NHL Draft 2012 Prospects: #9 Morgan Rielly

The draft, hands down, is the best time of the hockey season. Maybe I'm just saying that because the Wild haven't been seen post-season action since 2008, but that is besides the point.

So, on June 22nd-23rd, we will all sit down in front of the television/computer and watch the draft. But if you are wondering, "who's who", then you haven't been reading HW because thats my job.

So without further ado:

Introducing our 2012 NHL #9 Draft Prospect - Morgan Rielly

Accomplishments & Awards:

Prospect Jersey (What Would They Look Like In a Wild Jersey?):

Summarized Scouting Report

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

HW Projection:

Video Evidence:

Where Does He Fit In The Wild?

The Wild is missing an offensive defenseman and Rielly is just that.

Conclusion

An offensive mobile defenseman that can control the pace of the game with poised and confidence. I very much like that sound of that.

The thing that really got me interested was a quote from Central Scouting's B.J. MacDonald where he said ""He's like a chess player; he's thinking one or two moves ahead. He sees stuff coming that a lot of players don't see."

The idea of a chessmaster type of hockey player should be familiar with us Wild fans, seeing how we selected a 'chessmaster' type of defenseman last year in Jonas Brodin. Right now, Brodin is taking those smarts and poise and playing alongside some of the best players in the World, and does not look out of place.

However, this case is a bit different. While Brodin is a genius defensively but lacks offense, Rielly is a genius offensively but lacks defense. He isn't exactly the biggest and he is prone to turnovers. But seeing two sides of the spectrum, what do you think is more valuable in a defenseman, offense or defense?

In addition, his game revolves around his ability to be mobile, and with his injury, there are questions whether he can still utilize his competitive advantage.

In my opinion, I do not like defenseman that are still raw defensively, but seeing how he is the exact opposite of Jonas Brodin in terms of style of play, seeing a Rielly - Brodin would be something great to see (both are left handed but neither have a cannon so we can make it work).

Special thanks to HFBoards, Future Considerations, The Hockey Writers, TSN, OHLProspeccts and The Scouting Report