Its the time of the year where Collegiate players begin their exodus from campus to all levels of pro hockey; ECHL, AHL, maybe even the NHL. Save for the elite players i.e. Kyle Turris, this time of the year is suited for many guys who initially were drafted a few years ago, or the “free agents” who were never drafted; this is where they get rewarded for the hard work and development that either was expected or wasn’t expected back then. Jack Hillen, a Minnetonka Native who spent 4 years at Colorado College, just signed a 2-year deal with the New York Islanders. This is a prime example of an organization using the NCAA free agents as a way to bolster their depth, and maybe nab a contributor or two down the line.

Then there’s Minnesota. Granted, we did ink our 2007 First Round Pick Colton Gillies to a 3-year entry level contract, and then signed him to an Amateur Try Out so he could finish the season gaining valuable experience and development with the playoff-bound Houston Aeros. Gillies, by all accounts, will have every opportunity to make the team out of Training Camp in the fall.

What about Ondrej Fiala, who was Gillies’ teammate on a horrid Saskatoon team, and Minnesota’s 2006 2nd round pick? As Gillies’ linemate, the two put up career totals, and Fiala proved he could stay healthy after reconstructive knee surgery in the offseason. He was a fixture at the Prospects Tournament in September, even drawing praise from the club for his play; yet, no news on whether he’ll be signed at all.

Another wasted pick. Add it to the growing list. Maybe Minnesota should just draft the first 3 rounds and give the rest away…

Maybe there are contingencies with Fiala that I don’t know about; and maybe I am just taking this at surface level, but to me it looks like the Scouting Staff for the Minnesota Wild are doing a terrible job. I get that people can point at picks like Gaborik, Koivu, Sheppard, Bouchard, Burns (a home run if there ever was one), and now Pouliot- those are all first round picks; those guys should be contributing at the NHL level; there shouldn’t be any sort of surprise there. Aside from Nick Schultz and Josh Harding, how many 2nd round picks are playing, or are even signed? 3rd rounders? Anyone else?

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/teams/dr002331.html

There is every draft since Inception; By my count there are 19 guys from those 8 drafts that are under contract (Ryan Jones should get signed, meaning 20 guys), with another another 10 or so guys that have signed, and been busts. To say that outside of the first 3 rounds Minnesota isn’t very good at drafting would be an understatement. They haven’t signed an NCAA free agent since Mark Cullen, and even then he never saw any time at the NHL level; Travis Roche, whom they signed right out of North Dakota, saw 10 games total with Minnesota before they cut him loose. And the list goes on…

I know that scouting is for the most part a crap shoot; that the mythical notion of “projection” is an inexact science, and that opinions all differ. What’s most alarming is that complete lack of action; Why didn’t Minnesota go out and sign a guy like Hillen, or some other high-profile collegiate player? Is it because the Travis Roche experiment failed? Is it because of Hubris? There was a report that came out a few weeks ago, which had Minnesota and Atlanta tied for last with the least amount of draft picks in the current lineup (I think the number was 8, but that was before Benoit Pouliot was called up.)

Not very good, especially for an organization that “builds a team from within.”