Wild draft expert roundtable: Assessing 6 players Minnesota could land at No. 13 (2024)

Usually, in an NHL Draft, there’s a list of top players for the first round and then there’s a drop-off.

For the Minnesota Wild, picking at No. 13 this year should put them near the end of that first group.

“You’ve got 14 or 15 guys that are pretty agreed upon as the cream of the crop in this class,” The Athletic draft and prospects writer Scott Wheeler said. “There’s going to be a player available that I view as one of the best prospects in the draft, and most others agree one of the better ones, they’ll be able to get.”

Macklin Celebrini, the superstar center and Hobey Baker winner from Boston University, is expected to go No.1. to the San Jose Sharks. After that,there’s a group of about six top-level defense prospects who could get scooped up in the next 10 or so picks. Perhaps one could fall to the Wild.

Checking Wheeler’s rankings and The Athletic’s Corey Pronman’s, some forward candidates stick out as well.

To assess some of the options, we interviewed Wheeler, Chris Peters (NHL Draft and prospects analyst for FloHockey) and a long-time NHL scout for their analysis on the picks we believe the Wild could be targeting at No. 13. We recently posted a one-on-one with Wild director of amateur scouting Judd Brackett for his thoughts.

The Wild picked based on positional need last year in the first round, using the 21st overall pick on center Charlie Stramel, who has transferred from Wisconsin to Michigan State. This year, there’s a very good chance Minnesota ends up with a skilled forward with this pick unless one of the top defensem*n drops. Or they could decide they want to move back a few picks in the round and get their guy.

“I would think the D will go,” the scout said. “But otherwise you’re settling on a pretty good forward prospect. But if you feel those guys are falling back because of the natural draft order selection, you feel you can trade from 13 to 18 and maybe still get that guy or something, it’s worth a shot.”

Here are six prospects the Wild could end up with at No. 13.

Cole Eiserman, LW, U.S. NTDP

Height: 6-foot
Weight: 195 pounds
Shoots: Left

Wheeler: “He’s a goal-scorer and what often happens with goal-scoring wingers, especially one that’s been around like he has, he’s been nitpicked. And rightfully so in a lot of areas. His game is physical and he has a competitive streak to his game. But his commitment to the defensive side of the puck is lacking at times. He likes to play the O-zone. He’s not been particularly reliable defensively for that age group. Then his play selection and decision-making, he forces a lot of shots, a lot of passes.

“I think there are times when he doesn’t know what the right play is to make. As a result, he’s shooting into shin pads or even at times he was overpassing because he felt like he was being criticized about how much he shot the puck, so he did the reverse and was too often looking for the pass. He’s got a bit of an identity issue, where he doesn’t know what the play is. As a result, he’s often making the wrong choice.

“The talent is clear. He’s a premium, premium goal-scorer. The best pure shooter in the draft. He can pound the one-timer. He can score on a wrister from distance. All of that is true. Teams wish he would have developed more layers to his game over the last two years. I feel the player he is today is similar to the one he was a year and a half ago. It’s all about the goal-scoring piece and it’s a little one-dimensional for a lot of people. I’m still a believer in Cole. Still have him in the top 10. He can still score a ton of goals in the NHL, I still think he’s a really good pick for Minnesota at 13. But he comes with some doubters, and there’s some bad habits in his game.”

“People forget he’s an Aug. 29 kid who is two and a half weeks from being eligible for the 2025 draft, and we’d be having a completely different conversation. The age is part of it. (Boston University) under (Jay) Pandolfo, they’ll do a great job with him and understand where he needs to get to. He’ll be in good hands.”

Peters: “The thing about Eiserman is, if your best attribute is scoring goals, that’s a pretty darn good attribute to have. To me, the real separator for him and the rest of his class, I don’t think there’s a goal-scorer like him.

“The reason there’s probably a better chance than not he’ll be available at 13 is that he’s not a play driver. He’s not the guy you want bringing the puck up the ice, because I don’t think he has the vision to be a playmaker or play driver. I think he’s got his eyes on one thing. And it’s not like he’s inept otherwise offensively — he’s got really good hands. He’s got some one-on-one skill. He’s got some creativity. He’s very competitive with the puck on his stick. He’s hard to knock off of it. He’s very physically strong. Those are good attributes.

“It’s just, do you have the other players you can put around him to maximize what he does best? That’s where teams are pausing because they’re like, ‘If we’re going to pick this early in the draft, we don’t want to have a guy that needs a facilitator.’ That’s the thing you have to decide is, is it worth that? To me, the goal-scoring trait is so good, I would find the right places for a player like that. I think his goal-scoring is going to translate to college. I think it’ll translate to the pros. I don’t think he’ll be a 50-goal scorer in the NHL, but if he’s a consistent 30-goal scorer in the NHL, that’s a really valuable commodity.”

NHL scout: “I don’t think he’s been nit-picked. I think he’s been held accountable. What he’s been held accountable for is stuff that’s pretty important if you’re going to win. Because he’s a pure shooter. And he’s very good at that. But he also looks like a selfish guy. He looks like a dog at times. He looks like he doesn’t care about the team as much as he cares about his individual stats. And he would concern me.

“It doesn’t mean he won’t be a star player. Doesn’t mean he can’t be very good. It’s just that we’d want guys that are more concerned about the team than just about themselves. I don’t see him as that guy.”

Berkly Catton, C, Spokane Chiefs (WHL)

Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 170 pounds
Shoots: Left

Wheeler: “I think Catton is awesome. He reminds me of the skill level you see in (Seth) Jarvis and (Martin) Necas. There’s a chance he can be a better player than those guys. A Clayton Keller type, but a much better skater than Keller. Catton is a dynamic skater.

“A smaller center, a 5-10, 5-11, is always tricky. But he led the WHL in short-handed goals. He’s an excellent penalty-killer. His two-way play at five-on-five has come along. The skill level and scoring and finishing and handling and the power-play upside, the skating — he’s one of the best skaters in the draft — A lot of that is really exciting.

I think you’re looking at a 70-point top-of-the-lineup player potential. The question will be: Is he a winger or a center? I like him at center. I can also see him moving to the wing. But otherwise, his skating, skill, shooting, scoring creation, playmaking, power play, all of that is there. There are guys that view him as a top-10 clear-cut fit. It’s not completely out of the question if all the D go that some of those high-end forwards can last longer.”

Peters: “I was a big Logan Cooley fan in his draft year, and I feel there are a lot of similarities between him and Cooley in terms of pace of play, skill, scoring ability. I think Catton is actually a better goal-scorer than Logan Cooley. He’s just so versatile in terms of that speed. He’s competitive.

“The only thing is he isn’t as big. That’s really it. I think he’s got a dynamic skill element to him. He’s got one-on-one skills where he can beat a defender. He’s got a deceptive release. I think the thing that excites me most about him is his play in transition and the ability to get pucks up the ice quickly behind the defenders — play with the pace that the NHL is going. That’s why I have him so high. I think that speed element is a separating factor.

“I also think he processes the game at a high speed, which separates him from the other forwards available. I do believe he can be a center. He’s 5-10, but there’s more centers at that size. It’s not as super common. With his hockey sense and his play-driving ability, he would be a guy that would slot in there.”

NHL scout: “He’s got the potential to be a No. 1 center but more likely will be a really good two. He’s not the biggest guy, not the fastest guy, but he’s got above-average hockey sense, above-average skill, compete, plays an OK defensive game with a very creative offensive game. So good defense, very good offense. Not sure he’s elite enough to be a No. 1 on a team that can challenge for a championship, though, but he’ll be a really good No. 2. He’s like a Nick Suzuki for me.”

Konsta Helenius, C/W, Jukurit

Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 180 pounds
Shoots: Right

Wheeler: “He’s a middle-six center at the next level — even a really good second-line center. I’m high on him. He disappointed people at men’s worlds and U18 worlds. He was good, but he didn’t dominate. He’s still a legit prospect.

“The challenge is you have a 5-11 center who doesn’t have dynamic skating or dynamic high-end scoring. As a result, he relies upon his skills and smarts to make plays. He’s an extremely intelligent player. One of the smartest players in the draft. He’s got good hands, soft skill, natural playmaker. He’s an excellent two-way player. Good in faceoffs. Reliable defensively. That part of his game deserves a lot of love.

“Ironically, there’s a lot of Marco Rossi in his profile. Smaller center, not the fastest player, not going to be a 30-goal guy either. That’s what teams are struggling with: Can he be a 60-point center in the NHL? I think he can. Not every team believes.”

Peters: “He’s more of that two-way, well-rounded player with good offensive skill. I really like his skating ability. Not a big guy, but very sturdy. Very strong. His hockey sense among centers is some of the best in the draft outside of Celebrini in terms of understanding how to drive play, being able to make the right reads, knowing when to shoot, knowing when to pass, knowing when to slow things down or speed things up. He adjusts to the game he has to play.

“The fact he played professionally this year and was the fourth-leading scorer among U18 players in the history of Liiga is a big deal. To produce at that level at that age in that league isn’t very common. It sounds like there’s a lot of maturity, hockey sense to his game. He’s able to play at decent pace as well. He doesn’t have the speed factor that (Catton) has, but he’s a good skater and is sturdy on his skates and is committed in all three zones.

“The interesting thing about Helenius is, and I’ve heard this from a couple places, is that if you’re looking for guys who can translate to the NHL quicker, a lot of people would say he’s in the mix because of the success he had professionally. I don’t think he’ll be in the NHL next year. But he’s on a very short timeline.”

NHL scout: “He’s a similar style to (Catton) but better at everything. I think he could become a No. 1. Both of those guys are true centers. There’s a lot of guys that are centers but you say, ‘Yeah, well he’s a center at junior, he’s a center in Europe, but I think he’s going to shift over to wing for pro.’ I think both of these guys are centers going forward for pro.”

Tij Iginla, LW, Kelowna Rockets

Height: 6-foot
Weight: 182 pounds
Shoots: Left

Wheeler: “I get the sense that he won’t be there (at 13), but I also know there’s much excitement about him in the public sphere and there are scouts who aren’t as high on him. There are scouts who believe he’s a top-seven or -eight guy, but a fair number have him ranked outside the top 10 and have concerns about his natural playmaking ability.

“He is dynamic with the puck on his stick and has an elite NHL-level shot, which allows him to create plays. Some pretty goals. But he’s not a natural make-your-linemates-better type. He finishes plays, makes the final play. The skating, skill shot package is high-end. It’s hard to find outside the top 10.

“NHL Scouting has him as a center. But he hardly played center. He’s a winger all day in the NHL. Iginla is tricky. He has that sort of skating, puck-handling, shooting package that reminds me of a player like Kyle Connor. But he plays a harder style. More competitive. Gets after it on the forecheck more than Connor does. He’s a better skater than the Brock Boeser type. Those are the guys that come to mind.”

Peters: “He’s so quick with his hands. They’re very fast. And he accepts pucks cleanly. He has a really good release. There’s a lot of clips of him where he’s getting his shot off from in tight, and it’s just right off his stick and under the bar. That’s a very valuable shooting tool that he has.

“On top of that, what I think he’s really improved on — and I heard some criticism about his hockey sense at times — I actually think it’s quite good. I especially saw that at the under-18 worlds where, while he wasn’t necessarily impacting the game scoring, he was engaged in the defensive zone, he was getting sticks in lanes, he was using that competitive drive. He makes things a little bit more chaotic.

“He just does everything well. I don’t think there’s a ton of holes in his game. He’s listed as a center. I don’t necessarily see him as a center. He’s going to be more valuable on the wing. That shooting is a tool that — he’s got the ability to (go) inside and create with his hands. I’d just rather have him on the wing with those traits. There’s at least a possibility that he can be a center. It’s his natural position.

“You put it all with that skill package that he has, the athleticism he has, and the drive he has, you just say that this guy is absolutely going to play in the league.”

NHL scout: “He’s come on really well. He could be a first- or second-line winger. He’s not the biggest guy in the world, but he’s competitive. He scores goals, but he makes plays. He sees the ice. I think there are similarities to his dad, but he’s not his dad because it’s a different era and his dad was tougher. He’s not his dad, but he’s a very good top-six winger who can score goals and play physical and get in on the forecheck.”

Zayne Parekh, D, Saginaw (CHL)

Height: 6-foot
Weight: 179 pounds
Shoots: Right

Wheeler: “I expect him to go before 13. That’s the expectation. I don’t think he’s going to be there. But there are some people who don’t like Zayne’s game, the way he defends. People view him as lackadaisical and loose and he’s got all sorts of critics that way. I do think as the season progressed, those faded. But there’s still a contingent of people that don’t really like his style of play.

“The skill level is as high-end as any D prospect I’ve watched at the OHL, CHL level in the 11 years I’ve been doing this. He’s a more talented player at this level than Evan Bouchard was. More talented player at this age was than Brandt Clarke was a couple of years ago.

“The big question with him is whether he defends too much with his stick and is lackadaisical. The concern teams have is whether he’s going to be able to defend well for 20 to 25 minutes a night. Is he going to have to be sheltered?”

Peters: “His offensive sense, his ability to play the puck and the way he makes plays, his scoring ability, the way he reads the offensive game — I just like that. Whoever takes him, your team is going to have the puck a lot because he makes a lot of positive plays with the puck on his stick, whether he’s in the defensive zone or offensive zone.

“It’s a good first pass out of the zone. He can get the puck out of trouble. The amount of plays that he extends in the offensive zone, walking the blue line, the poise and the confidence on the puck that he has — those are all things I think will translate very favorably to a top-four, possibly top-pairing defenseman.

“Defensively, he probably doesn’t fall into the guy that you want to have playing the most significant minutes on your team. But people said that about Quinn Hughes. They said that about Luke Hughes.”

NHL scout: “I think he’s gone (at 13). He’s got some Quinn Hughes in him on the high side, but there’s some Tyson Barrie in him on the low side. He’s a right shot D that’s all offense, doesn’t care about defense. He’s a good skater. Creative with the puck. But he’s a smaller guy that has to work his way through the NHL trees inside the offensive zone. He’s going to have to defend against big, strong, fast guys defensively.

“If you’re looking for a guy that’s the potential home run offensively on D, he’s probably got more pure offense than any of those other D.”

Carter Yakemchuk, RHD, Calgary (WHL)

Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 201 pounds
Shoots: Right

Wheeler: “There’s a chance all six of the top defensem*n go in the top 12 picks. But if one of them lingers, a player like Iginla goes early, it does feel like Yakemchuk is the one the most likely to do that.

“He has some big believers. The concern is his skating and decision-making, which still needs a lot of work. He’s an extremely, extremely talented kid. For a 6-3 defender, he’s got dynamic skill on the puck and an elite-level shot. He’s made some highlight-reel plays this year. He’s also got some meanness and physicality to his game that’s really developed. He took way too many penalties this year, though.

“To see a 6-3 right shot D with that kind of skill set, it’s extremely exciting. Just worried about the skating and decision-making. Those pieces need some work and NHL teams share that view. That is what held him out of the top 10 for me. If he’s there and you can work on his skating, you’re talking about a potentially really, really interesting player. He reminds me of Brent Burns — a big guy with a ton of skill and really shoots the puck, likes to play offense. Burns is a borderline Hall of Famer, so that’s a lofty (projection), but it’s the comp I always come to.”

Peters: It’s hard to see a 6-3, right-shot defenseman with 30 goals on his resume going outside of the top 10. It just seems like teams prioritize defensem*n. but it’s possible, and the reason is his hockey sense.

“Defensively he’s OK. I don’t look at him and think, ‘That’s a stopper.’ I think there could be some trust issues at times. I think discipline defensively is something that needs to get cleaned up a little bit. But for a 6-3 guy, there aren’t many that can handle the puck like he does. His puck-handling ability — he’s deceptive and creative with his feet — it’s really impressive too. He makes a lot of plays where he can kind of go inside out and create a little lane that wasn’t there before. I’ve seen a few plays from him where it’s like, ‘How did he do that?’

“He’s a really interesting player. I think the top seven defensem*n could all be gone by 13, which is crazy, but he probably has the best chance to slip. I also think it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Parekh is the one that goes a little bit further down. But his performance at the Memorial Cup probably stopped any chance he’s still available in the mid-first round. But this class, the top of the defense class, is one of the things that makes this draft so intriguing.”

NHL scout: “We’re watching a guy very similar to him right now at the NHL level in Evan Bouchard. There’s a lot of similarities: Big, right shot. Good skater. He skates actually better than Bouchard. He’s not the smartest cat in the world. He gets his points by bombing it from the point a lot and sometimes defensively he has brain cramps with and without the puck.

“There’s a lot of similarities with Bouchard. I think the jury is still out on whether Yakemchuk can have as much impact going forward, but they’re similar.”

Wild prospect pool needs

The Wild are happy with the forward prospects they have coming, with Liam Ohgren and Marat Khusnutdinov both making their NHL debuts this season, Riley Heidt is expected to compete for a spot in camp, and Danila Yurov a year away from coming to North America from the KHL. Minnesota has invested in its blue line in recent years, though the young defensem*n are having their growing pains in AHL Iowa.

“They are a team that’s got enough on defense, but if there was a need, it’d be on D because we know those Iowa kids struggled to take a step this year,” Wheeler said. “I think at this point you’re hoping one of (Daemon) Hunt, (Carson) Lambos, (Ryan) O’Rourke or (David) Spacek, one or two of those guys become depth defensem*n, that would be a good outcome.

“Brock Faber changes the dynamic in terms of the need for a No. 1 or No. 2. Now that Faber has graduated (from the prospect pool), they’re missing a premium D prospect more than they are missing a forward prospect. Yurov has emerged as that forward prospect. Ohgren is a very good prospect. Heidt had a very good season.

“The question will be is there a D at 13? If not, the answer is quite likely the play might be to take the top forward that lingers and live with that decision.”

(Photo of Cole Eiserman: Michael Miller / ISI Photos / Getty Images)