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Minnesota Wild: What’s become of the traded draft picks?

By Luke Ryan

ST PAUL, MN - JUNE 24: Tenth overall pick Jonas Brodin of the Minnesota Wild stands onstage for a photo with members of the Minnesota Wild organization during day one of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft at Xcel Energy Center on June 24, 2011 in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
ST PAUL, MN - JUNE 24: Tenth overall pick Jonas Brodin of the Minnesota Wild stands onstage for a photo with members of the Minnesota Wild organization during day one of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft at Xcel Energy Center on June 24, 2011 in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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ST. PAUL, MN - MARCH 13: Nikita Zadorov #16 of the Colorado Avalanche checks Matt Cullen #7 of the Minnesota Wild during the game at the Xcel Energy Center on March 13, 2018 in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)
ST. PAUL, MN – MARCH 13: Nikita Zadorov #16 of the Colorado Avalanche checks Matt Cullen #7 of the Minnesota Wild during the game at the Xcel Energy Center on March 13, 2018 in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images) /

2013 was a year that only saw one pick missing for the Minnesota Wild; their first round choice.

Nikita Zadorov was the player that got picked up using the Wild’s draft pick.

That pick was made by the Buffalo Sabres, who had sent Jason Pominville to Minnesota with a fourth round pick the next year in exchange for Matt Hackett, Johan Larsson, this second round pick and the one the year after.

The all-in approach paid off somewhat for the Minnesota Wild; Jason Pominville went on to suit up for the Minnesota Wild for the following four years, notching 206 points and 23 play-off points in Wild colours over that time. He eventually found his way back to the Buffalo Sabres, completing a neat little career circle.

Nikita Zadorov, the draft pick that was exchanged for him, played 67 times for the Buffalo Sabres and is now known as a frequent adversary of the Minnesota Wild, as he suits up with Central Division rivals, the Colorado Avalanche.

Also a year of only missing one pick was the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, though the Minnesota Wild more than made up for that with three choices in the sixth round.

They took Alex Tuch in the first round (18th overall) and have lived to regret somewhat, sending him over to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Expansion Draft.

Ignoring that failing of the front-office, we must look at the second round pick that was a result of that aforementioned Pomminville trade.

Buffalo took Vaclav Karabacek with the pick, but he hasn’t really panned out – he bounced around between the AHL and ECHL after turning professional and now finds himself back in the Czech Republic.

The Minnesota Wild also had another pick (originally owned by the Winnipeg Jets) in this round that ended up with the Washington Capitals as the result of various trades.

Washington picked up goalie Vitek Vanecek, who is doing well with the Hershey Bears and shores up a quite comfortable depth chart in net for the reigning Stanley Cup champions.

2015 wasn’t an awful year for trading away picks, as we see next.

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