Maybe I’ve been spending a little too much time watching the Discovery Channel‘s new show, Deception with Keith Barry but in his show he picks up on subtle body language cues to implant thoughts into people’s subconscious. As the old saying goes, a picture is worth a 1,000 words, but perhaps it was a sign of trouble and we didn’t notice it at the time. Look to at the person on the far left of this picture of Minnesota’s 1st round pick in 2008 (23rd Overall), defenseman Tyler Cuma; at Minnesota’s Director of Amateur Scouting, Hall of Fame defenseman Guy Lapointe. While former Wild draft czar Tommy Thompson smiles with apparent glee at Cuma’s selection, Lapointe looks subdued and almost uncomfortable as they stand for the obligatory draft day podium photographs. C’mon Guy, at least crack a smile at least you weren’t the Minnesota Vikings of a few years ago and not getting your pick on time and giving other teams the chance to pick ahead of you for nothing in return. You’d think the general excitement of the draft would be enough to make former Canadiens great grin just a bit but that’s not what we see. Maybe I picked a bad picture and the one where Lapointe is sporting a big smile is somewhere else out in cyberspace. However, let’s just speculate on this picture a bit shall we? Perhaps Guy Lapointe wasn’t sold on the Ottawa 67’s defenseman whom the team had just traded a 2nd round pick to the New Jersey Devils to move up one spot to select. How has Cuma repaid the Wild for their decision to leap frog over the Devils? A major knee injury sustained at Team Canada U-20 tryout camp and just 6 goals in two injury riddled junior seasons and a short pro debut where he lasted just 31 games before he suffered the 2nd major knee injury of his career. Did I hear someone whisper the word ‘bust’? Not to be too cynical, but in a game of Hangman you’d be at BU_ _ already. I think you have to admit Cuma’s development hasn’t gone as hoped and right now if he’s able to salvage a pro career it will be no small feat. Maybe Guy just had a bad feeling about this kid, but the feeling of discomfort now sits with the Wild’s management as well as its fans as it looks like it swung and missed on its 2nd defenseman it drafted since the lockout that failed to live up to expectations after the club’s first official 1st round bust in Savage, Minnesota’s A.J. Thelen (12th Overall, 2004).
This is the 2nd portion of our 3-part series covering potential draft candidates for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft in St. Paul. You can view our first article, covering potential forward candidates here. As I said in the earlier article I am working with Bruce, better known to wild.com’ers as KISSArmyMan. We have done the research to try to identify the players that we think will best help the team as well as be available when the Wild make their selection with the 10th Overall pick (barring a trade of course). In 2003, the Minnesota Wild got lucky when it drafted a lanky but athletic kid out of the OHL’s Brampton Battalion in Brent Burns (20th Overall). Burns was drafted as a Right Winger and the team had hoped he’d develop into a power forward but he couldn’t seem to gel his skills with his athleticism and luckily enough the team was able to convert him into a defenseman. After a season or two of experimentation at playing forward and defense he finally settled in on the blueline and the Wild began to see their great athlete blossom. This year Burns’ re-established his game which had gotten a little erratic the previous two seasons due to injuries and inconsistent play and the result was his best season ever with 17 goals, 46 points and 98 penalty minutes in 80 games. The reward for his best-ever season was his selection to play in the 2011 All-Star Game in Raleigh, North Carolina. While his play seems to be back on track towards becoming a potential Norris Trophy candidate, the franchise has some tough decisions to make as he is about to enter his final season of his contract. After a monster season like 2010-11 was, Burns will be expecting a hefty raise from his current annual stipend of $3.55 million. The question is, can the Wild which are already dangerously close to the cap ceiling and already burdened by some other big cap space eaters like the contracts given to Niklas Backstrom, Martin Havlat, and most recently Mikko Koivu afford another large salary on the books? Athletes of Burns’ quality are rare and considering the time and money that has been spent to get the Ajax, Ontario-native to this point it would not seem that desirable to trade him but with the cap constraints as they are the team may be forced to move him. Yet by reading the articles in the Minneapolis Star Tribune it appears the team would like to negotiate a contract and keep Burns in the fold, so we will operate under that premise that he is going to stay in Minnesota beyond the 2011-12 season.
So what does the Minnesota Wild’s blueline need? How did this differ from last season, see for yourself here. The organization has a variety of defenseman ripening on the vine in junior, college and in the American Hockey League in the aforementioned Tyler Cuma, Nate Prosser, Maxim Noreau, Justin Falk, Marco Scandella, Sean Lorenz, Chay Genoway, Colton Jobke, Josh Caron, and Bjorn Krupp. We have identified the following qualities that we feel the Wild’s blueline and its pool of prospects are in the greatest demand.
1. Two-way ability – The Wild still need defenseman that can contribute at both ends of the ice. The team does not have many blueline prospects that fit this description.
2. Physical Play – The Wild have always lacked a truly nasty blueliner that loves to dish out hits like San Jose’s Douglas Murray. The Wild prospect pool currently has no defenseman or defensive prospects that you would call a big hitter.
3. Offensive Skill – The team is goal starved and while Brent Burns and Marek Zidlicky can put up points from the blueline the team could always use a few more points from its defense.
Click on “Read More” for the rest of the article…
0839.JPG)
1. Dougie Hamilton ~ Niagara Ice Dogs (OHL)
Height: 6’4″ Weight: 193lbs Shoots: Right
2010-11 Stats: 67GP 12G 46A = 58pts 77 PIM’s +35
Talent Analysis: If Adam Larsson is this year’s draft’s top blueliner than Dougie Hamilton has to be choice 1A. He is a terrific combination of size (6’4″, 193lbs) and mobility very similar and often compared to the Wild’s Brent Burns. Hamilton is a workhorse at both ends of the ice who can start the rush or make a good first pass out of the zone. The Ice Dogs blueliner has good shot and like Burns is unafraid to carry the puck a bit to get to a better scoring position. He battles effectively for pucks along the wall, and is very physical around the crease but scouts do say they wish he was a more consistent physical presence as they felt he could use his frame to greater effect. The Toronto-native is an excellent positional defender who is disciplined when defending the rush as he stays in his lane very well and is strong enough defensively that you can rely on him on the penalty kill. Some scouting reports talk about Hamilton as though he is fairly refined while others think he’s a raw prospect who could be at least a few seasons before he’s ready for NHL duty. No matter what, the general consensus is that Hamilton has loads of potential in a big bodied blueliner.
Why the Wild should draft him: If the Wild are considering dealing Burns, Hamilton may be the perfect replacement. He is a player with an eerily similar skill set and physical traits. Hamilton is such a tantalizing defensive prospect and if he’s available at 10th Overall he may be too good to pass up.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=is4PAF2F5p0
2. Nathan Beaulieu ~ Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL)
Height: 6’2″ Weight: 185lbs Shoots: Left
2010-11 Stats: 65GP 12G 33A = 45pts 52 PIM’s +44
Talent Analysis: It can be hard to be the son of a coach; and that was the case for Nathan Beaulieu while his father was coaching the Saint John Sea Dogs, where people question just how good you are as they assume you got your opportunity because of the fact you’re the coach’s son. His father left to go be an assistant coach with the London Knights and the son demonstrated he was more than deserving of a spot on this year’s Memorial Cup Championship team. Beaulieu is a dynamic two-way defenseman who can really dazzle offensively. He is a superb skater, but what really sets Beaulieu apart from his peers is his outstanding hockey sense which allows him to read plays quickly and make the right play with the puck. He has a good knack for knowing when to sneak into the play and seldom is caught out of position. Beaulieu is not a physical player, and added strength could help him in this regard but he has an ok frame at nearly 6’2″, 185lbs.
Why the Wild should draft him: After having watched him in the Memorial Cup where he had great instincts and who used his speed to both support the attack as well as stymie the opposition Beaulieu is a highly skilled two-way defenseman. He’s not physical, but his high hockey IQ makes it so he doesn’t have to be.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=e9USkK-dFWI
3. Duncan Siemens ~ Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
Height: 6’3″ Weight: 193lbs Shoots: Left
2010-11 Stats: 72GP 5G 38A = 43pts 121 PIM’s +40
Talent Analysis: If there is a player available in this draft that most closely personifies the word “nasty” its Duncan Siemens. Siemens is player who relishes every opportunity to dish out hits and prides himself on being a player that is tough to play against. He is aggressive and denies time and space from opposing forwards but what makes him different is that for a 6’3″ 197lbs defenseman he is an excellent skater and that makes it almost impossible to beat him with speed. While he will need to improve his strength in order to perform at the next level but his innate physicality is something you really can’t teach. Siemens also has some offensive components to his game which allows him to contribute on the man advantage. At times he struggles with the puck a bit and can be prone to turnovers but he works hard to get the puck back. He probably will not be a big scorer at the NHL level but he makes life miserable for opponents which is something any team wants from their defenseman. The only real flaw in his game is a side effect of his aggressiveness as he gets caught sometimes attempting to go for the big hit. He will have to learn to pick his spots more judiciously at the next level.
Why the Wild should draft him: Siemens is a physical blueliner who projects to be a shutdown defenseman which is something the Wild defensive prospect pool lacks. His intense style of play makes him the type of player other teams must account for and that might be just the kind of rough and tumble d-man to give the Wild’s blueline an injection of some much-needed sandpaper.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JLmrFhIYF-8
4. Ryan Murphy ~ Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
Height: 5’10” Weight: 165lbs Shoots: Right
2010-11 Stats: 63GP 26G 53A = 79pts 36 PIM’s +22
Talent Analysis: Ryan Murphy is about one thing, offense. The 5’10”, 165lbs defenseman was an absolute scoring machine for the Kitchener Rangers and many were shocked when he was not included in Team Canada’s roster for the World Junior Championships this year. The right handed shooting blueliner is an outstanding skater and he uses it very effectively to press the attack. He is an excellent stickhandler and can dangle about as well as even the most skilled forwards. Murphy also possesses a cannon of a shot, his mobility allows him to create a clear shooting lane. It almost goes without saying that he is a natural fit to quarterback a power play. Many compare him to Nashville prospect Ryan Ellis, but there are some significant differences. One is his defensive play is not very strong at all and he needs to spend considerable time adding strength to his smallish frame and he is not as physical as the Nashville prospect. Another aspect of his game that has raised some red flags is his selfish approach to the game where seems to be playing more for himself than his teammates. Although if you want the best purely offensive defenseman in this draft, it is virtually impossible to get much better than Murphy.
Why the Wild should draft him: He is certainly not a two-way defenseman, but this is a player who I think you strongly consider especially if you feel you may trade Brent Burns. You won’t get a player with Burns’ two-way ability, but you will very likely replace the points lost by his departure.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vPP-hhnOHlU
5. Oscar Klefbom ~ Farjestad (Eliteserien)
Height: 6’3″ Weight: 200lbs Shoots: Left
2010-11 Stats: 23GP 1G 1A = 2pts 2 PIM’s +1
Talent Analysis: The 6’3″ 200lbs left handed shooting Swedish blueliner has scouts salivating over his tremendous mobility, his on-ice vision and ability to quarterback a power play. Klefbom has a smooth skating stride and demonstrates incredible poise rushing the puck through traffic and loves to pinch down from the backside which attest to his innate offensive instincts. He has a heavy and accurate wrist shot which has a knack to get by potential shot blockers and put it on goal. Even though he has a big frame, he is not a physical player and could stand to add more strength. Defensively he may get caught pinching, but his great speed allows him to recover more often than not. He is also a very consistent player who gives you the same solid effort each night. The more I read, the more I find myself making comparison’s to Klefbom and Wild prospect defenseman Marco Scandella who seems to have a similar skillset. International Scouting Services was very glowing in their praise of Klefbom saying they believe the Karlstad-native is a future NHL All Star.
Why the Wild should draft him: His statistics do not jump off the page as much as the other defenseman listed here but many scouts are blown away by this kid’s potential. Skating, offensive instincts and coolness under fire make him a special player that is simply too good to pass up.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
