Minnesotans Only Want Candy, Kisses, and More Minnesotans... Right?

You all know and love Mr. Tom Powers of the Saint Paul Pioneer Press. We have all read his "work" and been entertained by just how little about the fans here in Minnesota he knows. We often read his columns, out of boredom or because one our friends says "Did you see what Powers wrote today? Man that guy is a _____." 

The question I often wonder with Mr. Powers is this: like many other sports writers in the area, he claims to be writing on behalf of the fans, but how many has he actually spoken to? The fans this, the fans that, this is what the fans think, the fans hate this, the fans love that. To this day, I don't think I have ever seen him quote a fan. You know, the people he supposedly knows so much about how they think.

There were over 5000 hockey fans in the Xcel Energy Center yesterday, and apparently, Mr. Powers knows exactly what each and everyone of them was thinking. 

Make the jump. Let's have a little draft evaluation fun.

Looking at Mr. Powers' piece, we start where we should, at the beginning:

What's with this guy and candy? I mean seriously. Before, it was chocolates, now it's candy? If I buy you a Snicker bar, will you promise not to complain about what the Wild are doing to the fans anymore?

Or, draft the best available player on the board, no matter where the heck the kid is from. Maybe we could start there? Chuck Fletcher traded up into the second round last year as well, giving up his third and fourth round picks to draft a kid from... wait for it... Las Vegas. Clearly Fletcher only did so to charge up the fans at Staples Center, right?

No offense to Darby, but does anyone really want the Wild's second round pick to become a guy who never cracks 30 points in the NHL? I hope not, because Lucia can't go back in time and score the first home goal in Wild history. I'm sure the Wild arranged that, though, too. 

I'm sure Mr. Powers has multiple insider sources within the Wild's former regime to back up this statement right? I mean, otherwise they wouldn't have drafted AJ Thelen in the first round in 2004, or Erik Haula in 2009 (using the former regimes scouting reports), or Kyle Medvec in the fourth round in 2006, or Chris Hickey in the 7th in 2009, or Mike Erickson in the third round in 2002. Nope, I bet they drafted each of those guys just praying they never made the show.

They never signed Darby Hendrickon or Brian Bonin, either, right? 

Indeed, by people who either don't get it, or don't care to do the research to see it isn't true. Oh... wait.

Indeed, since the top selling jersey in Minnesota is always one of the players listed above, right? I'm sure Thelen sweaters were flying off the shelf. Seems to me one of the most popular jerseys in team history is Derek Boogaard's, a kid from Regina, Saskatchewan. Last time I checked, that isn't in Minnesota. Marian Gaborik's also sold well. He's from Hibbing, right? That Mikko Koivu guy, he was stellar in the state tourny for Duluth East, right? Oh, and don't forget that crazy Iron Ranger Cal Clutterbuck.

And who did the Wild not give a chance to? Who from Minnesota did they draft and then not give them a chance? Please, I am begging you, inform the masses, because you stumped me. I don't see a list of Minnesota born or even Minnesota connected players that were brought in and never given the proper chance to succeed. 

Seriously... who is this person? Have I missed something somewhere? Did I miss a player for the Wild being pulled around by his ear? Have I missed the local boy who overcame the hardships of not being wanted or given a chance and made the Wild despite their hatred of Minnesotans, only to get distracted by the constant demand for attention? Did the Wild face pressure from the fans not to trade away a Minnesotan? 

Oh wait... I have a feeling this has something to do with baseball. Wrong sport, sir. The Wild play hockey.

Here it is, where Mr. Powers really goes off track. Fletcher says he didn't draft the kid just because he is from Minnesota. But hey, Mr. Powers knows better than to take a man at his word. After all, after speaking with Brent Flahr, I get the impression he is a guy who doesn't really give a crap about the talent of a kid, but more where they are from. Oh wait... Flahr said exactly the opposite when we spoke to him last Monday. 

Blow the fans a kiss? OK, someone needs some candy.

Mr. Powers then rambles on about a joke everyone on the press riser thought was funny... that Lucia might go to the Isles and Garth Snow, Lucia's dad's nemesis. You know when we gave up on the joke? About 15 seconds after we heard it. It was funny, and then we moved on. 

The column ends with this:

Ah, so he has a head start simply because he is from Minnesota? Sounds to me like someone is blowing a kiss to increasingly impatient readership, Mr. Powers. 

Final Thought

The fans who believe the Wild would be better if they had more Minnesota born players are mocked mercilessly by those people who think for themselves. It is fun, maybe kind of cool to have a Minnesota boy on the team. It doesn't make the team better just because they are from Minnesota. We aren't born with DNA that makes us better at hockey, and we don't give a rip where you are from. Put the puck in the net, keep it out of your own, and the Wild fans will love you. I promise.

We want the Stanley Cup paraded down Kellog Blvd, and we don't care what state or country you are from if you make that happen. Anyone who says otherwise, you are welcome to your opinion, but you shall not be taken seriously. Sorry Tom.