The dust has settled on the 2025 NHL Draft, and after it was said and done, the Minnesota Wild ended up with five new prospects in the system. Theodor Hallquisth, Adam Benak, Lirim Amidovski, Carter Klippenstein, and Justin Kipkie all heard their names called and will don the Minnesota green for draft photos. Will they end up skating for the NHL club at some point? Only time will tell. That didn't stop the experts from casting their votes on how the draft went for the Wild.
For the most part, the instant grades were complimentary. Most noted that, without a first-round pick, it would be hard to award the Wild an "A". They also liked the risk in taking the talented but Benak.
Bleacher Report - Nicholas Nathanson
They highlight Theodor Hallquisth, mentioning that the defenseman is a "versatile player with two-way abilities, and with some more development, could have significant contributions to the Wild."
FloHockey - Chris Peters
Peters referred to Hallquisth as "vanilla" but didn't mean that as a bad thing. Sometimes a non-exciting defender is exactly what a team needs. Overall, "the Wild did pretty well with the bets they made on their mid-round guys and picked a high-floor type player in Hallquisth."
The Athletic - Corey Pronman
Pronman had two of the players drafted ranked (Hallquisth at 73 and Carter Klippenstein at 66). He also liked the Justin Kipkie, stating "he’s a good-sized defenseman with legit hands and a big point shot who has been a top player in the WHL the last two seasons."
The Athletic - Scott Wheeler
Wheeler uses a slightly different grading method, and his definition of overtime winners are teams that did well, even if they didn't take the players he might have. He singled out Adam Benak, calling him "one of the smartest players in this class and one of its best skaters". While he does have concerns about the forward's size, he also credits him for being "fearless" and that he could surprise some people.
Daily Faceoff - Steven Ellis
Ellis believes that Hallquisth was drafted a little too early, "loves" Benak but has concerns for his size. He admits that other folks liked Lirim Amidovski more than he did, but thinks it was a quality pick at 121.