Dan Wallace: Fletcher Gets His Man

I have a question that has bothered me ever since Tarasenko broke out as a star and that is this, that draft year, 2010, the Wild selected Granlund at 9th, passing up Tarasenko (16), Bjugstad (19), Hayes (24), Kuznetsov (26) and some other notable names. I know the draft is a crap shoot but I remember thinking before the draft happened, the Wild should go after Tarasenko. My question is, how much of an influence did Koivu have in the Wild selecting Granlund instead of one of these other, better, players?
Granlund played for Koivu's team in Finland.

Or is the draft one big crap shoot the correct answer?

I have a question that has bothered me ever since Tarasenko broke out as a star and that is this, that draft year, 2010, the Wild selected Granlund at 9th, passing up Tarasenko (16), Bjugstad (19), Hayes (24), Kuznetsov (26) and some other notable names. I know the draft is a crap shoot but I remember thinking before the draft happened, the Wild should go after Tarasenko. My question is, how much of an influence did Koivu have in the Wild selecting Granlund instead of one of these other, better, players?
Granlund played for Koivu's team in Finland.

Or is the draft one big crap shoot the correct answer?


- ThatDarnCat

If I recall correctly, at the time Granlund was ranked the number one European prospect going into the 2010 draft, unfortunately his finnish league big sheet skills never really translated to the NHL.

Obviously in hind sight it's easy to arm chair QB anything. In retrospect clearly Tarasenko was a steal at 16 and the other 3 you mentioned were pretty damn good selections as well, especially Kuznetsov.

I think you pretty much summed things up in regards to the draft, it's one big crap shoot after the top 3.

Beyond that, wasn't there some negative speculation surrounding Tarasenko wanting to stay in the KHL? Or was that just a rumor?

Right now the Wild's prospect pool is ranked 25th if that gives you any indication as to Fletcher's draft prowess and scouting...

Right now the Wild's prospect pool is ranked 25th if that gives you any indication as to Fletcher's draft prowess and scouting...
- mnhockeyguy

fletch traded away picks and prospects to win now, which is what the owner and fans wanted.. prospect pool ranking doesn't tell you anything about draft and scouting prowess.. as for the 2010 draft we now have three first rounders from that year.. didn't get tarasenko but ended up with granny, nino, coyle.. i think fletch has done well on finding and getting young talent it's the older FA that have sucked lately.. would've been a different team this year if vanek & pommer scored 30G which is why the get the $ they do, and parise stayed healthy.. 13 players on the nhl roster are 25 and under yet the wild have made the playoffs 4 yrs straight.. and fletch & staff seem to find solid defencemen every year which are way better trade material than forwards

Beyond that, wasn't there some negative speculation surrounding Tarasenko wanting to stay in the KHL? Or was that just a rumor?
- MnGump

I don't know specifically about Tarasenko, but in general, Russian prospects were looked at as more of a risk due to the fact that it might be more difficult getting them to North America.

I think teams were just afraid that it wasn't as much of a sure thing as other European prospects and they didn't want to waste high choices on guys they may never get their hands on. I'm not sure if there was a belief that many of them wanted to stay in Russia but it may have been more due to the lack of a transfer agreement with Russia which could make bringing them over trickier (and possibly much more expensive).

I think it was Kuznetsov who many thought was NHL ready in his draft year (2010) or shortly after and it took four years after he was drafted to get him into the NHL.

Or is the draft one big crap shoot the correct answer?
- ThatDarnCat

The draft is one big crap shoot is never really a wrong answer.

fletch traded away picks and prospects to win now, which is what the owner and fans wanted.. prospect pool ranking doesn't tell you anything about draft and scouting prowess.. as for the 2010 draft we now have three first rounders from that year.. didn't get tarasenko but ended up with granny, nino, coyle.. i think fletch has done well on finding and getting young talent it's the older FA that have sucked lately.. would've been a different team this year if vanek & pommer scored 30G which is why the get the $ they do, and parise stayed healthy.. 13 players on the nhl roster are 25 and under yet the wild have made the playoffs 4 yrs straight.. and fletch & staff seem to find solid defencemen every year which are way better trade material than forwards
- gopherwildfan

The three players you mentioned are not prospects, hence they don't figure into the rankings this season! And even then none of them are overly impactful players yet. Coyle didn't score a goal in March and is way too prone to inconsistency to be relied upon. Granny cant play center which is what he was drafted to do and even on the wing he wasn't exactly lighting up the goal lamp. Nino cannot play well in a top 6 role and regressed this season. The only reason they made the playoffs this year was the play of Koivu and Parise, before he got hurt. Plus neither Coyle or Nino were Fletcher picks. And we all saw how the young D looked this season when Yeo's structure was not being implemented. They all struggled with the exception of Spurgeon. Fletcher's drafting up to this point has been sub par to woeful. Trading away draft picks has nothing to do with the fact that he misses on the ones he makes. Their scouting sucks and their drafting follows suit.

Beyond that, wasn't there some negative speculation surrounding Tarasenko wanting to stay in the KHL? Or was that just a rumor?
- MnGump

Tarasenko said all along his plan was to come play in the NHL. However, some doubted it would happen because his dad was his coach in the KHL. Multiple draft reports said Tarasenko would have been a top 5 pick if not for the concern over him coming to NA.

The three players you mentioned are not prospects, hence they don't figure into the rankings this season! And even then none of them are overly impactful players yet. Coyle didn't score a goal in March and is way too prone to inconsistency to be relied upon. Granny cant play center which is what he was drafted to do and even on the wing he wasn't exactly lighting up the goal lamp. Nino cannot play well in a top 6 role and regressed this season. The only reason they made the playoffs this year was the play of Koivu and Parise, before he got hurt. Plus neither Coyle or Nino were Fletcher picks. And we all saw how the young D looked this season when Yeo's structure was not being implemented. They all struggled with the exception of Spurgeon. Fletcher's drafting up to this point has been sub par to woeful. Trading away draft picks has nothing to do with the fact that he misses on the ones he makes. Their scouting sucks and their drafting follows suit.
- mnhockeyguy

yeah nino's 19G and coyle's 21G and haula's emergence really hurt the wild this year!! you're a complete moron.. the guys signed to big $ to score 30 goals haven't shown up, plain and simple.. as far as prospects go WGAF, the wild aren't rebuilding or stock piling picks they're trying to win now!! which probably has something to do with the talent pool in iowa..
it's complete luck after the first round, and all of fletcher's first rounders are in the league.

yeah nino's 19G and coyle's 21G and haula's emergence really hurt the wild this year!! you're a complete moron.. the guys signed to big $ to score 30 goals haven't shown up, plain and simple.. as far as prospects go WGAF, the wild aren't rebuilding or stock piling picks they're trying to win now!! which probably has something to do with the talent pool in iowa..
it's complete luck after the first round, and all of fletcher's first rounders are in the league.
- gopherwildfan

Once again your idiocy and lack of hockey knowledge knows no bounds. How many goals did Nino have last year, compared to this year? Why is Coyle being bounced around so often? Why did he disappear for month long stretches on numerous occasions? AND FOR THE LAST TIME NEITHER OF THOSE GUYS WERE FLETCHER'S PICKS! You might want to stop before you embarrass yourself any further.

Discussing what Yeo brings to a team in the Flames thread if any of you care to weigh in.

Discussing what Yeo brings to a team in the Flames thread if any of you care to weigh in.
- fry

Flames could do worse than Yeo

Scott Cullen's (TSN) Off-Season Game Plan for the Wild.