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The ultimate long-term project Wings in no rush with rare U.S. high school pick Oslund ... Nick Oslund is the new Pavel Datsyuk. Really. The two players have absolutely no on-ice similarities: Datsyuk, a small, slick magician who can stickhandle in a phone booth, and Oslund, a big, fleet-footed bruiser who projects as a role player. The common thread? Both were drafted as long-term projects. Oslund, Detroit’s first U.S. high school pick in 13 years, went in the seventh round (191st overall) in Saturday’s NHL draft in Vancouver. He is headed to St. Cloud State of the NCAA beginning in 2007-08, and will remain property of the Red Wings until 2011. “We haven’t gone (the high school) route in a little bit and it shows you how the draft is changing in the later rounds,” said Red Wings assistant general manager Jim Nill. “He’s a long-term project. We’re banking him away for five years and we’ll see how he develops.” In Datsyuk’s days, teams would look to Europe to bank away and develop prospects, but that era is over. The new collective bargaining agreement enforces a two-year signing window for European picks. The only way to land a long-term project now — without having to shell out cash — is to draft a player headed to a U.S. college. Oslund, a Burnsville, Minn., high-school product, will spend this coming year with the Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League before heading to St. Cloud State for his freshman campaign in 2007. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound right-winger was a finalist for Minnesota’s Mr. Hockey award this season after producing 22 goals and 29 assists for 51 points in 25 games. He projects as a banger, not a scorer. “He’s got good size, he competes, he loves to hit and he’s a good skater for his size,” said Nill. “He needs to work on his stick skills.” The Red Wings also went big with Shawn Matthias, a 6-foot-3 center taken in the second round. It was no coincidence that the Red Wings picked several bigger, more physical prospects this year. “We wanted to get some size, and we got it,” said Nill. “You always want to add a little bit of size but you’ve got to be smart — you don’t want to forget, skill is important too. We felt we got a good mix.” NOTE: This is the fourth in a series of articles on the Red Wings' newest draft picks. Articles will appear daily. See also: Matthew Wuest is a freelance hockey writer. You can contact him by email at wuest@redwingscentral.com. |
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