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GriffinsCentral.com Historical Section

Draft History
New Draft Yearbooks will be added periodically until all seasons are included.


1977 Amateur Draft
The Red Wings drafted 16 players in the 1977 draft. They held the number one overall pick and chose OHL center Dale McCourt (Pictured) as the top choice. McCourt never became a franchise player, and the only other NHL regular picked by Detroit, Jim Korn, was traded away to Toronto early in his career.
1977 Draft
1978 Amateur Draft
The Wings drafted a whopping 19 players in the 1978 draft. Quite a few of the players taken came from Championship Junior teams in Hamilton and New Westminster. The Wings had two first round picks, Willie Huber (Pictured), and Brent Peterson, both were serviceable but neither a star.
1978 Draft
1979 Amateur Draft
All six players chosen in this draft turned pro, with 4 of them making the NHL. Mike Foligno (Pictured) and John Ogrodnick would go on to turn in very solid NHL careers, and one can only imagine how things might have been in Detroit with the 2 star wingers being centered by Yzerman for most of their careers.
1979 Draft
1980 Amateur Draft
All 8 players in this draft turned pro in the wings organization, although the only 2 to make the NHL were traded away early in their careers. Mike Blaisdell (Pictured), the highest rated of the group started out great, and faded away quickly, going from 20 goal scorer to out of the league in 3 years.
1980 Draft
1981 Amateur Draft
Seven out of eight players the wings' drafted in 1981 made it to the NHL at some point, not bad considering their normal luck with draft picks in the 70's and 80's. Top Pick Loiselle (Pictured) didn't lived up to expectations and never made much of an impact in Detroit before being dealt to New Jersey
1981 Draft
1982 Amateur Draft
Of the 12 players drafted in 1982, only 1st rounder Murray Craven (Pictured) ever played a game for the wings, and he was traded to Philadelphia 46 games into a 1000+ game NHL career. Four players signed with other NHL clubs and made it to the big leagues with varying degrees of success.
1982 Draft
1983 Amateur Draft
The first draft of the Illitch era, GM Jimmy Devallano hit a home run, drafting six NHL'ers including a skinny little center from Peterborough (OHL) who would become the face of the franchise. Wings stars Yzerman (Pictured), Probert, Klima, and Kocur were all products of this draft.
1983 Draft
1984 Amateur Draft
The first three picks made it to the NHL but none of them had the impact that was expected at the draft. First rounder Shawn Burr (Pictured) changed his game to become one of the NHL's premiere checking centers. This draft also marked the Wings' first deep foray into Sweden, with four players being selected .
1984 Draft