Circulartheory
Registered User
After a cinderalla run into the Stanley Cup finals, the Minnesota Wild decided to spend big money on free agents to shore up the problems on their depth. Giving big contracts to Antoine Vermette and Curtis Glencross, the Wild went from being one of the most efficient and effective teams in terms of payroll/point to THE WORST.
Continuing the retool (not rebuild), the Wild won big in the draft lottery falling into 2nd overall.
But with a team with Sonny Milano, Jake Debrusk, Christian Fischer, Jayce Hawryluk, Viktor Arvidsson and Kevin Labanc manning the wings, GM Chan desperately wanted to fix their holes down in center and defense.
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1st Round - Trade
Dylan Strome, Vladimir Namestnikov, #50 pick, #78 pick = #2 pick, #66 pick, #156 pick
"It was hard to give up on Laine who looks to be a franchise goal scorer. But in this deal, we receive Dylan Strome, another potential franchise player but in an area that we desperately needed to fix - at center. Strome is a cerebral playmaking centerman who plays like a Joe Thornton and who will be part of a promising NHL Coyotes team with Max Domi and Anthony Duclair."
"In addition, we bring in a young NHL with potential (Namestnikov) who can immediately jump into the lineup and help this season. He is a versatile forward who can play both center and wing, both PP and PK, and still has potential to be a 2nd line centerman with Stamkos leaving Tampa Bay. To sweeten the deal, we move up in the draft twice."
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2nd Round, 50th Overall
LD Libor Hajek (WHL) 6'1.5" 185lbs
"A smooth and calm defensive defenseman, we were surprised to see Hajek last till 50 as we had him safely in our top 30. He isn't a flashy player but he is projected to be a very well-built and strong defenseman who can skate, covers his man well, and makes it difficult to play against in the defensive zone. He has some skill offensively with efficient passes and shots but his bread and butter is in the defensive zone "
Projection: #3-4 Defensive Defenseman.
Comparison: Karl Alzner, Marc Methot, Kevin Klein
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3rd Round, 78th Overall
LD Matthew Cairns (OJHL) 6'2.0" 202lbs
"Cairns was a defenseman that shot up our rankings from his combine results. 1st in pro agility left, 3rd in pro agility right, 12th in VO2Max, 11th in Peak Power Output, 6th in Lefthand Grip, 3rd in Righthand Grip. Combine these results to a 6-2 202lbs body as well as with great hockey sense, huge selection of shots, offensive acumen and we feel we had a potential gem."
Projection: #3-4 Two-Way Defenseman.
Comparison: Ryan McDonagh
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