So drastic was Thelen’s fall, that when faced with a deadline to sign Thelen or throw him back in the draft last summer, the Wild chose to throw him back and accept a 2nd round draft pick as compensation. It officially looked like Minnesota had resigned Thelen to the status of failed draft pick for good. Thelen’s agent petitioned the NHL to make him a free agent instead of throwing him back into the NHL draft and won. Thelen expected teams to come calling as soon as he hit the market. Well, it didn’t happen. Teams did show interest in him, but not enough to make Thelen jump at any of the offers and sign. In the end, Thelen ended up coming back to the Wild, signing a minor league deal which assures him nothing, pays him very little, and eliminates all connection to his status as a former #1 draft pick. Now, he is just another young player trying to improve his game and stick with an NHL club.

He comes back to a team still lacking farm depth on the blue line. A recent Pioneer Press article gave the following quote from Thelen: "This time it's about proving myself to people. There have been a lot of doubts, a lot of cold shoulders. Now it's up to me to play my game and turn some heads."

That summarizes the situation quite well. Nothing is being given to Thelen now. He gets no breaks. No special treatment for being a #1 pick. Nothing like that. He’s working his way up from the bottom now. He alone controls his fate. If he plays like he did the final couple months of last season, when he helped quarterback Vancouver (WHL)’s power play and scored 12 points in 22 games, he will generate some excitement again and earn his way into Minnesota’s plans again sooner than later. If he plays like he did when he was minu-30 in 72 games for Prince Albert of the WHL, he will quickly find himself demoted to the WCHL or looking for opportunities elsewhere. The Wild have only committed $50,000 to Thelen. They are in a low-risk, high reward situation. Thelen is in a high risk situation. He is running out of chances. If he fails to re-establish himself soon, he may never develop into anything more than a career minor leaguer. The time to make a move is now. With several aging veterans on Minnesota’s blue line, a good year from Thelen will surely result in a greater commitment from the Wild next season, and a more stable future for Thelen. With a new, no-nonsense coach in Houston to help guide him (Kevin Constantine), Thelen is being setup for success.

Hopefully a year form now we will be talking about how he is battling for a spot on the Wild’s roster instead of battling for his hockey life. The early signs are good. In the prospects tournament in Traverse City, MI, Thelen had a goal and assist and by all accounts, played quite well.