Where are They Now? Wild Draft Picks in 2003

Everyone still with me? No one has jumped off the cliff or driven backwards on 35W since we began to relive the horrible, horrible past? Hopefully you are all still out there, all safe and ready for another walk down memory lane.

Make the jump. Class of 2003 awaits!

Result: Neutral - The forward experiment and the concussion issues have delayed any judgment right now. If you had asked me a year ago, I would have said bust, so he is improving, but only slowly. Remember, neutral is not a good thing when it comes to a first round pick.

While O'Sullivan is not the greatest player to ever lace up the skates, he would have made an excellent second liner, and that would have been a win for this franchise. The trade that sent Sully away made it clear that He Who Shall No Longer be Named was willing to sacrifice the future to add mediocre players to the roster.

Result: On O'Sullivan? Win for the Wild? Bust.

Round Three: The Dark ages continued to dazzle in the third round, as the Wild had a much higher pick than they should have due to trades. This time they used the higher pick to grab:

Round Four: No Pick - He Who Shall No Longer be Named strikes again.

Round Five: Marcin Kolusz - Played one season in the WHL before heading home to Europe. No reported stats past 2008-09.

Result: Bust.

Round Six: Miroslav Kopriva (G) - Another goalie drafted, another goalie wasted. Kopriva bounced between the Aeros and the CHL, then the Aeros and the ECHL, and then finally jumped ship and went to Europe. His last reported games were in the 2007-08 campaign.

Result: Bust.

Georgi Misharin (D) - Drafted out of the OHL, the next year he returned to Russia and never looked back. He is currently with CSKA Moscow of the KHL.

Result: Bust.

Result: Bust.

Round Eight: Mathieu Melnson (RW) - Played out his time in the QMJHL, then made the move to Austria before relaizing he wanted to apparently still be in North America. He had 26 points in 17 games in the ECHL in 2006-07, and followed that up with 58 points in 56 games for the Everblades the next season. The run with the Everblades earned him eight games with the Manitoba Moose. He ended up back in the ECHL to finish out that season, and put up impressive numbers again in 2008-09 in the ECHL before disappearing from hockey.

Reuslt: Bust.

Round Nine: Jean-Michel Bolduc - This is good. You'll like this. According to Hockeydb.com, this guy was drafted by the Wild, played three more seasons in the Q, then played no organized hockey from 2006 to 2008 before playing for, and I swear to you, a team called the Saguenay 98.3FM. The 98.3 FM? Really? I mean, really? And he really rocked it with 16 points and 117 PIMs in 39 games.

Well done Mr. GM. This one, this one is a classic.

Result: Bust.

Looking at the results, we get one NHLer who has last his game, one guy they never gave a chance to, one they traded away only to have him become a solid player, and six guys who simply disappeared.

To put a grade on this is the first time we flirt with absolute failure. However, we need to save the F's for later. This one pulls a most solid D-.

-Buddha