When it comes to the Detroit Red Wings’ fifth round picks, make sure to steer clear of them in the boxing ring. The Red Wings have drafted a number of enforcers with their fifth round picks over their history, including five who made it to the NHL headlined by one-punch wonder Joey Kocur.
Detroit has gained more than just pugilists from its fifth round picks. The franchise has found hockey trailblazers, Stanley Cup champions and cult favorite role players out of round five.
Here are the best fifth round picks in Red Wings history.
Left Wing: Petr Klima
86th overall, 1983
In the summer of 1985, Klima snuck out of Czechoslovakia tucked away in a fake car trunk. In doing so, he became the first Czech player to defect to the NHL, something he paid homage to with his number 85 jersey.
And that number 85 found itself written onto the scoresheet often. Klima was a brilliant scorer, potting 129 in his first five seasons with the Red Wings. In 1989, Detroit traded him to Edmonton in a trade that furnished the Oilers with lots of depth, helping them win the 1990 Stanley Cup. Klima scored five goals in that postseason. The next season, he led them in goals with 40. By the end of his 13 year career, Klima had scored 313 goals befitting of a player who started and ended his career in the Motor City.
In both his historical impact and his ability to score goals, Klima stands among the greatest fifth round picks in Red Wings history. Nobody scored more in their career. In addition to Klima, Detroit mined gold in 1986 selection John Garpenlov, who helped the Florida Panthers make their first Stanley Cup Final in 1996. 1978 pick Ted Nolan is a Jack Adams Trophy-winning head coach and indigenous hockey trailblazer.
Center: Darren Helm
132nd overall, 2005
In the 2010s, there was hardly a Red Wing as electrifying as Darren Helm. Sure, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Dylan Larkin turned heads with their skill and swagger. But with Helm, pure energy coursed from the way he played every shift with unrivaled intensity.
Helm began his career as a champion, carving out a role as a speedy fourth line center in a late-season call-up in 2008. He ended up playing 18 games in the Red Wings’ Stanley Cup playoff run, and 23 in the 2009 run that ended a game short of a repeat. Notably, Helm scored six goals in those playoff runs before scoring one in the regular season. That stands as a niche NHL record.
Through the 2010s, Helm proved an important bottom six center who could kill penalties with his speed and grit. If injuries hadn’t hindered his career at varying points, one can only wonder how much greater a role he could have taken. After leaving the Red Wings in 2021-22, he joined the Colorado Avalanche as a free agent and helped them win the Stanley Cup.
For an era of Red Wings hockey, Helm was a consistent fan favorite who provided consistent effort in the bottom six. Of all Detroit’s fifth round picks, Helm leads in games played (823) and ranks third in points (266). The only other centers drafted by Detroit in the fifth round to play NHL games are 1975’s Mike Wong, 1989’s Shawn McCosh and 2015’s Chase Pearson. That trio combines for 34 games and three points.
New York Rangers forward Joey Kocur (26) fights Washington Capitals forward Craig Berube (27).
Mandatory Credit: Nell Seiler-USA TODAY NETWORK
Right Wing: Joey Kocur
88th overall, 1983
When the Red Wings drafted Steve Yzerman fourth overall in 1983, they knew they needed to protect their new star. So, in the third and fifth rounds of the draft, they picked up feared heavyweights Bob Probert and Joey Kocur. The duo remains one of the scariest to ever take the ice.
Whereas Probert etched himself into legend with his erratic, punch-heavy fights, Kocur was methodical. He would grab hold of opponents and let them unleash a barrage of punches, but all Kocur needed is one to win the fight.
Kocur’s feared fists made him a valuable role player, leading to a five-player swap in 1991 that sent him to the New York Rangers. He played six years for the Rangers, winning his first Stanley Cup in 1994 before being traded to Vancouver at the trade deadline.
By 1996, Kocur was plying his trade in the minors before the Red Wings came calling again. After losing to New Jersey in the 1995 Stanley Cup Final, Detroit coach Scotty Bowman wanted to create a line similar to its effective Crash Line checking unit. The result became the Grind Line, where Kocur served as an enforcer alongside checking forwards Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby. Back-to-back Stanley Cups later, Kocur had earned hardware befitting his legendary status in Detroit.
Even if Kocur specialized in throwing haymakers, he’s the leading scorer among right wingers Detroit has picked in the fifth round. The only other right wing to play NHL games is 1971’s Earl Anderson.
Defense: Jim Korn
73rd overall, 1977
When the NHL’s enforcer era was at its peak in the 1980s, Jim Korn thrived. The tough blueliner ranked ninth in penalty minutes in the decade, logged against all-time greats like Craig Berube and Marty McSorley.
Korn didn’t always have to swing fists to make an impact, though. Especially when he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils, Korn’s playmaking from the blueline made him a consistent 20-point scorer.
Such a combination of scoring and grit made Korn an attractive asset for other teams, and the Red Wings traded him to Toronto at the deadline. The haul gave Detroit the pick that turned into Kocur, as well as enforcer Craig Coxe. It was fitting that moving Korn led to the selection of two players of the same craft. Korn was traded four more times in his career.
Defense: Brad Shaw
86th overall, 1982
For about five years in the mid-’90s, Shaw was a dependable top pairing defenseman with a strong two-way game. He co-captained the Ottawa Senators in their second season and has been an assistant coach in the NHL since 2005, including when he was named interim head coach midyear in his first season with the New York Islanders.
Shaw never played a game for the Detroit Red Wings, but he was part of another Motor City hockey dynasty with the Detroit Vipers in the late ‘90s. Shaw won the Turner Cup as an IHL champion with the Vipers in 1997, serving as a player-assistant coach. After spending another season in Detroit, Shaw capped his career with 16 more NHL games in a comeback arc.
Other fifth round blueliners include 2009’s Nick Jensen, currently with the Washington Capitals, as well as 1976’s Dwight Schofield and 1985’s Chris Luongo. The argument can be made that Jensen belongs on this list of top draft picks given his long career as a shutdown defender for the Capitals. However, Shaw’s career peak as a No. 1 defenseman and Korn’s heavyweight clout edge Jensen out for a spot on the fifth round All-Draft team.
Detroit Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek (34) makes a save on Calgary Flames left wing Curtis Glencross (20).
Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Goaltender: Petr Mrazek
141st overall, 2010
Before the Red Wings’ latest rebuild began, Mrazek seemed the goalie of the future. He backstopped the Grand Rapids Griffins to the Calder Cup in his first pro season, logging above a .920 save percentage in his first two seasons of call-ups. And once he won a piece of the starting role from veteran netminder Jimmy Howard, Mrazek showed tons of promise. His .921 save percentage across 54 games in 2015-16 is the seventh best rate in Red Wings history. That year, he practically willed Detroit forward at times in a playoff hunt that came down to the end of the season.
Mrazek’s time in Detroit didn’t last so long, as Detroit traded him to Philadelphia at the 2018 trade deadline. He spent three years with the Carolina Hurricanes’ tandem before signing in Toronto. His Maple Leaf career lasted one season before he was traded to Chicago, where he has remained ever since as the starter during the Blackhawks’ rebuild.
Even if Mrazek didn’t pan out as the long-term starter that Detroit wanted him to be, Mrazek has still been a successful goaltender in his career. Among all goalies since 2013-14, Mrazek’s 25 shutouts rank 18th alongside a variety of talented starters.
The only other goaltender drafted by Detroit in the fifth round to play NHL games is 1993’s Norm Maracle.
Previous All-Draft Selections
First Round
LW: Pete Mahovlich
C: Steve Yzerman
RW: Mike Foligno
D: Niklas Kronwall
D: Moritz Seider
G: Jim Rutherford
Second Round
LW: Adam Graves
C: Calle Jarnkrok
RW: Darren McCarty
D: Reed Larson
D: Bob Boughner
G: Jimmy Howard
Third Round
LW: Vyacheslav Kozlov
C: Valterri Filppula
RW: Johan Franzen
D: Nicklas Lidstrom
D: Steve Chiasson
G: Chris Osgood
Fourth Round
LW: Teemu Pulkinnen
C: Sergei Fedorov
RW: John Ogrodnick
D: Kyle Quincey
D: Stewart Malgunas
G: Tim Cheveldae
