Experts match Red Wings with Necas, Pettersson in mock drafts
Hockey experts predict, in their mock drafts, who the Red Wings will select with the No. 9 pick in the NHL draft on Friday:
Kevin Allen, USA Today: Martin Necas, center, Czech Republic (6-1, 170) – Skates well, creates scoring chances out of nothing plays, slick passer, entertaining player. He’s been playing against men in the Czech League.
Corey Pronman: ESPN: Necas – Every fiber of my being is telling me not to slot a European to Detroit in the first round. It's so cliché, and there is no track record that the cliché is even warranted.
Craig Button, TSN: Elias Pettersson, center, Sweden (6-2, 160) – I see him like Henrik Zetterberg in every regard. The irony is he’s big like Zetterberg was at that age and they each played for Timra in Sweden.
Jeff Marek, Sportsnet: Pettersson – After focusing on defensemen in the last couple of drafts, the Red Wings go with the skilled Swedish center.