7-Round Minnesota Wild Mock Draft – Minnesota Wild

We won't keep you waiting with a long intro. Hockey Wilderness is mocking up all seven rounds of the Minnesota Wild's draft. Barring any trades, which we won't be doing, the Wild own their first, second, fourth, fifth and sixth round picks, along with another fifth-rounder via the Jordan Greenway trade.

So, who should the Wild pick? We will simulate all seven rounds with Draft Outlook Hockey, based on Bob McKenzie's rankings, with the randomness factor converted to a 7/10 and the team need factor to a 6/10. We stand in for the Wild's brain trust and make the choice.

Round 1, Choice 13

The situation: We immediately face an extremely difficult decision. Two surprises in the top 12 of the draft (Beckett Sennecke going No. 5 overall to the Montreal Canadiens and Cole Eiserman off the board at No. 12 to the Philadelphia Flyers) give us two primary options at vastly different positions.

Berkly Catton and Carter Yakemchuk are on the board, leaving us with a choice between a top center or a top defense prospect. Both are skilled, put up historic numbers in the WHL last year and are a worthy pick here at No. 13. So, which way do we go?

The pick: Berkly Catton, C, WHL (Spokane Chiefs)

It's a close call and we're exposing ourselves to scrutiny on this subject for a decade or more, but Catton has the upper hand here. Why? Part of the reason is because Yakemchuk's red flag (a mediocre skater on defense) is a little more noticeable than Catton's (his small 5-foot-10 frame). The bigger reason, though, is the team-building philosophy, specifically what Minnesota needs right now.

The Wild haven't had a speed element since Kevin Fiala left town. Minnesota absolutely won that trade from their perspective and got a No. 1 defenseman in Brock Faber. Yet they haven't gotten that Fiala-like magic back into the lineup. Their biggest weakness since then hasn't been defense; it was a secondary score. Catton is one of the fastest players in the draft. He is incredible in transition and can show off his playmaking skills at high speeds.

The Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers had a lock down defensively, but they also had an incredible number of high-end forwards. Their blueline had one big name, Aaron Ekblad, and then filled in the rest around him. The decision here is to emulate the Florida model, assuming Faber is our No. 1 defenseman going forward and trusting that we can build the blueline around him.

Round 2, Pick 45

The situation: The hope was to beat Catton in Round 1 and then come back with a physical defender in Round 2. However, the most intriguing options for that are gone with Dominik Badinka (No. 26), Charlie Elick (30), EJ Emery (34 ) and Jesse Pulkkinen (38) have all disappeared from the board. The top two forwards are Russian power forward Matvei Gridin (ranked 37th, according to McKenzie), who played in the USHL last season, and Teddy Stiga (ranked 43rd), a smart, competitive but short winger.

If we had picked Yakemchuk in the first round, Stiga would have felt at home. However, Catton is a Stiga that is superior in almost every way. While defense is a lower priority than offense, we still want to address the depth of Minnesota's blueline here.

The pick: Aron Kiviharju, LD, Liiga (HIFK)

We'll borrow a move from Judd Brackett's playbook: look at the board and ask: Who fell deeper than necessary?The answer is Kiviharju, who has suffered a knee injury that has kept him out of sight and out of scouts' minds this year.

At the start of the season, the left-handed defenseman was seen as a first-round pick, and likely a high-scoring player as well. Elite prospects writes about his stellar history in their Draft Guide: “From putting up historic numbers in the Finnish junior ranks to already being Finland's best defender as a double minor in his first [U18 World Junior Championships] “In 2022, Kiviharju has a special reputation.”

At the end of 2023, scouts were still very positive about Kiviharju's prospects. Corey Pronman, who ranked him 19th, wrote: “He is an exceptionally smart puck mover. He sees the ice on a unique leveland always has his head up, looking for a play.“Smaht Scouting ranked him No. 21 in December 2023 and predicted, “If Kiviharju falls outside of the top spot, there is the possibility for one of the greater depth theft in recent history.” We are rolling dice.

Round 4, pick 110
The choice: Timur Kol, LD, MHL (SKA Saint Petersburg)

At this point in the draft, it's less about playing the board and more about finding guys we like. Kol comes to us with solid value (No. 94 in McKenzie's rankings) and is a very projectable defender. Kol was born about three weeks before the cutoff date for the 2024 Draft, meaning he won't turn 18 until the end of August.

The 6-foot-1 defenseman has been playing games in the MHL (where he has scored two goals and eight points in 14 games), with a two-game stint in the KHL. Josh Bell from McKeen's Hockey calls him a sleeper and says, “Kol is a intelligent, two-way defender that brings an offensive advantage, along with a physical presence. He plays a reliable, safe game that coaches will love.” It may take some time (whether for developmental or KHL political reasons), but we have a big, mobile, physical defenseman in the Wild organization.

Round 5, pick 140
The Choice: Tomas Mrsic, C/W, WHL (Medicine Hat Tigers)

We're still in “Taking Shots On Guys” mode, and Mrsic is worth taking a chance because he can score very well. He scored 23 goals and 63 points in 62 WHL games this season, which is respectable, but there is so much more left in the tank. “He's in the top 20 of the draft based on pure talent,” says Elite prospectswho rated him with the fifth-best shot in the draft, while noting that “his skating isn't far behind.”

But also: that shot. “Some of the best snipes from this draft cycle are from Mrsic,” says EP. “He fires from difficult positions, in stride and from the catch. Every release is packed with guile.” Mrsic hasn't quite sorted it out yet, but that's apparently not for lack of effort. He may just not fully realize how talented he is. “He tends to submit to his linemates,” notes FC Hockey, “[and] often lets shooting opportunities pass by.”

In round 5 we focus on talent.

Round 5, Pick 142
The pick: Anthony Romani, C, OHL (North Bay Battalion)

It’s not a wild pick, unless we’re picking an overripe one. At Pick 142, we land the very last available player off McKenzie’s board (No. 90) in Romani. The 6-foot-1, right-shot center went undrafted in 2023 and went on a revenge tour for North Bay, scoring 58 goals and 111 points after scoring just 23 goals and 43 points in his first draft-eligible season.

Scott Wheeler named Romani his No. 1 player in this draft.He has an NHL shot,” He wrote.”[Romani] plays offensively with good timing and a sense of distance from the coverage. He goes to the home plate area, but has also shown an average game this year.”

Romani feels like a prime candidate to become a Caeden Bankier-type prospect, which is quite an outcome for a fifth-rounder.

Round 6, pick 174
The Choice: Marcus Gidlf, G, Sweden J20 National (Leksands IF)

My eye was on Mac Swanson, the 6-foot-1 forward who destroyed the USHL with 26 goals and 77 points in 55 games for the Fargo Force. Alas, the Dallas Stars shot him down with Pick 160. Swanson was pretty much the end of our list of names to watch in the draft. So our focus shifts to: Who is the best goalie currently available?

So we're going the opposite direction to Swanson, selecting someone who is 6ft 1in and stops goals in Gidlf. Goalie talent is a bit of an inexact science. Still, it's never a bad idea to set one up in the late round.

Gidlf posted a .923 save percentage over 26 games with the Swedish juniors and may be just getting started. McKeens' Derek Neumeier thinks Gidlf is a good option for an under-the-radar goalie. “Not only does he naturally cover a large part of the net, but he now also has enough power to move around his goal area with ease and react to the play.”

Hockey prospecting gives him a 53% chance of becoming an NHL player, which sounds good enough to us.

Immediate response:

We’ve accidentally built a very basic lineup here, with Catton, Mrsic and Romani as forwards, Kiviharju and Kol on the left and right sides of our defence, and Gidlf in net. It feels fairly balanced in terms of skills, with Catton making the play and Mrsic and Romani having good shots. Kiviharju is a puck mover, while Kol should be a solid home defenceman, although he has the potential to be more.

If we go by Hockey Prospecting's projection models, we also come out solid here. Catton is by far the highest upside player in the group (59% chance of stardom, 68% chance of becoming an NHLer), but no one's star odds were lower than 13%. Our five skaters “should” produce 1.26 stars and 2.66 NHLers, which feels like a good catch for where we're drafting. Combined with the chance that Kiviharju will return to form after his knee injury and look like a top talent again, this feels like a very good scenario for this weekend.