Wild Interested in Stephane Da Costa: Who is This Guy?

Around this same time last year, there were rumors that the Wild were interested in college forward Casey Wellman. After a bit of a chase, finally, the Wild signed the University of Massachusetts sophomore who has found a place centering the Houston Aero's second line, a team that is looking to go far into the AHL playoffs. Wellman is now one of the bright spots of the Wild prospect crop.

All part of the plan. When GM Chuck Fletcher first arrived in Minnesota, he started to focus more on the college free agent market, by adding Casey Wellman, Nate Prosser, and Jarod Palmer to the organization. This was a complete 180 degree turn from the previous regime, who wouldn't sign a college free agent if the guy played for free. 

While the Wild have their eye on a handful of college free agents, they are once again aiming high. This year, it seems the Wild have their sights on Merrimack stud forward Stephane Da Costa.

EDIT:

Da Costa is a 5'11" 180lbs centerman starring as a sophomore at Merrimack College, and leads the team with 45 points (14 goals + 31 assists) in 33 games. He won multiple awards as a freshman, including NCAA (Hockey East) Rookie of the Year and NCAA (New England) Rookie of the Year.

Here a few scouting reports on Da Costa:

Dan Sallows -

Hockeysfuture -

Fan on HFBoards -

It can be agreed that Da Cosa has excellent playmaking skills, as well as being complimented by a solid package of offensive skills. It is this skill set that has around 20 teams, according to TSN, actively pursuing the talented forward, one of them being Minnesota.

Michael Russo breaks down situation nicely in his article:

And why is that? Because unlike many of the teams that are trying to sign Da Costa, Wild have an obvious lack of offensively talented forwards.

As sad is that is, it gives a great incentive for an undrafted free agent who is hoping to crack an NHL roster as soon as possible. Only since the 2010 draft have the Wild had any hopes of producing young, talented forwards but none of them (with perhaps the exception of Mikael Granlund) is ready to challenge for a regular NHL spot in the next 2-3 years.

And the Wild players aren't getting any younger. Andrew Brunette and John Madden are both 37 years old and are both expiring unrestricted free agents. Antti Miettinen and Chuck Kobasew are also expiring free agents and the only players down with the Houston Aeros that can possible provide some form of offense are Patrick O'Sullivan, Cody Almond and Casey Wellman.

But still, let's not get our hopes up. While it will be a great achievement signing Stephane Da Costa and acquiring him without the use of a draft pick, don't forget that there are 19 other teams trying to sign him, all offering similar benefits and perks.

We will just have to wait.