Thursday, July 1, 2004

Minnesota made the most of its picks in the NHL Entry Draft this year.

The Minnesota Wild entered this year’s NHL Entry Draft hoping to add a blue chip defenseman who could bring a physical element to the team, and maybe quarterback the power play as well. They got just that, as hometown kid A.J. Thelen fell into their lap with the #12 pick in the first round. “We really felt he was a complete player,” remarked head scout Tommy Thompson after the draft’s first day. Rumors had flown that Minnesota would opt for the size of big defenseman Boris Valabik, but it was Thelen whom they drafted, and that’s probably for the best.

Thelen is originally from Minnesota, though he hasn’t played hockey in the state in about 5 years. He is a skilled player though, and doesn’t lack self-confidence. He is an over-achiever who works hard to get ahead. This was exemplified by the fact he graduated from high school a year early and went to college while most kids his age were still seniors in high school. Once at Michigan State, he kept succeeding on the ice. Despite being the second youngest player in Division 1 hockey last season, Thelen scored 11 goals to go along with his 18 assists in 41 games. He saw significant time on the power play, and overall was a key player for the Spartans.

While Thelen was eagar to volunteer his services at the pro level after his selection Saturday, Minnesota’s plan at the moment is to let him go back to Michigan State for another season. “Of course, we said the same thing about Bouchard and Burns,” noted GM Doug Risebrough after the draft. But this year he’ll probably stick to his plan. A looming labor stoppage gives teams no reason to rush to get their picks signed, just to have them sit through a lockout. So, barring a labor miracle, don’t look for Thelen’s first pro appearance with the Wild until the 2005-06 season. Even so, he’s a strong addition to the blue line that Minnesota will be able to build around.

After Thelen was selected, Minnesota turned to focus on its second round selection. The Wild had their eyes on a player and tried to trade up into the bottom of the first round, but didn’t find any takers, so they had to wait for their spot. Well, as fate would have it, they got their man anyway in LW Roman Voloshenko. Voloshenko is described in the ’04 Draft Guide as “a constant offensive threat” and “an extremely creative play maker.” He was the leading scorer in nearly every youth tournament he played in, even outscoring #2 overall pick Yevgeny Malkin in both the Russian Sr league, and in the World Juniors. Sound like something the Wild could use? The knock on the kid is his skating, but Thompson seemed confident they could resolve that. Both Thompson and Risebrough glowed when talking about the luck that brought Voloshenko into their hands at pick #42. “Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don’t make,” noted Thompson.

Voloshenko is under contract in Russia for another season, but should come to the Wild in the 2005-06 season. That should give him some time to work on his English, which doesn’t exist at the moment. He did say through his interpreter that he was looking forward to playing with Marian Gaborik, but otherwise knew little about the Wild. If he can set up the rest of the guys, I don’t think anyone will complain too much.

In the third round, Minnesota went with a winger Peter Olvecky, who played with Marian Gaborik on Trencin in the Slovakian Jr League during Gaborik’s holdout last season. The 6’2” 185 lb wing played in 42 games last season, scoring 16 goals and 20 assists. He vaulted up the European rankings from 109th at the mid-season mark to 67th at season’s end.

With their other third rounder, Minnesota went defensive again, grabbing big Clint Stoner from the WHL. Stoner is a big defenseman whose father is a lumberjack, so the kid is strong. He actually had to lose some weight last season to gain some speed and mobility on the ice. It paid off. He had 31 points in 71 games, and elevated his play in the defensive zone. He uses his size well (6’3” 225 lbs), with the Draft Guide saying he “makes players standing in front of the net pay the price.” Again…sound like something the Wild could use?

All in all the first day looks to have been extremely productive for the Wild, possibly their best first day of the draft in their 5 year history. And while many people had expected Minnesota to use its extra picks to trade up, it proved unnecessary for the Wild. They were able to select the players they wanted without moving up the board.

The future of the Minnesota Wild just got a lot brighter