Cast your mind’s eye back to the Chuck Fletcher era of the Minnesota Wild, where many a pick were traded away for players acquired to get the team over the playoff hump, only to have the season end with yet another early-round flameout. The 2017 NHL Draft was a prime example of Fletcher’s gameplan, as the Wild were without both their first and second round selections, having been jettisoned for Martin Hanzel and Chris Stewart.
So with the team’s first selection in 2017 coming in the third round, the Wild took forward Ivan Lodnia from the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League.