RW wrote:
In fairness to Yzerman, Ken Holland was the GM when the Wings drafted Zadina.
Ahhhhhh you're right, Stevie Y took over in 2019 and pretty much nailed it in that draft.
Speaking of Holland, who sure looks like he's pretty much just a figurehead/bean counter in Edmonton now, I didn't realize until recently the Oilers fired his right-hand man in Tyler Wright and replaced him with former Avs draft guru Rick Pracey (which is a questionable decision, to say the least). I'm guessing with Draper running the draft show they probably don't want Wright back, just an interesting side note.
I always wondered how he would do in Edmonton. I don't mean that in an unflattering way either. Holland took over the GM job in Detroit in 1997. You could argue that Jimmy Devallano built the 1997 & 1998 teams. Holland did a lot in helping to build the 2002 team although it still had a lot of Devellano's picks. Holland can take a lot of credit for the 2008 and 2009 teams. Mike Illitch wanting to keep the playoff streak going handcuffed Holland in the post-2010 onward era and postponed the inevitable rebuild. His draft board post-playoff streak was spotty at best, i.e. taking Zadina over Hughes. I don't know why he had a difficult time. He always seemed like one of the top GMs in the NHL. I don't follow Edmonton, so I don't know the internal politics. Holland is getting up there in age and that could be the reason he's shifting away from the heavy lifting.