won four Cups in Detroit, Fedorov three, and Drake one.

Another crucial pick was Vladimir Konstantinov in the 11th round. Sadly, Konstantinov was badly injured in an automobile accident following the Red Wings' 1997 Cup win, being unable to play again.