Minnesota Wild Top 5 Draft Busts in Franchise History
By Ryan Ritchie
Minnesota Wild Top 5 Countdown: Biggest Busts in Franchise History (2000-Present)
Minnesota Wild are the next team in a series dedicated to the top five draft busts in franchise history. Over the next while, we plan to explore all 30 teams (in alphabetical order) big misses on the draft floor since their inception.
For those expansion teams from the early and late 1990s into 2000, their franchise draft history is obviously skewed in comparison to older teams. Even with a limited sample size to choose from, each and every franchise has been victimized by the imperfect art of selecting 18-year-old prospects.
Many were devastated when the North Stars departed to Dallas, but fortunately the NHL returned roughly a decade later. Fans in Minnesota are a passionate group, and the state of hockey continues to produce high-end talent.
The Wild have fared much better on the draft floor in comparison to the other 2000 expansion team (Columbus Blue Jackets).
Honorable Mentions:
Kyle Wanvig – 36th overall in 2001
Picks after Wanvig: Tim Jackman (CLB) – 38th overall, Fedor Tyutin (NYR) – 40th overall, Mike Cammalleri (LA) – 49th overall, Chris Thorburn (BUF) – 50th overall, Jason Pominville (BUF) – 55th overall, Jay McClement (STL) – 57th overall
Patrick O’Sullivan – 56th overall in 2003
Picks after O’Sullivan: David Backes (STL) – 62nd overall, Dan Carcillo (PIT) – 73rd overall, Clarke MacArthur (BUF) – 74th overall
Brett Bulmer – 39th overall in 2010
Picks after Bulmer: Devante Smith-Pelly (ANA) – 42nd overall, Ryan Spooner (BOS) – 45th overall, Martin Marincin (EDM) – 46th overall, Tyler Toffoli (LA) – 47th overall, Calvin Pickard (COL) – 49th overall, Calle Jarnkrok (DET) – 51st overall, Oscar Lindberg (PHX) – 57th overall, Stephen Johns (CHI) – 60th overall
Minnesota Wild Top 5 Draft Busts
5. Zack Phillips – 28th overall in 2011
Minnesota had a pair of 1st round picks in 2011. They selected Jonas Brodin 10th overall and Zack Phillips 28th overall. Phillips was a point-per-game player in junior for QMJHL Saint John, but unfortunately struggled to translate his game to the pro level.
Traded to Boston in March 2015, Zack spent a bit of time with Providence before being dealt once again this past March to St.Louis. Phillips began to see time in the ECHL in 2015-16, and history suggests Europe might be the next stop in his hockey career.
Picks after Phillips: Rickard Rakell (ANA) – 30th overall, Ty Rattie (STL) – 32nd overall, Rocco Grimaldi (FLA) – 33rd overall, Tomas Jurco (DET) – 35th overall, Boone Jenner (CLB) – 37th overall, John Gibson (ANA) – 39th overall, Dmitrij Jaskin (STL) – 41st overall, Victor Rask (CAR) – 42nd overall, Brandon Saad (CHI) – 43rd overall, Joel Edmundson (STL) – 46th overall, Matt Nieto (SJ) – 47th overall
4. Tyler Cuma – 23rd overall in 2008
Regarded as a solid two-way OHL defender heading into the draft, Cuma simply failed to pan out.
He spent four years in the AHL showing little to no development, which eventually forced him to sign overseas in Austria. He has since spent the last two seasons playing in Europe.
Tyler Cuma appeared in one NHL game logging two penalty minutes.
Picks after Cuma: Tyler Ennis (BUF) – 26th overall, John Carlson (WSH) – 27th overall, Jacob Markstrom (FLA) – 31st overall, Jake Allen (STL) – 34th overall, Roman Josi (NSH) – 38th overall, Patrick Wiercioch (OTT) – 42nd overall, Derek Stepan (NYR) – 51st overall
3. Colton Gillies – 16th overall in 2007
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A rugged power forward selected from the WHL, Gillies was one of those players who could impress and show promise in the AHL, but failed to bring that same effectiveness to the NHL level.
Some players struggle with the speed of the game (both physically and mentally), and that very well may have been the case for Colton Gillies.
Gillies spent time with Minnesota, Columbus, and NY Islanders (only ever played for AHL Bridgeport). He totaled 154 career NHL games (18 points) before leaving North America in 2015-16 to play in Slovakia.
Picks after Gillies: Ian Cole (STL) – 18th overall, Max Pacioretty (MTL) – 22nd overall, Mikael Backlund (CGY) – 24th overall, David Perron (STL) – 26th overall
2. A.J. Thelen and Roman Voloshenko – 12th and 42nd overall in 2004
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Nothing like missing with your top two picks in what would go down as one of the deeper drafts in history.
Thelen was a highly touted Michigan State defensive product who wound up being a career ECHL player. He never appeared in a single NHL game, and made a grand total of 10 AHL appearances.
Voloshenko impressed right away upon joining AHL Houston. He posted 60 points in 69 games as a rookie in 2005-06. Unfortunately, his totals were cut in half one season later after a disappointing 30 point (76 games) campaign in 2006-07.
Roman returned to Russia in 2007-08, never to return.
Picks after Thelen: Drew Stafford (BUF) – 13th overall, Devan Dubnyk (EDM) – 14th overall, Kyle Chipchura (MTL) – 18th overall, Lauri Korpikoski (NYR) – 19th overall, Travis Zajac (NJ) – 20th overall, Cory Schneider (VAN) – 26th overall, Mike Green (WSH) – 29th overall
Picks after Voloshenko: Blake Comeau (NYI) – 47th overall, Carl Soderberg (STL) – 49th overall, Nicklas Grossmann (DAL) – 56th overall, Brandon Dubinsky (NYR) – 60th overall, Alex Goligoski (PIT) – 61st overall, David Krejci (BOS) – 63rd overall
1. James Sheppard and Ondrej Fiala – 9th and 40th overall in 2006
Hopes were high for James Sheppard after dominating the QMJHL in junior.
He posted 19 points with the Minnesota Wild as a rookie, followed up by 24 points in year two. He only appeared in 64 games in 2009-10 (six points) before missing the entire 2010-11 season.
Sheppard was eventually dealt to San Jose for a 3rd round pick in 2011. He would spend nearly four seasons with the Sharks/AHL Worcester before joining the NY Rangers at the 2015 trade deadline. He tallied two goals in 14 games down the stretch, and added two more points in 13 playoff contests.
James failed to receive an NHL contract in the summer of 2015 and was forced to sign with Kloten HC of the Swiss-A League. Sheppard totaled 91 points in 394 career NHL games.
Ondrej Fiala never played a single game of North American pro hockey (NHL/AHL/ECHL, etc.). After finishing his final year of WHL hockey in 2007-08, Fiala left for his native Czech Republic and remained there for the rest of his career.
The reason Sheppard and Fiala rank first is because of the names that went off the board shortly after Minnesota picked both players. Imagine where the Wild would be if they had selected Little or Giroux in the first, and Lucic or Marchand in the second round.
Next: Las Vegas Expansion Mock Draft
Picks after Sheppard: Michael Frolik (FLA) – 10th overall, Jonathan Bernier (LA) – 11th overall, Bryan Little (ATL) – 12th overall, Michael Grabner (VAN) – 14th overall, Trevor Lewis (LA) – 17th overall, Chris Stewart (COL) – 18th overall, Claude Giroux (PHI) – 22nd overall, Semyon Varlamov (WSH) – 23rd overall, Patrik Berglund (STL) – 25th overall, Nick Foligno (OTT) – 28th overall, Michal Neuvirth (WSH) – 34th overall, Jamie McGinn (SJ) – 36th overall
Picks after Fiala: Nikolay Kulemin (TOR) – 44th overall, Jhonas Enroth (BUF) – 46th overall, Milan Lucic (BOS) – 50th overall, Artem Anisimov (NYR) – 54th overall, Mike Weber (BUF) – 57th overall, Jamie McBain (CAR) – 63rd overall, Brian Strait (PIT) – 65th overall, Steve Mason (CLB) – 69th overall, Brad Marchand (BOS) – 71st overall