Day 2 of the 2026 NHL draft is here, and the Detroit Red Wings come into the event holding seven selections.
The event at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y., starts at 11 a.m on Saturday, June 27. The Wings have their first pick about midway through the second round.
Friday was the marquee event, and the Wings ended up trading goaltender Sebastian Cossa, who had dropped on the depth chart, to the Utah Mammoth for the No. 23 pick, which they used on forward J.P. Hurlbert.
Follow along here for live coverage of Day 2 of the NHL draft.
When do the Wings have picks on day two?
Round 2: No. 47 (overall).
Round 3: No. 79.
Round 4: No. 108.
Round 5: No. 143
Round 6: No. 175.
Round 7: Nos. 196 and 207.
How have Wings fared on Day 2 under Yzerman?
Yzerman has his imprint all over the team’s first-round picks, heavily scouting targets. It’s different as the rounds wear on, and area scouts are called upon much more for recommendations.
Of the 10 Day 2 picks the Wings made in 2019, only Albert Johansson (143 games) and ex-Wing Elmer Söderblom (106), who was traded in March to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a third-round pick, have appeared in the NHL.
Of the 11 Day 2 players selected in 2020, only Donovan Sebrango (44) and Chase Bradley (2) have appeared in the NHL, neither with the Wings.
In 2021, the Wings made six selections on Day 2, and only Carter Mazur (9) has played for the team.
The Wings made eight Day 2 picks in 2022, none of whom have appeared in the NHL. The Wings just traded fourth-round pick Amadeus Lomrdi earlier this week, and second-round pick Dmitri Buchelnikov was part of the trade package that went to the Blues for Faulk.
The 2023 draft yielded nine Day 2 selections; notably, Emmitt Finnie, a seventh-rounder, is the only one to have played in the NHL, as he appeared in 82 games for the Wings this past season.
Seven Day 2 players from the 2024 draft and the same amount from the 2025 draft have yet to see time with the Wings, but that is very common for players so young. In fact, 2024 first-round pick Michael Brandsegg-Nygård is the only one of all 16 picks the Wings made during those two drafts to do so.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
She’s co-authored “Red, White & Gold: How American men and women became the kings and queens of Olympic hockey” (order at USA.ChampsBook.com.) Her books: “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, A Curated History of Hockeytown,” and “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: NHL Draft Day 2: Detroit Red Wings picks and analysis
Reporting by Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
