Prospect Info: With the #63 pick, the Wild select (C) Jack McBain (NCAA, Boston College)

[MuckOG]

 

[AKL]

Wonder what Guerin is thinking. Would be weird to have this much fanfare over it if you're just planning to include his rights in a bigger deal. I'm wondering if Guerin thinks he can pull a 2nd or more from a team for him.

 

[Bazeek]

Minnesota Wild trade tracker: The latest on Jack McBain, and what else we’re hearing ahead of the NHL deadline

McBain likely looks at the Wild as now being hard to crack up the middle, with Ryan Hartman, Joel Eriksson Ek and Freddy Gaudreau in place as 1-2-3 and first-round pick Marco Rossi potentially on his way next season.

Hahaha... I guess that'll do it for today's quota of entertainment value from this team.

 

[MNRube]

Minnesota Wild trade tracker: The latest on Jack McBain, and what else we’re hearing ahead of the NHL deadline


Hahaha... I guess that'll do it for today's quota of entertainment value from this team.

The timing of that is very curious. Hartman has been nonexistent for months despite being flanked by two wizards and Gaudreau is just now starting to be a Top 9 option. If he can’t beat out Hartman or Gaudreau, I’m not sure where he will get a better shot to play minutes on a good team.

 

[AKL]

The timing of that is very curious. Hartman has been nonexistent for months despite being flanked by two wizards and Gaudreau is just now starting to be a Top 9 option. If he can’t beat out Hartman or Gaudreau, I’m not sure where he will get a better shot to play minutes on a good team.

It's just Russo's speculation.

I'd be very curious to know if this is coming from the team thinking McBain doesn't want to sign here, or the team not seeing a fit for McBain long term.

Frankly, if it's the former, then good riddance. We need guys with higher hockey IQ than looking at this roster and thinking there's no room for a good center.

It also might come down to the organization and possibly player thinking McBain is a winger at the pro level, and realizing are wings ARE actually full.

 

[Spurgeon]

It's just Russo's speculation.

I'd be very curious to know if this is coming from the team thinking McBain doesn't want to sign here, or the team not seeing a fit for McBain long term.

Frankly, if it's the former, then good riddance. We need guys with higher hockey IQ than looking at this roster and thinking there's no room for a good center.

It also might come down to the organization and possibly player thinking McBain is a winger at the pro level, and realizing are wings ARE actually full.

I think it comes down to him getting to choose where he plays hockey for the foreseeable future. I was pretty confident Guerin was going to lose another college prospect. Really f***ing hate that rule, players should be locked into their drafted team until they’ve met their UFA requirements.

 

[57special]

McBain thinks that we are loaded at C?

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

If we can get a second for him I won't be upset.

 

[Prior]

For a front office who is going to need their prospect depth, they certainly do a good job of screwing around with their prospects.

 

[thestonedkoala]

McBain thinks that we are loaded at C?

It's not necessarily loaded, but what the organization thinks of certain players. Hartman and Eriksson-Ek is highly rated by the team, and Gaudreau signed a decent contract. They haven't really shaken up their lines.

 

[Wabit]

I think it comes down to him getting to choose where he plays hockey for the foreseeable future. I was pretty confident Guerin was going to lose another college prospect. Really f***ing hate that rule, players should be locked into their drafted team until they’ve met their UFA requirements.

Your namesake on these forums would have been playing overseas if he was locked in to the NYI until he was 27. Over the years the Wild have gotten more of these young FAs (college grad, unsigned after the rights expire CHL players, undrafted, etc.) than they've lost.

 

[Joseph Nathan]

Updated

 

[Bazeek]

Updated

Yeah, if you think the Wild would promise him playing time next to a guy he was playing with two years ago, over a 28 year old that scored 5 goals in his first 4 years in the league... I mean.... man, come on. Not with the Wild rollin' hot like they are. Not with the center depth they've got.

 

[Prior]

I like Russo more than most here but he gets too dramatic in these situations. He had the same type of verbiage when he was peddling that the Wild were trying to get Boldy on a PTO over signing him to a contract. Which was also nonsensical from an organizational standpoint at that time as well.

The reality is you sign McBain to his contract and give him the opportunity to play on any line he proves capable. No one in any profession is promised roles without then reasonably proving themselves. McBain either proves he can play or can’t, neither is a bad situation and keeps an option in an organization. Hartman and Gaudreau are not building blocks of this organization and if he can’t beat them out, that’s not someone that will be missed. If the front office views them as building blocks, there are larger issues than losing McBain at play.

On the other hand, if this is a situation of McBain wanting to control where he wants to be, certainly support his decision. Frankly, it’s in his best interest. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem how this is playing out.

 

[Dickie Dunn]

Yeah, I don’t get this.

 

[AKL]

Forget draft picks. What are the chances we could get a legit prospect for him from a team who would rather sacrifice a little upside for a guy who's "ready" "now"

 

[Bazeek]

Forget draft picks. What are the chances we could get a legit prospect for him from a team who would rather sacrifice a little upside for a guy who's "ready" "now"

Who's "ready" "now" and can be signed for free in August? Probably not good.

 

[AKL]

Who's "ready" "now" and can be signed for free in August? Probably not good.

If a team thinks McBain is ready now and willing to play him immediately, waiting until August kind of defeats the purpose, which is for him to play now, not in August.

I'm not talking about trading McBain for Beniers here. I'm talking about a prospect that's considered slightly better than McBain but might still be 2-4 years away. In any case, clearly there's a market for McBain. I'm just thinking about what that market could bear.

 

[Bazeek]

If a team thinks McBain is ready now and willing to play him immediately, waiting until August kind of defeats the purpose, which is for him to play now, not in August.

I'm not saying there isn't a team that wouldn't trade for him, but why give up anything with upside for a player that's vanishingly unlikely to be a difference maker right out of the gate? They could just as easily spend that asset on a player with some NHL experience for this year and still sign McBain over the summer.

 

[AKL]

I'm not saying there isn't a team that wouldn't trade for him, but why give up anything with upside for a player that's vanishingly unlikely to be a difference maker right out of the gate? They could just as easily spend that asset on a player with some NHL experience for this year and still sign McBain over the summer.

I'm just curious if teams are more likely to give up one prospect for another, more ready, prospect. They could use it for a rental, sure, and I completely agree that relying on McBain to make an impact is silly (which is why I'm fine with Guerin losing him), but maybe there's a GM out there who values the fact that McBain would have more team control than a rental, and be much cheaper beyond this season, while simultaneously being more NHL ready than one of their current prospects.

 

[57special]

I don't get McBain's reluctance to sign here, nor Guerin's inability to sign him. Maybe he and Boldy don't get on? McBain is quite literally the type of player that we need to get us through the next 3 years....a 2nd doesn't do a damn thing.

Hartman can definitely move back to RW, and if McBain feels he can't compete against Gaudreau for a spot in the top 9 eventually then he is a wimp. What other team can sign him and burn a year?

As to trades...well, LA has all sorts of C prospects, but I can't see McBain getting any opportunities there. Maybe SEA, WPG, BOS, or TOR? I can see his frame and position being of interest to all of those teams, and McBain seeing opportunities at all four spots, though certainly not in the top 6.

Soucy for McBain?
Stastny for McBain?
Knies for McBain (really, really doubt it, but Dubas might be panicking)?

 

[Spurgeon]

Your namesake on these forums would have been playing overseas if he was locked in to the NYI until he was 27. Over the years the Wild have gotten more of these young FAs (college grad, unsigned after the rights expire CHL players, undrafted, etc.) than they've lost.

The Islanders failed to tender him a contract, obviously a team can’t indefinitely hold the rights of a player they don’t intend to sign.

Even if it’s benefited the Wild, I still think it’s a bad loophole. Out of curiosity though, what players have we poached from another team?

 

[AKL]

Out of curiosity though, what players have we poached from another team?

I'm more interested in how many of these types of guys actually make an impact in the NHL. Off the top of my head, Adam Fox is obviously the crowning example. Justin Schultz was solid offensively for a while but he's pretty mediocre overall. Who else has gone this route and actually become an important player for their team?

 

[Sota Popinski]

Yeah, if you think the Wild would promise him playing time next to a guy he was playing with two years ago, over a 28 year old that scored 5 goals in his first 4 years in the league... I mean.... man, come on. Not with the Wild rollin' hot like they are. Not with the center depth they've got.

No way McBain could be better than Freddie Gaudreau. It's just not possible.

 

[keppel146]

Forget draft picks. What are the chances we could get a legit prospect for him from a team who would rather sacrifice a little upside for a guy who's "ready" "now"

A pick wouldn’t hurt at least. Could always trade it to move up in draft.