Recently traded star forward says he thought he would be drafted by Red Wings
Recently traded star forward Martin Necas, who was sent from Carolina to Colorado late last month, said he thought he would start his career with the Red Wings.
It was one of the largest trades in recent National Hockey League history, completed last month between the Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes and Chicago Blackhawks.
The Avalanche traded Mikko Rantanen to the Hurricanes in exchange for Martin Necas and Jack Drury; additionally, the Chicago Blackhawks joined in the trade by sending Taylor Hall to the Hurricanes while retaining half of Rantanen's salary.
Necas is one of the more talented players in the NHL, having already accumulated 60 points (17G, 43A) in 55 games split between the Hurricanes and Avalanche this year.
There was only one problem - he learned that they were more interested in a player with a bigger frame, and decided to select Michael Rasmussen with the 9th pick instead.
I was happy to get drafted, and was quite nervous.
Former NHL player Paul Bissonnette chimed in with a single word response when Necas said he found out the Red Wings wanted Rasmussen instead:
For comparison, Rasmussen has 134 points in 366 games, while Necas has 303 points in 417 games.
The Red Wings also notoriously blew an opportunity to select University of Michigan defenseman Quinn Hughes the following year, opting instead for Filip Zadina, who became one of the all-time biggest draft busts in team history.
Hughes, meanwhile, is the captain of the Canucks and won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman last year.
