Minnesota Wild draft summaries...

1st round and the Brent Burns trade

Wild add Brodin and Phillips from 1st Round, deal Burns to Sharks for Setoguchi and Coyle in an eventful evening

Written by Derek Felska | 24 June 2011

I think its time for a Kanye West moment. You know, the grab the mic and steal the spotlight because you're impatient and feel you have something to say, "Now that don't kill me, Can only make me stronger, I need you to hurry up now, 'cause I can't wait much longer, I know I got to be right now, 'cause I can't get much wronger, Man I've been waitin' all night now, That's how long I've been on you" are the lyrics to Kanye's song Stronger which sort of represents how I feel about my long wait for the draft as well as the relative drafting history of the franchise. The moment created is a bit awkward and even though your intentions were for the best you end up coming off like an arrogant ass. I am not looking to steal the thunder from whoever the Minnesota Wild select tonight at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft but I have to admit I have a little anxiety about who this team is going to pick. After the last six or so seasons the first round has for the most part has been a practice in futility. The team's 1st round history over that time AJ Thelen, James Sheppard, Benoit Pouliot, Colton Gillies, Tyler Cuma do not make me feel all that confident the team is going to make the right move. The Wild did part ways with Tommy Thompson (thankfully) who was largely responsible for this series of awful selections and at least so far Minnesota looks like it made the right move when it picked Mikael Granlund in last year's draft as this YouTube clip would indicate. Brett Flahr and Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher also did fairly well with their three 2nd round selections in Brett Bulmer, Johan Larsson, and Jason Zucker. So if I could have my Kanye West moment I'd run up and steal the mic from the podium tonight just before Fletcher or Flahr announces the Wild's selection and I'd say, "great job last year with Granlund guys, but let me just say on the behalf of the State of Hockey just don't screw this up ok?" No pressure?!?!

You better believe there is a lot of pressure on the Wild making this pick in the State of Hockey as fans watched yesterday as Philadelphia made one summer's worth of moves in the span of a few others by dispatching big contracts in team captain Mike Richards to Los Angeles and Jeff Carter to Columbus for a 1st round pick (8th Overall this year), 2nd round pick (from L.A.), 3rd round pick (from Columbus) along with Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds and prospect Brayden Schenn as they freed up room to sign goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov to a 9-year, $51 million deal. I don't think anyone in Minnesota is expecting Fletcher to make moves like that, but the pressure is clearly there. The team sent hometown head coach Todd Richards packing after another middling season and replaced him with the seemingly more intense Mike Yeo and more recently the Wild GM made a statement that the team better make sure its in shape when it reports to training camp or there will be some consequences. Get the feeling the honeymoon is over? From this Wild fan's perspective, its about damn time but at the end of the day we'll see if these were merely words or whether it will be translated into action if a player / players don't show up to camp in shape. I have little doubt that some of the players who had been used to having things go their own way may test Yeo and Fletcher to see if they have the resolve to follow through afterall the last bench boss responded to poor effort by giving optional practices and with that example how intimidated would you be by authority figures talking big? Anyways, back to the draft the Wild are feeling pressure there as well as the team again finds itself still relatively close to the cap ceiling despite the fact the league raised the roof by another $4 million (to about $64 million). So that leaves the draft as the one avenue to improve the team; probably not for the short term but to try to improve the prospects of a bright future. Last year they seemed to take some positive steps, but with another draft comes another opportunity to make some more ground on the competition. The Wild have six picks going into draft night barring any trades that may take place. There certainly have been rumors about the team shopping Brent Burns and others hoping to perhaps gain some more selections but no news just yet. Without question, the first round selection is where the most intense focus as well as the greatest hopes of finding that elusive impact player that the team has so often failed to acquire in the draft and thus left the team reaching for free agency to fill the holes made by those errors in judgment. At this point the Wild have the 10th Overall pick (1st round), no 2nd round pick (the Chuck Kobasew trade), 71st Overall (3rd round), 101st Overall (4th round), 131st Overall (5th round), 161st Overall (6th round), and 191st Overall (7th round). So who will the Wild pick? We've seen the mock drafts and there are lots of names thrown around, some more frequently than others.

Since the draft was in St. Paul I traveled back to my home state to watch the drama unfold. I attended the draft with my partner in crime Theresa and wild.com's KissArmyMan (Bruce) where we enjoyed our seats in club level. Our goal is to give a fan like coverage of how we experienced these events as they happened, provide analysis and then our opinions on the selections. Also included is are the rankings from the Hockey News (where applicable), International Scouting Service (ISS), HockeyProspect.com, and the NHL's Central Scouting Final Ranking (CSS) to hopefully give you the fan a fair perspective of where this prospect was rated prior to their selection. The wait is finally over and the Minnesota Wild selects...(click on the link for the rest of the article)

I give a complete review of Brodin and Phillips as well as the trade of Brent Burns. Enjoy!!!

Day 2 Draft coverage, and my overall opinion of the draft

2011 NHL Entry Draft: Second day of the draft for the Wild has a strong hometown flavor as the State of Hockey picks two of its own

Written by Derek Felska | 25 June 2011

To think about Day Two of the NHL Entry draft I'll try to make a connection with a common rite of passage, high school graduation. Whether you're valedictorian or just barely managed to graduate there is always a little bit of butterflies as you wait for commencement. For many high school kids, its the first time they seriously ponder what life after high school may entail for them. The uncertainty can create a feeling of anxiety, excitement and accomplishment all wrapped into an event where you hurry up and wait for what seems like forever and then suddenly its all over and you have a diploma in your hand and your life is headed in a new direction. Imagine if you would, if you were at commencement and you were uncertain as to whether you'd graduate. Where you only know if you accomplished your goal if someone walks up to a podium and calls your name. You and I don't go through that mixed series of emotions as you watch each general manager or scouting director move to the mic and then say "(insert team name here) are proud to select..." and then hope its your name that is called just so this agonizing wait can be over, which is unlike those of us that graduated as we know our names will be called that day. Just think how that must feel for the hundreds of draft hopefuls each year who make the trip to the draft where they wait on pins and needles as each pick is made. For some, that relief takes place and their name is called and they can rest easy (for a moment) but for others they wait in vain. Their name is not called and they turn to their families feeling empty and disappointed, wondering if they made the right choice about dedicating themselves to play the game. While you'll hear the phrase "a dream come true" bandied about it can also be a humbling moment that can leave you really questioning yourself. It is sad that some will feel that level of disappointment but it is a part of the process and it happens each and every year.

If you're fortunate enough to live near where the draft is located, you may have a large entourage of friends and family members with you to celebrate this great day. Imagine their feelings as they await anxiously for your name to be called as well, where they may make comments that only add to the pressure that the draft hopeful is already feeling. This typifies Day Two of the Entry Draft. The first day is relatively easy; the players amongst the first 30 selected in the 1st round have a very good idea their name will be called as its just a matter of who and when. Yet for many of the Day 2 players, it is whether your name is even called at all. Toss into that your own expectations, those of coaches, family members and perhaps outside advisers like an agent and you have a perfect storm of stress. If you're fortunate enough to have your name called on draft day you not only feel relief but the exhilaration of a new challenge, a new team and a new direction. It has be immensely gratifying and the State of Hockey News would like to extend our congratulations to all of these draft hopefuls whether your name was called or not.

For the teams it is also a mix of emotions. Of hoping players that you like fall into your lap as you attempt to find gems that eluded the first round. There are plenty of great stories of late-round success; guys like Henrik Zetterberg (7th round, 210th Overall in 1999), Pavel Datsyuk (6th round, 171st Overall in 1998), Johan Franzen (3rd round, 97th Overall in 2004), and Jonathan Ericsson (9th round, 291st Overall in 2002) are all late round diamonds in the rough that have kept Detroit as one of the Western Conference's elite teams. It vaulted the reputation of Hakan Andersson as one of the most shrewd evaluators of talent in the NHL and his successes speak for themselves. Late round gems can save teams a significant portion of space under the salary cap instead of forcing organizations to sign more expensive players via free agency to fill organizational holes. So while the later rounds certainly are a crap shoot, if a team can land a few quality players later in the draft it can be all the difference in being able to afford your star calibre talent. In fact, the Wild are a good example of this. If Minnesota had drafted better and was able to rely on a pipeline of young players developed internally perhaps it would not have had to have parted with Brent Burns. Certainly something to consider. The Wild would make a deal with its rival, the Vancouver Canucks by giving them their 3rd round and 4th round selections respectively (71st and 101st Overall) for their 2nd round pick (60th Overall). With that pick the Wild select...(click on the link for the rest of the article)

Here is my summary of Day 2 for the Wild as well as my thoughts on the whole draft. Enjoy!