Red Wings 2015 draft preview and a look at what 2014 picks are doing

2015 NHL Entry Draft starts Friday night

The 2015 NHL Entry Draft will take place this weekend in Sunrise, Fla.

The first round begins 7 p.m. Friday and will be broadcast live on NBCSN.

Here's where the Detroit Red Wings fall in the draft order (subject to change upon trades):

1st round: 19th pick
2nd round: No pick (Dallas got the 49th pick in the 2nd round through the Erik Cole trade in March)
3rd round: 73rd pick (from Dallas via Erik Cole trade condition)
4th round: 110th pick
5th round: 140th pick
6th round: 170th pick
7th round: 200th pick

Building from the net out and selecting a defenseman with their first pick is likely the best option for the Red Wings, but if the Wings stay at 19 they may be left in a position to pick the best player available, which likely will be a forward. It's never clear what will go down in the initial rounds. Moreover, the Red Wings probably will want to trade for a 2nd-round pick -- they didn't have one last year.

There really is no point in trying to guess who the Wings will pick and where -- unless they trade up to a top 10 pick or something. You can view the NHL Central Scouting's final rankings here and try to guess. Keep in mind they did not draft a defenseman last year. They went for smart, skilled centers and big wingers.

Here's what Detroit did in the 2014 draft and where those selections spent this past season:

1st round: Dylan Larkin (C) at 15th overall
Larkin played 35 games with the University of Michigan (15 G, 32 A) and 6 playoff games with the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins (3 G, 2 A). He signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Red Wings in May.

Dylan Larkin #19 of the Michigan Wolverines battles along the boards for the puck with Michael Ferrantino #20 of the Michigan State Spartans during game two of Big Ten Mens Ice Hockey Championship Semifinals on March 20, 2015 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The Wolverines defeated the Spartans 4-1 to advance to the championship game.


Dylan Larkin -- Photo by Dave Reginek/Getty Images

2nd round: No pick

3rd round: Dominic Turgeon (C) at 63rd overall
Turgeon played 67 games with the WHL's Portland Winterhawks (18 G, 25 A, 43 Pts)

4th round: Christoffer Ehn (C) at 106th overall
Ehn spent most of 2014-15 (40 games -- 12 G, 24 A) with Frolunda HC's (Swedish Hockey League) U20 team. He also played for the Sweden U20 team at the 2015 World Junior Championship.
Source: Hockey's Future

5th round: Chase Perry (G) at 136th overall
Perry, 19, spent last season playing for Colorado College (15 GP, 3.97 GAA, 8.76 SV%)
Source: Elite Prospects

6th round: Julius Vahatalo (F) at 166th overall
Vahatalo played 36 games with TPS Turku in the SM-liiga (Finnish Elite League). He scored a goal and an assist. He represented Finland in the 2015 World Junior Championship. According to Hockey's Future, the 20-year-old native of Finland doesn't have to be signed until 2018.

7th round: Axel Holmstrom (F) at 196th overall
Holmstrom (no relation) signed an entry-level contract with the Wings earlier this month. He's become quite an exciting prospect after making a name for himself in the Swedish Hockey League playoffs and in international play. Details: Red Wings sign Holmstrom

Axel Holmstrom #25 of Team Sweden gets a shot away against Team Finland during a quarter-final game in the 2015 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship at the Air Canada Centre on January 2, 2015 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.


Axel Holmstrom -- Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images

7th round: Alexander Kadeykin (F) at 201st overall
Kadeykin played 20 games (4 G, 4 A) for the KHL's St. Petersburg SKA after he was traded from Moscow Oblast Atlant. Hockey's Future says his two-way game is what got him selected by Detroit. He's now 21 with a decent amount of experience in the Russian league.

Statistics source: HockeyDB