Minnesota Wild: Prospect Ivan Lodnia overlooked for Canada Russia Series

The Minnesota Wild were well represented in the recently completed Canada Russia Series, with three of the four teams featuring a member of the Wild prospect group. There was one notable name missing from the rosters; that of Ivan Lodnia.

The CIBC Canada Russia Series completed on Friday evening in dramatic fashion. Minnesota Wild prospect Alexander Khovanov assisted on the game winning goal in Overtime against the QMJHL team, giving Russia their first win at the tournament since 2014. Inconspicuous in his absence was Ivan Lodnia.

Connor Dewar represented the WHL, Shawn Boudrias was representing the QMJHL, and Khovanov represented Russia despite currently being a member of the QMJHL and a teammate of Boudrias. The only team not featuring a Minnesota Wild prospect was Team OHL.

The surprising part of this, is that there is a very qualified player in Ivan Lodnia, who is currently excelling in the OHL. Lodnia has 20 points in 20 games for the Niagara Ice Dogs, and is among the top players in the league currently.

Now, there are many great players in the OHL and only three right wingers were selected to be part of the OHL team for this tournament. What’s more surprising is that the wings that were selected were not all more qualified than Lodnia.

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Lodnia has had 2 consecutive seasons nearing 60 points in 60+ games, and is again on a point per game pace this year. His credentials speak for themselves. It’s a shame that he was overlooked for this role, as a tournament like this is great exposure for the NHL scouts.

Serron Noel has had a great start to this year, at 25 points through 20 games, but is younger than Lodnia and has less of a background to stand on. Conversely, it is a great test for a younger kid like Noel to see how he matches up against experienced competition

Owen Tippett absolutely deserves his role on the team, and I can’t dispute that. He has produced 75 points in consecutive OHL seasons and is again producing beyond a point per game pace.

Where Lodnia should have fit in, was ahead of Chicago Blackhawk prospect Mackenzie Entwistle. Entwistle is a forward who has produced at a less than stellar pace in the OHL, and in my opinion was much less deserving to be in the Canada Russia Series.

Perhaps it is  greedy to think that the Minnesota Wild should be represented on every team in a prospect tournament. We should just be happy that three of our prospects got to produce on an international stage.

For Ivan Lodnia, it is more than that. He is a third round draft pick, overlooked in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft behind 84 other players in his age range. He has been in the top 55 point producing players in the OHL through each of his last 2 seasons, and excelled during the Minnesota Wild training camp.

With the end of the tournament on Friday evening, Lodnia found a way to stand out as he produced 3 points in a 6-3 win for his Niagara Ice Dogs on the same night. To me, that screams as a player with a chip on his shoulder.

Here’s hoping that a chip on his shoulder will help him produce even more offense, and lift his game to an even higher level. Lodnia looks like he could be a star of the future for the Minnesota Wild, and a chip on his shoulder is exactly what he needs to get there.