Over the past few seasons the Minnesota Wild have built one of the best prospect pipelines in the NHL. The successful development of their draft picks is about to come to fruition as it’s possible that up to five of their recent first-round picks could make the roster this season. Over at The Athletic, several of those young players landed on Scott Wheeler’s Top 100 Drafted NHL Prospects.
By his own criteria, Wheeler qualifies the list with players that are under 23 and “not fully established with his NHL club”. The author admits that the second qualification is a bit arbitrary, but it does lead to focusing on more recent draft picks. With five players in the list the Wild are tied for third, trailing the Blackhawks (seven), Capitals (six), and Predators (six).
There are three first-round picks, a second-round pick, and a trade acquisition on this list with three of the last four draft classes represented. No one from the most recent made the cut, which is understandable since the Wild didn’t draft until the second round.
Last year’s list had four Wild players on it, coincidently enough, four of those players are going to be listed below (although he was on the list for another team).
5. Zeev Buium
The 12th-overall draft pick in 2024 got his feet wet in the playoffs last season and should get a pretty good look at the beginning of the season, especially with Jonas Brodin on injured reserve for a while.
33. David Jiricek
Accompanying Buium on the blueline should be the 21-year-old former Blue Jacket. Injuries have slowed things for his development a bit as he only appeared in 43 games between the Columbus and Minnesota organizations.
37. Danila Yurov
Drafted with the 24th pick in 2022, Yurov is set to make his North American debut this season. All signs point to him playing in Minnesota this season after several solid seasons in the KHL. In 2023-24 he put up 49 points in 62 games with Metallurg Magnitogorsk. The biggest question this year will be if John Hynes trusts him in the middle of the ice or if he starts his NHL career on the wing.
79. Liam Ohgren
Drafted five spots ahead of Yurov in 2022 is Liam Ohgren. A 37-point season with Iowa last year was sandwiched around 24 games with the Wild at the NHL level. The Swedish forward should have a long steady career, and there is a good chance that it starts this season.
100. Riley Heidt
Capping off Wheeler’s list is the 5’11” wrecking ball that is Riley Heidt. He rounded out his junior career in Prince George with a 90-point season and will likely spend this season terrorizing opposing players at the AHL level for this season.