Do you remember physical fitness testing when you were a kid? Being put through your paces by your gym teacher where you tried to do as many pull ups / sit ups / push ups you could do in a minute, the mile run, the 100-yard dash, the standing long jump, and of course your vertical leap like you see here. If you performed well enough, you earned a certificate that said you performed amongst the top 10 percentile of children in the nation. Imagine doing that same testing with the hope of improving your stock in the entry draft? So with every test, like the vertical leap you see top rated prospect Nail Yakupov performing here or the vaunted Vo2 Max test which really tests a players stamina these players know they are trying to show scouts, NHL team management that they’re worthy of selection on that first night of the draft on June 22nd. Along with these tests of physical strength, explosiveness, stamina and endurance there are team interviews where players are asked questions by general managers, player development personnel to try to judge intelligence and character. As it is in the workplace, a bad interview may scare a team away from a player just as a questionable performance in the combine. Its a high stakes kind of evaluation, but teams need to be careful. The Minnesota Wild are a good example of how poor drafting can really put an organization in a hole.
Who will the Wild look to select in Pittsburgh?
The Wild have missed the playoffs for the last four seasons. This draft again is an important opportunity to improve the organization. Minnesota has to again add more pieces to move forward with its reconstruction into a regular playoff contender. This season, the Wild showed glimpses of its potential when it surprised everyone by rising to the top of the league standings only to suffer a precipitous fall. Injuries exposed some significant holes in the organization, and Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher admitted as much to ESPN when he told Scott Burnside, “We’re going to actively try and get better. We have seven young players 19 and 20 years old turning pro, so that’s certainly going to be one part of our push to get better. Obviously not all of those players will play in the NHL, but a couple we believe have a chance to. The rest can play in the American Hockey League and provide us much better depth than what we had last year. Our lack of depth last year really hurt us and lack of talent hurt us.” So this is the start of our 3-part series on players the Wild should likely select with their 1st round pick. What sort of players should the Wild look to draft?
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The first thing one must do is assess the team’s needs as an organization taking into considering the current group of prospects it already has. The most promising signs of this organization’s turn around are found in its group of prospects, many of whom who are now signed to 3-year entry level contracts. So what are this organization’s biggest needs?
1. A speedy, goal scoring forward to play on their Top 6. The Wild were 30th in scoring last season, and while the team does have a bunch of promising forwards, they do not have any players that fits this description.
2. An aggressive and physical defenseman to clear out the area near the crease. The Wild are a bit soft, especially on their blueline where they have a plethora of finesse, un-physical defensemen.
So with that in mind, I am going to provide a list of players who I believe could (and likely) be available when the Wild go to make their selection 7th Overall, barring any trade. These are the players that would be on my draft list for this team to select that could help fill their organizational holes either in the short term or the long term.
The first of three articles will focus on defenseman. If you look at the final list composed by NHL’s Central Scouting or International Scouting Services, the #7 pick is in most cases a defenseman and they by far dominate much of the top half of the 1st round of players that are available. These 5 defenseman fit the needs of the organization and who would be on my short list if I was a member of the Wild’s scouting department. So without further adieu.
1. Cody Ceci ~ Ottawa 67’s (OHL)
Height: 6’2″ Weight: 207lbs Shoots: Right
The Hockey News’ ranking: #10 NHL Central Scouting’s ranking: #6 (North American) ISS’ ranking: #10
2011-12 Stats: 64GP 17G 43A = 60pts 14 PIM’s +21
Talent Analysis: Cody Ceci is a highly skilled defenseman who uses his terrific athleticism to be an offensive force for the Ottawa 67’s. His great mobility and moves sometimes make you wonder why he isn’t a forward. He loves to jump into the rush and uses his frame well to protect the puck. When he isn’t supplying offense by joining the rush, he has a blistering shot from the point that makes him very dangerous on the power play. Defensively he’s ok, and while he has his moments where his gambles result his team giving up some scoring chances there is much more good than bad to be found in his game. The Hockey News‘ scouts compared Ceci to New York Rangers’ defenseman Michael Del Zotto. Ceci was nearly a point per game player in the OHL playoffs where he played a key role in leading the 67’s to the OHL finals before they fell to the Niagara Ice Dogs. His strong play in the post-season caused him to jump 10 spots in NHL Central Scouting’s rankings and many believe he has the potential to be a good Top 2 defenseman once he fixes the holes in his defensive game. The Oshawa, Ontario-native is not an overly physical player, but he is solidly built which bodes well for him being able to withstand the rigors of being an NHL defenseman.
Why the Wild should draft him: The Wild certainly lost a lot when they traded away Brent Burns. Burns was a defensmen who could create offense by himself and no offense to Marco Scandella but so far he isn’t that guy. Cody Ceci could be that guy; as he combines great athleticism, good offensive instincts and skills to be the offensive catalyst on the blueline.
2. Mathew Dumba ~ Red Deer Rebels (WHL)
Height: 6’0″ Weight: 183lbs Shoots: Right
The Hockey News’ ranking: #5 NHL Central Scouting’s ranking: #11 (North American) ISS’ ranking: #8
2011-12 Stats: 69GP 20G 37A = 57pts 67 PIM’s -6
Talent Analysis: A few years ago, the NHL world was ablaze with discussion from the bold style of play of Montreal’s P.K. Subban who seemed to flout the normal reserved play of rookies and instead embraced an ‘in your face’ approach garnered criticism from pundits and NHL veterans. Mathew Dumba plays a very similar style to that of P.K. Subban, a high risk, high reward style of play. Dumba is a great skater with a tremendous motor to match and is not afraid to attempt the end to end rush, and like Ceci also possesses a big shot that ISS calls the hardest of this year’s draft class. The Calgary-native was inspired by former Flames’ defenseman Dion Phaneuf who also had a bombastic rookie season, and Dumba loves to dish out big open ice hits. He is not as big as his idol, but he plays the game on the edge and it is difficult to determine whether he has the size to play that sort of game with the same effect he has had at the junior level. His stock dropped a bit based on the fact his offensive stats stagnated in the 2nd half of the season, but scouts point out that was due to the fact the team needed him to play more of a stay-at-home style due to the amount of injuries Red Deer had to its blueline. The fact he could transition from playing effectively as a riverboat gambler and then play well enough as a stay at home defenseman demonstrates a level of versatility to his game that you normally do not see in defenseman who are noted for their offensive prowess.
Why the Wild should draft him: The Wild have always been a vanilla hockey team. No offense to Cal Clutterbuck, but what makes him stick out is his willingness to dish out hits. His aggressive style makes him a force multiplier and he gets into the opponents’ heads with his punishing play. Mathew Dumba could be that guy on the blueline, and like Clutterbuck can also chip in offensively. Dumba would bring an edge to the Wild’s defense that its never really had before. By adding a player with Dumba’s skillset and mentality would force opposing forwards to keep their heads up a bit more and he may help bring an offensive boost to the most anemic blueline in the NHL. If the Wild wants to “embrace the hard” to use a Mike Yeo term then drafting Dumba would be a step in that direction.
4. Jacob Trouba ~ U.S. National Development Program (USHL)
Height: 6’2″ Weight: 196lbs Shoots: Right
The Hockey News’ ranking: #9 NHL Central Scouting’s ranking: #9 (North American) ISS’ ranking: #5
2011-12 Stats: 22GP 4G 14A = 18pts 35 PIM’s +8
Talent Analysis: If you want a stay at home defenseman who plays a physical brand of hockey, then Jacob Trouba is your guy. Trouba is not flashy, but prides himself on making simple plays with the puck and being miserable to play against. ISS rates him as the top stay at home defenseman available in this year’s draft. While not the huge open ice hitter that is Mathew Dumba, Trouba is more careful about picking his spots to deliver his hits which means he’s not getting caught out of position going for the highlight real bodycheck. The Rochester, Michigan-native is a good skater with some offensive upside as he possesses a decent shot from the point. He is noted for having a good competitive attitude and his overall game is reminiscent of Carolina’s Tim Gleason or Los Angeles’ Jack Johnson. It is undetermined whether Trouba will report to the University of Michigan or the Ontario League’s Kitchener Rangers, but either club has a strong tradition of developing players who end up becoming leaders.
Why the Wild should draft him: Trouba is a bit safer pick than the high-risk, high-reward type of players like Ceci, Dumba and Reilly. The Wild have lots of finesse defenseman but not many that are consistently physical and Trouba could be that consistent physical presence without being a complete non-factor offensively. Trouba’s strong stay-at-home game would make him ideal partner for a defenseman who plays that high risk, high reward style.
5. Olli Maatta ~ London Knights (OHL)
Height: 6’2″ Weight: 202lbs Shoots: Left
The Hockey News’ ranking: #20 NHL Central Scouting’s ranking: #8 (North American) ISS’ ranking: #12
2011-12 Stats: 58GP 5G 27A = 32pts 25 PIM’s +25
Talent Analysis: Want a little European flavor with some North American experience? Olli Maatta fits this description perfectly. After a reasonable regular season with Memorial Cup runner-up London Knights, Maatta took his game to another level during the playoffs where he put up more than a point per game (6 goals, 17 assists in 23 playoff games). The Jyvaskyla, Finland-native is a decent skater and makes a good first pass out of the zone to start the rush. He can dangle the puck and has a knack to be able to get his shots on goal even with heavy traffic in front of him. Defensively he’s also quite solid, who uses his size well enough and reach to be effective as a shutdown defender. You wouldn’t call him flashy but he’s well rounded in the mold of Chicago’s Niklas Hjalmarsson. While his offensive numbers do not dazzle as much, it should be noted he put up these points as a 2nd pairing defenseman on a fairly strong defensive team like London.
Why should the Wild draft him: The Wild may not wish to put all of their eggs in one basket which is what they could be doing with any of the other defenseman listed who are either offensive juggernauts or defensive stalwarts. The Wild may want a more well-rounded player and Maatta is that compromise with some good skill to be useful offensively but also very strong defensively so that he would never be a liability at his own end of the ice. The likelihood of drafting Maatta may increase if the Wild opt to trade down in the draft.
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