Debuting in 2015 at #7, dropping in 2016 to #8, rising to #3 in 2017, and now (drumroll please) coming in hot at #3 for the second straight year, Joel Eriksson Ek! So, the drama of the moment may have been undercut by the headline I wrote...but let’s not let that dampen our enthusiasm for a prospect that this website, and the Wild faithful more broadly, have been excited to see reach his full potential for some time.
Drafted by the Wild 20th overall in the 2015 entry draft, Eriksson Ek was described as a complete 200 foot player, compared to defensive forwards such as Mikko Koivu, Sean Couturier, and Alexander Steen, and called the “most Chuck Fletcher player available in the draft”.