Red Wings executive vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman said that scouts have been closely following Kienan Draper the last few years and stressed that he earned his spot on the Wings' draft board.
"A couple of our scouts-one in Ontario who followed Kienan at St. Andrew's College last year, and one of our scouts who was following him in Chilliwack-they were pushing pretty hard," Yzerman said. "Kris and I had a brief conversation about it recently and initially I said, 'are you sure you want to put your son in that position?' and then ultimately, my answer to him was, 'your obligation is to do whatever is right for the Detroit Red Wings and I trust your judgement,' and I know that he did that."
Kris Draper said he wouldn't have selected his son if he didn't deserve it.
"Obviously I'm super proud, very excited, but my job is to draft prospects that I feel are going to be part of the Detroit Red Wings going forward," he said. "I believe in Kienan and just as importantly, guys on our staff believed in him as well, and that's how we ended up making that selection. He's continued to get better. He earned his position on our draft list by continuing to get better."
Like Father, Like Son: Kienan Draper drafted by the Red Wings
