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Minnesota Wild: Which centers could be available in first round of NHL Draft?

By Tim Johnson

The Minnesota Wild have drafted a center in the first round three times since 2015. Will Wild general lmanager Bill Guerin, right, continue that trend this year. The Wild have two picks in the first round. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
The Minnesota Wild have drafted a center in the first round three times since 2015. Will Wild general lmanager Bill Guerin, right, continue that trend this year. The Wild have two picks in the first round. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Aatu Raty, the 18-year-old native of Oulunsalo, Finland was initially considered he would be selected near the top of the draft boards this year. But he had a slow start in the Finnish Liiga against tougher competition and that caused him to slide a bit.

Scott Wheeler of The Athletic chronicled those issues in a story earlier this summer in which he spoke with Raty’s agent, Mika Backman.

Wheeler wrote:

"In time, as the 2019-20 season neared its unanticipated shutdown due to the pandemic, Räty had begun to feel like he was losing himself. “Last spring, it wasn’t easy for him,” Backman said. “He was the youngest player in the whole world juniors and then after the tournament Kärpät put him to play with the juniors and he tried to work harder and harder, and I think he even practiced too hard. I think he pushed too hard. The joy, he lost it.”"

Raty had three goals and six points in 35 games this year, but  is ranked third among European skaters by NHL Central Scouting and is a top 20 candidate among several other draft and scout expert sites.

EliteProspects wrote its analysis of Raty in its draft preview:

"He generates so much power on every release by sacrificing a quick drawback, instead taking his sweet time loading downforce into his lever-action wrister. It’s a hard, accurate shot when he has the time and space to send it on net. He’ll drive the centre lane with the puck on nearly every entry, and he isn’t shy about setting up shop at the net-front even if it means paying a physical toll on every shift. –"

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