What If Minnesota Goes All-Out On Drafting Big Defensemen?

Certain NHL player types can't be found anywhere but in the draft. Or at least, unless you're willing to overpay for a player that you might not necessarily want. Just look at the history of the Minnesota Wild trying to pursue a center. They've had just a handful of actual, top-line-quality centers. They drafted Mikko Koivu and Joel Eriksson Ek, are hoping they've drafted others in Marco Rossi and Danila Yurov, and once got pleasantly surprised by signing a seemingly over-the-hill Eric Staal.

That's it. Free agency? The Wild struck out every time. Trades? None of Minnesota's GMs wanted to trade their collection of wings and defensemen for a pivot. You've got to draft those guys, or hope you get extremely lucky. That's why Bill Guerin and Judd Brackett went so hard after centers in the 2023 Draft, picking Charlie Stramel, Rasmus Kumpulainen, and Riley Heidt with their first three picks.

The big defenseman is another prototype that doesn't seem to be readily available. Everyone wants to have someone big, mobile, and physically imposing on the blueline, so if you don't end up drafting that player, you're not getting a good one. The Wild are desperate enough for size in their defense corps that they're apparently contemplating signing Jake Middleton (likely a bottom-pair defenseman on a great team) to a four-year extension... on top of the remaining year on his contract. That's probably not going to end well!

But how do you get a bona-fide, big, top-four defenseman? You've got to draft them, or you're overpaying the Middletons of the world, or spending massive dollars for a massive player who brings little else to the ice, like free agent Tyler Myers. 

We know that the Wild are willing to target a premium position of need. So what happens if they do that this year and target size on the blueline?

If so, 2024 is probably the year to do it. According to Elite Prospects' 2024 Consolidated Draft Board, seven of the top-20 players are defensemen. Of those, all are 6-foot-0 or taller, with Anton Silyaev (6-foot-7), Sam Dickinson, Carter Yakemchuk, and Adam Jiricek all listed at 6-foot-2. An eighth name, Norway's Stian Solberg, has a combination of mobility and bone-crushing hitting that's making him a late riser.

The fun doesn't stop in the first round. Round 2 figures to be deep with large defensemen, giving Minnesota the perfect opportunity to beef up their blueline. So, let's ask ourselves: What would the top part of this draft look like if the Wild targeted big defensemen as aggressively as they did with centers last summer?

Let's go a bit nuts and use Draft Prospects Hockey to simulate the first two rounds of the Draft. We're using Bob McKenzie's rankings for the exercise, then turning up the Randomness factor slightly and nudging up the Team Need factor a touch. How does the board shake out?

More or less, how we'd expect. The top, top names among defensemen are gone, with the run kicking off with the Columbus Blue Jackets snagging Silayev at fourth overall, Artyom Levshunov going fifth to the Montreal Canadiens, Zayne Parekh landing in Utah at Pick 6, Zeev Buium joining the Seattle Kraken at Pick 7, and Sam Dickinson going to Buffalo at Pick 11. 

That's five defensemen off the board in the first 12 picks, and it leads us to make a difficult call. Top offensive talents Tij Iginla and Berkly Catton are still on the board. If we pick a defenseman in this spot now, we're going to get creamed in the media and with the fans. It's a similar situation to what happened in 2023 when the Wild passed on the offensively gifted Gabe Perreault to draft a big center. What do we do here?

The solution: We're sticking to our plan, but we're getting paid for doing so.

TRADE:
Minnesota sends No. 13 overall to Chicago for No. 18 overall and two second-round picks (No. 34 and 50).

The Chicago Blackhawks have already shown aggression in being willing to trade up, sending Picks 20, 54, and 61 to the New York Islanders to move up to 18th overall. That's insane value for the Islanders, and it signals that Chicago (or a team like them) may be willing to pay a hefty price to move up even further in the top half of the first round.

That means Chicago is ultimately willing to sell off four draft picks for that No. 13 pick, but there are two reasons to think this is possible. Reason 1: Iginla and Catton are top-10 talents who are in no way falling down to Pick 18. Reason 2: There's no way Minnesota's gifting the Blackhawks one of those guys without getting the price they want. The Wild are now armed at the draft table with four picks (18, 34, 45, 50) through the mid-second round, giving them much more ammunition to load up on defense.

What does the move cost the Wild? It depends on how much you wanted one of the top, top guys. Iginla goes to Chicago at 13, giving another generation of Iginlas a chance to haunt the Wild. Forward Beckett Sennecke goes 14, followed by Jiricek, Yakemchuk, and Catton. So, locked out of a top-20 (by consensus) defenseman, can the Wild accomplish their goals to a satisfying degree, considering the opportunity cost they left on the table?

Pick 18:
Stian Solberg, Left Defense, Norway, Vålerenga

It's time to get nasty, and that's what Solberg brings to the rink. Solberg doesn't have the sheer height of someone like Silayev: he's listed at 6-foot-1.5. But for a player who plays as physically as he does, that might not matter. He'd been on the radar for most of the season as a second-to-third-round pick, but his excellent play for a surprisingly good Norway team at the World Championships has him rising to first-round status.

"[Solberg leverages] his strong physicality to effectively check opponents into the boards and eliminate them from the play without compromising his team's defensive structure," writes FC Hockey in their Draft Guide, which ranked him 17th in his draft class. "His skating is smooth and agile, allowing him to close in on loose pucks quickly."

Solberg merges what Minnesota wants in a defensemen (bigger, physical, with a mean streak) with the traits they've historically valued (great skating, good hockey sense). He may or may not have the offensive upside of a Brock Faber. But then again, we didn't know Faber had a high level of offensive upside until he made the NHL. 

No doubt, the Wild will get a scouting report on him from fellow Norwegian Mats Zuccarello, who watched Solberg score two goals and three points in seven games at the World Championships. But if Minnesota is looking for a long-term replacement for Jonas Brodin, there's some of that DNA in Solberg, with the ability to lay the hammer on his opponents. Coincidentally, Solberg is slated to spend next season with Färjestad, the team that developed Brodin.

After Solberg, we sit through the end of the first round and start our day early on Day 2, picking 34th overall. Here, we have some more offensive players to pass on, including Prince George Cougar (and Heidt teammate) Terik Parascak and Medicine Hat Tiger winger Andrew Basha. But, we're sticking to the plan here, and taking another big defenseman to fill out our organization.

Pick 34:
EJ Emery, Right Defense, US National U-18 Team

We're doubling down on defense first in taking Emery 14 picks after selecting Solberg. It's also a nice surprise to get Emery, who could easily go in the first round, with this selection. Emery is a 6-foot-3.25, right-shot defenseman whose superpower is his feet. Elite Prospects compares Emery's game to Brandon Carlo in their Draft Guide and talks about how he uses his skating and hockey sense to shut down opponents completely.

"Emery absorbs and erases opposing rushes with smooth backward strides and a stable, perfect posture," they describe. "Attackers can't shake him. A high-end skater, Emery follows their every maneuver with perfect footwork."

Despite having the Brodin/Jared Spurgeon skating gene, Emery doesn't shy away from unleashing his physical side. "[Emery takes] away space below the goal line and near the crease," reads McKeen's Hockey's Draft Guide. "As his frame fills out, he projects as a physical beast who can be an insanely difficult player to match up against." The outlet lists him as the second-best defensive defenseman, only behind Silayev. 

That's gotta be music to Guerin's ears, and the Wild would be able to watch and monitor his development from close to home. He's committed to playing college hockey at the University of North Dakota. 

Now we're on to Pick 45. 6-foot-4 USA product Will Skahan is off the board (No. 37 to the Winnipeg Jets), as is 6-foot-3 Dominik Badinka, who went to the Calgary Flames at No. 41. But we're not tapped out on big defenseman quite yet. 

Pick 45
Harrison Brunicke, Right Defense, Kamloops Blazers, WHL

After two "high-floor" candidates at defense, we're taking a bigger swing for upside with Harrison Brunicke. Brunicke has all the tools, he just needs to put them together. Whether he can or not is a big enough "If" that it can have him slide to the second round. However, at this point, it's worth a flier.

"In transition, Brunicke is capable of some of the best plays in the draft," Elite Prospects' Draft Guide says of him, weighing his positive traits. "Brunicke activates as much as possible, trying all sorts of creative plays in the process. ... There are highlight reel moments."

That's what Brunicke can bring to the table, and even has some defensive skill due to his high-end skating and 6-foot-2.5 frame. But he has his notable critics. "He occasionally holds onto the puck too long, leading to turnovers, even when simpler options are available," charges FC Hockey. "Additionally, Brunicke sometimes attempts high-risk, cross-ice breakout passes that are easily intercepted, creating opportunities for his opponents."

Is that a matter of low Hockey IQ, or a player on a bad team trying to do too much? If it's the former, the Wild probably aren't so keen on making this pick. But if they think it's the latter, and his decision-making can be corrected, this could be a great addition to two higher-floor, perhaps lower-upside defenders. 

Now we're at Pick 50, and here comes an opportunity to go for a skilled, offensive forward, and we'll do that by drafting... Nahhhhhh, we're sticking to the plan.

Pick 50
Jesse Pulkkinen, Left Defense, Liiga, JYP

We wrap up our giant defenseman shopping spree with our biggest pick yet: 6-foot-6 Jesse Pulkkinen. Thirty-two teams already passed over Pulkkinen in last year's draft, but the Wild aren't afraid of taking intriguing over-age prospects. In the last three drafts, Brackett's draft table grabbed over-agers Aaron Pionk (fifth-round, 2023), Mikey Milne (third-round, 2022), and David Spacek (fifth-round, 2022), and Josh Pillar (fourth-round, 2021).

Pulkkinen got on the map this season by being one of the better defensemen on a bad JYP squad. He had just two goals and eight points in 29 games, which doesn't jump off the page but is respectable enough. He controlled just 46.7% of the shot attempt share last season, but that still was the second-best among defensemen on JYP, making him above-average relative to his team.

The sudden jump from Pulkkinen, combined with his gigantic frame and emerging skill set, has scouts on notice. "He plays like a player six inches smaller," says McKeen's. "Other than his physicality, which is exactly what you'd want."

His offensive skills give him a level of upside that you don't find in 6-foot-6 defensemen outside of the top-10 or so. "Pulkkinen has boundless creativity and confidence with the puck," says Elite Prospects. "A credible dual-threat scorer, the 19-year-old can hammer pucks around defenders and beat goalies clean from range, or find a teammate through layers with a perfectly weighted pass."

The Wild would have to hope that he has more progression in his game, despite his older age, and that this season wasn't a flash in the pan. But to round out a, frankly, crazy day where the Wild added 25 feet and one inch of defenseman to their system in the first two rounds, Minnesota can take a second lottery ticket in Pulkkinen and hope he or Brunicke works out.

Selling out this hard to add big defensemen isn't likely. However, working through this exercise highlights what kind of players Minnesota can target if they want to load up on the blueline. And if the Wild do trade down, take another look at the options that could be going with an early-to-mid second-round pick. Minnesota could land a player they're quite high on in the first round and pick up an extra selection to add size and depth to their organziation.