The skinny from a fat draft offering

You could be prone to a myriad of reactions to the class of 2017 selected by the Detroit Red Wings in this weekend’s NHL entry draft. Head scratching would be one appropriate response. With 11 selections at their disposal, the Wings frequently reached further down the draft board, picking up projects and selecting players rated well below the station where the Wings opted to pick them up. Do they know something everyone else doesn’t? Are their scouts smarter than the average bird dog? Time will tell, but already, that clock is ticking. The skinny on the players the Wings selected in Saturday’s second day of the NHL entry draft: 38. Gustav Lindstrom, D, Almtuna U18 (Sweden) There’s bloodlines at work here. Lindstrom’s uncle Marcus Ragnarsson played defense in the NHL for 632 games. Lindstrom shows an offensive upside, posting 6-4-10 numbers in six games for Almtuna in the Swedish Under-20 League. Moving up to Almtuna’s club in the Allsvenskan, the Swedish second division, Lindstrom put up 2-7-9 numbers from 48 games in his first experience playing against men. “When I saw him a couple of times before Christmas, I was thinking, ‘I wonder how he fits in the draft? How strong is he?’… Detroit European scout Hakan Andersson said. “And then by February/March, we were like, ‘I want him. I want him.’ He took big steps during the season for sure. “He’s six-foot-two and just a good all-around defenseman. He competes well, he has a good first pass, a good shot.… In his inaugural international experience, Lindstrom collected 1-6-7 numbers in four games skating for Sweden in an under-19 five-nation tournament against Switzerland, Finland, Germany and the Czech Republic in February, finishing third in tournament scoring. He will be in Plymouth, Mich. later this summer playing for Sweden in a world junior preliminary tournament. 71. Kasper Kotkansalo, D, Sioux Falls (USHL) Like Vili Saarijarvi two years ago, the Wings grabbed a Finnish defenseman who had opted to play in North America. The difference is that at 6-2 and 195 pounds, Kotkansalo isn’t undersized like Saarijarvi. “He seems to compete well,… Andersson said. “He was a captain on the (Finland under-19) team I saw him with. Just a good all-around player. “I can’t tell you again that he’s got (Nicklas) Lidstrom/Erik Karlsson upside, but just a good all-arounder with size who competes. Looks like a solid player.… Considered a steady, two-way defender, strong skater and someone with potential for an offensive upside, Kotkansalo played in the USHL Top Prospects Game and in a pair of under-20 tournaments for Finland last season. He’s been slowed by injuries but displays plenty of potential at both ends of the rink. He can work a power play, has a potent one-timer and plays with a nasty streak in his own end. Kotkansalo is destined to play NCAA hockey for the Boston Terriers. 79. Lane Zablocki, RW, Red Deer (WHL) Zablocki scored 12 goals in 20 games for Red Deer playing on the Rebels’ top line after he was traded there by Regina, but he has his doubters. “Every goal we’ve ever seen him score was a generic backdoor, weak side tap in generated by the hard work of his linemates,… noted RedLine Report. “Never gets his own hands dirty. We’ve seen road kill that fared better in traffic.…