The Detroit Red Wings will be suiting up the first two picks of the NHL entry draft during the 2025-26 season.

Okay, if you want to nitpick, it’s the first two picks of the 2007 NHL entry draft.

“Yeah, it’s actually funny,” James van Riemsdyk said.

The 1st & 2nd overall picks from the 2007 NHL Draft are now Detroit Red Wings. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/BMSfk0kjEe

— Ryan Hana (@RyanHanaWWP) July 1, 2025

Patrick Kane was the first overall pick, chosen by the Chicago Blackhawks that day at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. Next, the Philadelphia would step up to the podium, tabbing van Riemsdyk with the second overall selection.

After all these years, they’ve finally put it together. For the first time, the two friends will also play as NHL teammates with the Red Wings. Detroit signed JVR as a UFA earlier this month, two years after doing likewise with Kane. In fact, Kane signed his new one-year deal with Detroit one day prior to van Riemsdyk also agreeing to a one-year pact. He was with the Columbus Blue Jackets last season.

“He’s one of my really good buddies and we’ve obviously been kind of through this whole journey over the years together in a lot of ways,” van Riemsdyk said. “Through some different USA hockey things and some different things over the years with training or bouncing ideas off each other or stuff like that. So it’s really exciting that we get a chance to do all that on the same team.”

It’s the first time they’ve played on the same team since the 2005-05 US NTDP under-18 squad. Both were 16 years old. Kane was the team’s leading scorer that season with 17-17-34 totals. Third in scoring with 18-11-29 numbers was van Riemsdyk.

Red Wings Teammates Have Still Got It

Kane, 36, has accounted for 492 goals and 851 assists through 1,302 NHL games. He’s scored 20 goals in 11 seasons, got to 30 goals three times, and twice topped 40 goals.

Also 36, van Riemsdyk’s NHL resume shows 327 goals and 338 assists from 1,082 games. Five times he’s scored 20 goals and twice he’s cleared the 30-goal plateau.

Welp, the Red Wings never got their lottery luck but they’ve just signed the top two overall picks in the 2007 NHL entry draft … pic.twitter.com/D6TgxSiUpl

— John Niyo (@JohnNiyo) July 1, 2025

Kane has scored 20 goals for the Red Wings in each of the past two seasons. As for van Riemsdyk, he’s averaged 16 goals per season over the past four campaigns.

Nearly 20 years later, they’re still showing the kids how it’s done.

“I think there was one game last year at Columbus maybe where he had a couple of points and I had a couple of points,” van Riemsdyk recalled. “And I want to say, I think he said something to me on one of the faceoffs after like he scored and we were going out there.

“He’s like, ‘we still got it,’ or something like that.”