Scouting the Detroit Red Wings: Kris Draper

September 8, 12:15 AMDetroit Red Wings ExaminerMike Mouat

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Kris Draper

Today's profile: Kris Draper

Height: 5'10"
Weight: 188
Birthdate: May 24, 1971 (38 years old)
Position: Center
Shoots: Left
Uniform #: 33
Contract status: Signed through 2010-11
Salary Cap Figure: $1,583,333
Salary in 2009-10: $1,650,000

2008-09

Kris Draper played in a pair of 1,000th games in 2008-09. First, he played in his 1,000th NHL game on February 2nd against the St. Louis Blues, and on March 17th, against the Philadelphia Flyers, he became just the fifth player to play 1,000 games as a Red Wing (Howe, Delvecchio, Yzerman, Lidstrom). Draper led the Red Wings winning 60.3% of face-offs taken, which was second best in the NHL. He also finished fourth on the Red Wings with 105 hits. For the second consecutive season Draper recorded 17 points, however his -13 rating was the worst of his career, and is reflective of a season where overall team defense struggled.

Draper is the best $1 ever spent by Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch, as he continues to pay dividends 16 years later. Despite his, and the team's, struggles on the penalty kill last season, Draper remains valuable in his defensive role as he still has enough speed to force the opposing team to move the puck quicker than they would like. And his skill in the faceoff circle is a huge benefit to the Red Wings and their puck possession style of play. His contributions off the ice are just as valuable as his work in the weight room sets an example for the younger players to emulate. Signed for two more seasons his primary role with the team will be to continue to provide energy and hustle on the ice and groom the next generation of third and fourth line defensive forwards, and in particular Darren Helm. Draper is primed for a resurgence this season as last season was one of his worst, statistically, and with a renewed focus on defense and penalty killing by the whole team, it should translate into a better season for the veteran. The combination of Helm's speed and wreckless abandon physically and Draper's dogged pursuit on the forecheck should make the fourth line more difficult and unpleasant to play against than they were last season.

Be sure to check out the slide show below for some action shots of Draper from last season.

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• Dan Cleary  Pavel Datsyuk  Kris Draper  Patrick Eaves  Jonathan Ericsson  Valtteri Filppula  Johan Franzen  Darren Helm  Tomas Holmstrom  Niklas Kronwall   Brett Lebda   Ville Leino  Nicklas Lidstrom  Andreas Lilja  Kirk Maltby  Derek Meech  Chris Osgood  Brian Rafalski  Brad Stuart  Jason Williams  Henrik Zetterberg