So You’re Picking . . . Past Red Wings Draft Picks By The Numbers | DHN+

Six holds a dear place in the hearts of Detroit Red Wings fans. And it’s not just because the No. 6 ws taken out of service in the 1930s by Wings GM Jack Adams in honor of Larry Aurie, the club’s first true long-serving star player.

Current Wings fans see six as being a key number in the club’s rebuild. Right wing Filip Zadina (2018) and defenseman Moritz Seider (2019), viewed as cornerstones for the franchise going forward in the drive back toward respectibility, were both selected sixth overall in their draft year.

The Wings will again pick sixth tonight for the third time in four years. Assuming Seider makes the graade – a safe assumption, to be sure – they’ve actually gone three-for-three in terms of NHLers when picking at No. 6. Right wing Steve Atkinson, taken sixth overall in 1966, played 302 NHL games and was a 20-goal scorer for the 1970-71 Buffalo Sabres.

How have the Wings fared historically in the other slots at which they will draft over the next two days? We here at Detroit Hockey Now wondered that, so we decided to do a little research. Read on to discover what we found out.