Wilderness Walk: Minnesota Takes Taylor Heise In Historic PWHL Draft

That's Wild

• The historic first player draft of the PWHL happened on Monday afternoon and with the first overall selection the currently unnamed Minnesota franchise selected Gophers forward Taylor Heise. "It's an unreal feeling," said Heise. "I mean, to be here and see all the ladies here that I play against and play with every single day is awesome. ... I think it's something that I'm going to look forward to and look back on my entire life. I'm just really grateful to be here." [Sportsnet]
• Riley Heidt and Hunter Haight are not the most well-known or recognizable Minnesota Wild prospects, but they are giving us a preview of what exactly they can do at the prospect tournament this year. [Hockey Wilderness]
• A little pre-training camp sitdown with Dean Evason to go over a whole bunch of topics. Will Brock Faber be in the top-four? Where will Marco Rossi play? And more. [The Athletic]

Off the trail...

• "It feels real": The PWHL takes the monumental step forward with historic draft on Monday. [Sportsnet]
• In case you missed a lot this past week, why exactly Mike Babcock is gone from the Columbus Blue Jackets' head coach role before they even play one single game under his reign. [ESPN]
• Pickle juice and some cheat meals: How NHL prospects eat. [The Hockey News]
• Florida Panthers netminder Spencer Knight opened up about his OCD diagnosis and how it led to him stepping away from hockey for a few months. [Yahoo Sports]