Kris Draper

DETROIT – With a strong campaign surge late in the weekend, Kris Draper ground out a last-minute victory in Round 1 of Operation Bobblehead: Alumni Edition.

Former Red Wings’ defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov led the field of bobblehead candidates heading into the weekend. But characteristic of his on-ice abilities, Draper fought until the end to become the first bobblehead chosen by his fans. 7,500 collectible figurines characterizing the former Red Wing will be distributed to fans at a select home game during the 2012-13 season.

Rounding out the top five bobblehead choices were Vladimir Konstantinov, Chris Osgood, Mickey Redmond and Darren McCarty. Draper’s name will be removed from the ballot and voting for Round 2 of Operation Bobblehead: Alumni Edition will resume on Tuesday, August 7 at 12:01 PM.

Former Red Wings appearing on the ballot include, Sid Abel, Alex Delvecchio, Terry Sawchuck, Ted Lindsay, Darren McCarty, Joe Kocur, Kirk Maltby, John Ogrodnick, Luc Robitaille, Dino Ciccarelli, Vladimir Konstantinov, Mickey Redmond, Chris Osgood and many more. Write-in candidates are also encouraged and there is no limit to the number of times people can vote for their favorite former Red Wing. None of the ballots casted during Round 1 of the campaign will count towards the next round of voting.

Operation Bobblehead: Alumni Edition is a multi-week online voting campaign to determine which bobbleheads will be distributed at select home games during the 2012-13 season. Three-time Stanley Cup champion Steve Yzerman will be the first bobblehead appearing in the hands of 7,500 lucky fans at Joe Louis Arena. The remaining five bobbleheads will be chosen through a week-by-week voting campaign on DetroitRedWings.com. Voting begins every Tuesday at 12:01 PM and closes the following Sunday at noon.