NHL ENTRY DRAFT CRUCIAL TO MINNESOTA AND IOWA WILD

Jun 19, 2018

Championship trophies across all of hockey have been awarded, signifying the end of the 2017-18 hockey season. Starting Friday, teams will stop looking at the season that was and start looking at the season ahead.

The 2018 NHL Entry Draft will take place Friday and Saturday, June 22-23, in Dallas. The first round occurs Friday evening, with rounds two through seven taking place the following day. This year, Minnesota Wild holds the 24^th overall draft, one of eight picks (as of Monday) the team has in the draft.

At his introductory press conference, Wild GM Paul Fenton said this about the draft:

“The strength of every organization is the draft. It’s the way we develop, it’s the way we’re going to put our minor league system in place. I’ve run Milwaukee for pretty much 20 years, I’ve had my hand in there even when I was director of player personnel. I believe that your minor league team has to be your vaulting stone to get to the next level. That’s the biggest part, to draft and develop, and put the right plan in place and then go forward.”

Throughout the years, 36 players who were drafted by Minnesota have skated for Iowa Wild in at least one game. Of those 36, 22 made their AHL debut with Iowa. At least one player from every draft, starting with the 2006 draft, has played a game with Iowa Wild.

Iowa Wild skated 46 players during the course of the 2017-18 season, and of those 46, 14 were Iowa Wild drafted players, making up 30 percent of the roster. Including players drafted by other NHL teams in the draft, exactly half of last year’s roster was selected in an entry draft.

Those players drafted by Minnesota make up a significant portion of the future of the organization, both in the NHL and AHL. Players such as Luke Kunin, Joel Eriksson Ek, Carson Soucy and Nick Seeler made important contributions with Iowa before slotting into the big club’s lineup. Veterans such as Jason Zucker and Matt Dumba spent a few years in the minors, including some time with Iowa, before becoming core members of Minnesota. And players such as Dmitry Sokolov, Ivan Lodnia and Mason Shaw represent the new wave of players ready to make their mark on the organization.

The draft marks the first big event of the offseason, giving hockey fans something to talk about and the chance to get excited about the future of the club. Minnesota sits at 24^th this year, which means whoever is selected probably won’t see St. Paul for a few seasons. But Iowa fans should pay attention, because he could be here sooner rather than later.

And as players such as Kunin, Seeler and Eriksson Ek have shown, the path to Minnesota makes a stop in Iowa.

Full list of Minnesota Wild draft picks to play for Iowa Wild

Name	Draft Year	Round, Pick	Iowa Wild Debut
Ivan Lodnia	2017	3^rd, 85^th	2017-18
Mason Shaw	2017	4^th, 97^th	2017-18
Luke Kunin	2016	1^st, 15^th	2016-17
Dmitry Sokolov	2016	7^th, 196^th	2016-17
Joel Eriksson Ek	2015	1^st, 20^th	2016-17
Gustav Bouramman	2015	7^th, 201^st	2017-18
Alex Tuch	2014	1^st, 18^th	2016-17
Louie Belpedio	2014	3^rd, 80^th	2017-18
Chase Lang	2014	6^th, 167^th	2015-16
Pavel Jenys	2014	7^th, 199^th	2014-15
Gustav Olofsson	2013	2^nd, 46^th	2013-14
Kurtis Gabriel	2013	3^rd, 81^st	2013-14
Dylan Labbe	2013	4^th, 107^th	2013-14
Carson Soucy	2013	5^th, 137^th	2016-17
Mathew Dumba	2012	1^st, 7^th	2013-14*
Raphael Bussieres	2012	2^nd, 46^th	2013-14
Adam Gilmour	2012	4^th, 98^th	2015-16
Christoph Bertschy	2012	6^th, 158^th	2015-16
Zack Phillips	2011	1^st, 28^th	2013-14*
Mario Lucia	2011	2^nd, 60^th	2015-16
Nick Seeler	2011	5^th, 131^st	2016-17
Steve Michalek	2011	6th, 161^st	2015-16
Tyler Graovac	2011	7^th, 191^st	2013-14
Brett Bulmer	2010	2^nd, 39^th	2013-14*
Jason Zucker	2010	2^nd, 59^th	2013-14*
Johan Gustafsson	2010	6^th, 159^th	2013-14
Kris Foucault	2009	4^th, 103^rd	2013-14*
Darcy Kuemper	2009	6^th, 161^st	2013-14*
Erik Haula	2009	7^th, 182^nd	2013-14*
Tyler Cuma	2008	1^st, 23^rd	2013-14*
Justin Falk	2007	4^th, 110^th	2013-14*
Cody Almond	2007	5^th, 140^th	2014-15*
Carson McMillan	2007	7^th, 200^th	2013-14*
Kyle Medvec	2006	4^th, 102^nd	2013-14*
Josh Harding	2002	2^nd, 38^th	2014-15*
Stephane Veilleux	2001	3^rd, 93^rd	2013-14*

* Denotes player skated with Houston Aeros before Iowa Wild debut

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NHL ENTRY DRAFT CRUCIAL TO MINNESOTA AND IOWA WILD