The Minnesota Wild’s strength has been it’s defense for the better part of the last decade, which has lead to a bit of a lack of defensive prospects in the pipeline. And it makes sense, because even if the front office hadn’t been trying to throw every single draft dart they had at finding a prolific goal or point scorer in the middle of the first round or later, any defensive prospect that was NHL-ready would be buried behind established players or relegated to third-pairing or injury fill-in minutes. Carson Soucy has been the only one to break through that barrier, and even he took seven years to finally get enough time with the Wild to stick around longer than a cup of coffee.
Top 25 Under 25: Calen Addison scores a spot in the top 10
