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Filip Johansson


TonyOday

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I think the pick was unexpected, but not necessarily a "Terrible pick".  I highly doubt he'd be around for the Wild's 3rd round pick.  At #24 you are not going to get a 18 year old that will provide an impact right away.  Nashville has had a ton of success drafting d-men no one really had on their radar.  I'd say this pick is someone Fenton had his eye on with the Predators.     He isn't NHL ready now like the other 99% of the picks, but it doesn't mean in a few years he won't be ready for the NHL as a solid all around d-man with that coveted RH shot.

 

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24. Minnesota Wild - Filip Johansson, D, Leksand Jr. (SWE)

 

NHL Central Scouting: No. 10 (International skaters)

Johansson (6-1, 175), No. 10 in Central Scouting's final list of International skaters, split time between Leksand of the SHL and their junior team and had nine points (four goals, five assists) in 29 junior games. He won a bronze medal at the 2018 Ivan Hlinka Memorial, when he had four points (one goal, three assists) in five games, and at the 2018 U-18 World Championship, when he had two points (one goal, one assist) in seven games.

 

NHL.com analysis: Wild general manager Paul Fenton made drafting defensemen a priority during his time as assistant GM of the Nashville Predators, and he sticks with that position in his first draft with Minnesota. Johansson, No. 10 on Central Scouting's final ranking of International skaters, is a right-shot defenseman with a solid two-way game. He got a bit of experience in the SHL this season, and should get even more next season.

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19 minutes ago, hf101 said:

I think the pick was unexpected, but not necessarily a "Terrible pick".  I highly doubt he'd be around for the Wild's 3rd round pick.  At #24 you are not going to get a 18 year old that will provide an impact right away.  Nashville has had a ton of success drafting d-men no one really had on their radar.  I'd say this pick is someone Fenton had his eye on with the Predators.     He isn't NHL ready now like the other 99% of the picks, but it doesn't mean in a few years he won't be ready for the NHL as a solid all around d-man with that coveted RH shot.

 

 

Yeah, I actually did like him for Philly's #50 pick.   Time will tell.   He's not a fortunes-changer or impact player or anything, which I think is clearly what Minny fans were hoping for--or at least more near-future help than 3-4 years--but I think he'll probably be a decent middle-pairing dman eventually.

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The Wild are never going to propel themselves into a playoff run when they keep drafting or acquiring players who aren't NHL ready, to play alongside veterans who have already passed their peak years of potential. It's just not going to happen.

 

This draft choice tells me management has hopefully determined their best chance for a Cup is in the distant future as opposed to in the present. Which is exactly opposite of what Leipold was hoping for.

 

Bandwagon fans will buy into all the promotional marketing ploys the team is selling them while smarter fans who actually follow the game closer know this team isn't going anywhere in the playoffs anytime soon.

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10 minutes ago, ruxpin said:

Yeah, I actually did like him for Philly's #50 pick.   Time will tell.   He's not a fortunes-changer or impact player or anything, which I think is clearly what Minny fans were hoping for--or at least more near-future help than 3-4 years--but I think he'll probably be a decent middle-pairing dman eventually.

 

Just curious, but how would you and @hf101 have felt if the Flyers chose him with their #19 pick?

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3 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

 

Just curious, but how would you and @hf101 have felt if the Flyers chose him with their #19 pick?

We actually reached too. Not quite as far, probably.  I liked him as a player, but with Sandin and Miller sitting there, it would have upset me. 

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5 hours ago, ruxpin said:

We actually reached too. Not quite as far, probably.  I liked him as a player, but with Sandin and Miller sitting there, it would have upset me. 

 

This is what Wild fans have to deal with year after year. Every year, the Wild's pick approaches, and we get all excited thinking "Hey, we got a shot at a decent player!" and the GM annonces some off the wall pick that leaves everyone going "Huh?" and then they tell us "We aren't drafting for need. We took the best available player!"

 

And I get that the Wild aren't going to get anything spectacular picking in their typical 15-25 slot. But at least if the team is trash, you get to look forward to some high picks (maybe even a lottery pick!) that could turn the team around. But the Wild manage to finish high enough where they only get to draft players that are 2-3 years out and that have an upside of third liners. And then they finish in third or a wild card slot and flame out in the first round.

 

This team is in a vicious circle and I don't see them getting out of this pattern any time soon...

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11 hours ago, ruxpin said:

Yeah, I actually did like him for Philly's #50 pick.   Time will tell.   He's not a fortunes-changer or impact player or anything, which I think is clearly what Minny fans were hoping for--or at least more near-future help than 3-4 years--but I think he'll probably be a decent middle-pairing dman eventually.

 

Yea, I am with Illa Zilla, not sure why Flyers' fans are trying to blow rose-tinted smoke up our asses about these picks.  Filip Johansson was a rancid selection at 24th Overall.  Even the broadcasters did what they could to change the subject once the pick was made because they knew it was awful.  

 

From Cory Pronman...

 

Pronman’s take: Johansson is a player I was not enamored with and would not have recommended for a pick. I know scouts who would have. They love his work ethic, his steady two-way play. There is a lack of jump in his game, but I’m not sold on the upside. The first pick of the draft I strongly oppose, but I know other teams had him in the first round.

 

This is the kind of crap Wild fans deal with almost every draft.  We haven't changed our scouts in well over 10 years and yet we gave them another draft to screw up and they gave us another pile of trash.  Even if some of you disagree, most teams had Johansson pegged for way later in the draft but instead we lack the courage to trade down and risk missing out on some a bland as toast player.  Instead our division rival trades up and takes a player who may haunt us for years in Dominik Bokk.  He wasn't my favorite player but at least he will give the team something we don't have much of; a gifted goal scorer.  Instead we keep drafting offenseless, finesse defenders and wonder why we keep getting pushed around in the post season.  Sorry.  We don't have to accept this, nor should we dampen our criticism just because we'll have to see how he turns out.  We hear this over and over that we drafted a really great player.  Then a few years later they're trying to sell the fact they're an above average player that somehow makes it a success when really they're just sugar coating a very average player at best.  

 

You get the same lame dog and pony show enough times; you'd be pretty freakin' annoyed too.  Its just like Philadelphia and their new goalie of the year sales pitch.  

 

 

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4 minutes ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

 

Yea, I am with Illa Zilla, not sure why Flyers' fans are trying to blow rose-tinted smoke up our asses about these picks

I'm sorry. I was trying not to pile on another team. 

 

You're right, it's just another horrible draft among even more ridiculous personnel moves designed to delude themselves and their fans into believing the Wild are remotely relevant. 

 

The Philly goalie comparison is actually apt. 

 

Just to be clear, I do like the player. I don't like the pick there. I think he'll be a decent player for you, so it's not a disaster, but I think there were a dozen better options there that might have ended up better than "decent player." 

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53 minutes ago, ruxpin said:

I'm sorry. I was trying not to pile on another team. 

 

You're right, it's just another horrible draft among even more ridiculous personnel moves designed to delude themselves and their fans into believing the Wild are remotely relevant. 

 

The Philly goalie comparison is actually apt. 

 

Just to be clear, I do like the player. I don't like the pick there. I think he'll be a decent player for you, so it's not a disaster, but I think there were a dozen better options there that might have ended up better than "decent player." 

 

And we are very well aware of that, which is why as a fanbase most people seem pretty pissed, even if most of them didn't know much about Filip Johansson until now.  The fans at the Wild.com message boards see this team very clearly.  It isn't a homer fest.  Homers usually would get upset that we didn't just blindly buy into the crap this team was selling its fans from the sellout streak to the quality of our players.  

 

Case in point.  We have been told repeatedly that Jonas Brodin is this amazing defenseman.  Funny, every time we try to trade him the deal never happens.  And that's been going on at least 3 seasons now...so either the Wild chicken out or just maybe...he's not as valuable as they would like us to believe that he is.  I'm leaning towards the latter.  But they'll sell the former and a few gullible dopes will believe it.  Yet is he really that special?  So we draft two more guys who are more or less clones of his...and what is that supposed to get us?  Its obvious other teams don't care to trade for players like that.  Any team taking Brodin would have to convince their fanbase losing a player they liked for a piece of dry wheat toast...is somehow an upgrade.  No team wants to do that, so we're stuck with that same dry wheat toast and now its older and not even hot anymore.  

 

From our GM at the conclusion of the draft.  Fenton: "I thought it went really well...I'm glad we got a number of players to fill out our depth chart."

 

From a friend of mine which summed up the feeling after such an inane statement, This is like saying "Dinner at that restaurant filled my stomach with food so now I won't be hungry before breakfast." No mention if it was any good or highly recommended or anything. #mnwild

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1 hour ago, ruxpin said:

Just to be clear, I do like the player. I don't like the pick there. I think he'll be a decent player for you, so it's not a disaster, but I think there were a dozen better options there that might have ended up better than "decent player." 

 

This is what the Wild always get: decent players. But never great players or game changers. They never get the player that when the chips are down, he’ll get the team over the finish line even if it means he has to drag them. All they have is a collection of players that are happy to play in the NHL and if they make the Playoffs, great! If not, hey, there’s always next season!

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1 minute ago, IllaZilla said:

 

This is what the Wild always get: decent players. But never great players or game changers. They never get the player that when the chips are down, he’ll get the team over the finish line even if it means he has to drag them. All they have is a collection of players that are happy to play in the NHL and if they make the Playoffs, great! If not, hey, there’s always next season!

 

Yeah.  I really do understand the frustration.

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1 minute ago, ruxpin said:

 

Yeah.  I really do understand the frustration.

 

Not trying to get in your grill at all, it’s just that this teams mantra is “Just wait ‘til NEXT season!” and next season never arrives...

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1 minute ago, IllaZilla said:

 

Not trying to get in your grill at all, it’s just that this teams mantra is “Just wait ‘til NEXT season!” and next season never arrives...

 

Nah, you're fine.  I get it.  The Wild find themselves in a really weird spot.  As you've all mentioned, you're good enough to make the playoffs but struggle to go on, so you always end up with 14-24 picks.   There, you get decent players, but not the game changers.    The Flyers did that for quite a few years except that quite often they'd trade that pick away for whatever was shiny last year.

 

So, like when you have 4 sides to the Rubix cube, you know you have to mess it up a bit to get the rest of it, but the chance of making it all crumble is possible.   They don't seem to be in a good place to simply scrub it and start over, either.   It's getting increasingly difficult in the cap era to do this, but it's still possible:   They may need to trade core for some new core parts, especially if pick placement ain't gonna do it and they're going to draft 3rd rounders with their 1st round pick anyway.

 

You're not getting in my grill; at least I don't perceive it that way.   I just really do understand the frustration.  

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2 hours ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

Its just like Philadelphia and their new goalie of the year sales pitch.  

 

ha, I saw that fine print...  It's the truth though, but hopefully, that same old line will be one for the history books two years from now.

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5 minutes ago, hf101 said:

 

ha, I saw that fine print...  It's the truth though, but hopefully, that same old line will be one for the history books two years from now.

 

So long as no one buys Hart a Porsche.

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13 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

 

Just curious, but how would you and @hf101 have felt if the Flyers chose him with their #19 pick?

 

I probably would have needed to go look him up just as I did at 24, and when Hexy chose O'Brien for the 19th pick.  I am happier with our 19th pick than I am with the Wild's pick.  The Wild do have to start somewhere though and build up that prospect cupboard.  The Flyers have been stockpiling their picks for the last 3-4 seasons they haven't won a playoff series in 6 years and they missed the playoffs two of the last 3 years.  

 

I think the needs now on defense for the Wild can be improved via Free Agency.  Their needs 3 years from now when Johannson is NHL ready could be totally different than now.

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Defining what I actually didn't state earlier but hinted at:

 

Timing for the Minnesota Wild's front office to build a team to hit their peak with the proper balance to 'become something' has been off for years. Teams that make the playoffs come and go but Cup teams have veteran players peaking at the same time the players they've been developing are likewise hitting their peak.

 

For too long the Wild have had veteran players pass their peak before their younger players begin hitting their potential. Next thing you know the veteran players you counted on are aged and the younger players still don't have what it takes because they were rushed into play. Then they start buying out contracts and money is wasted as well as totally missing the proper window of opportunity. This is a failure of MN Wild management.

 

This isn't the players fault it's managements fault. Instead of management admitting they rushed things and blew their window of opportunity they start mismanaging the players and the team keeps spiraling out of control.

 

The Wild keep refusing to admit the windows of opportunity they keep steering towards (trying to build to) are way off. Again, their timing is off. Yet the most glaring problem is they simply don't have enough hungry players. Players like Ryan Getzlaf and P.K. Subban as they're hitting their peak (for the club.) Mix them in among the younger talent we have and you have a big key for success in the playoffs. Their style of play is infectious and very necessary. The Wild have no players to fill that kind of role. This is not a players problem.

 

The bottom line is a mere two players like Getzlaf and Subban are missing from the roster. Getting more of the same mild tempered type players IS NOT the answer. And literally the worst case scenario is getting more of the same mild tempered type players when you're a mile away from getting to round two in the playoffs certainly isn't getting them any closer.

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7 hours ago, hf101 said:

 

I probably would have needed to go look him up just as I did at 24, and when Hexy chose O'Brien for the 19th pick.  I am happier with our 19th pick than I am with the Wild's pick.  The Wild do have to start somewhere though and build up that prospect cupboard.  The Flyers have been stockpiling their picks for the last 3-4 seasons they haven't won a playoff series in 6 years and they missed the playoffs two of the last 3 years.  

 

I think the needs now on defense for the Wild can be improved via Free Agency.  Their needs 3 years from now when Johannson is NHL ready could be totally different than now.

 

Well, there is the difference. At least you guys can look at O'Brien and say "Yeah, he was a reach, but there's a lot to like about him: Excellent skater, great hands, likes to shoot". You can't really say that about Johansson. Except for the "reach" part. 

 

I don't know. The Wild are in denial that they are just a few tweaks from a Cup appearance. They can score, but aren't prolific at it. The defense is Ok, but not shutdown. Reminds me of a prevent defense scheme in football (bend but don't break).Teams take liberties with them because there is no one on the team that will stick up for their teammates and their power play is so predictable, it's easy to defend. No one on defense is willing to play physical in front of the net to help out the goaltender. They just kind of wave their sticks around and politely ask the forwards to get out of the way. And at the other end of the rink, no one is willing to play physical in front of the net to get that garbage goal. It's all perimeter stuff. No one wants to get their hands dirty for fear of a hangnail.

 

The Wild are a nice team. If the team goal is to have a good regular season, then mission accomplished. But if their goal is a Stanley Cup, they are a long ways away from that, and a few tweaks aren't going to do it. That's why we get frustrated, because every year we are told by the front office that "All the pieces are in place for a Cup run!" and then we hear "Cripes, we ran into a hot goalie" or "Geez, the other team had all the puck luck" or "Boy, that other team was tough to play against, we just couldn't get going"...

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Here is Pronman's draft grade of the Wild.  

 

Grade: C

The Wild made a questionable decision on Day 1 going after Filip Johansson at No. 24. They were not the only team that really liked him (though I know some teams who had no time for him) but given his skill set it was slightly rich at best, and more arguably a reach. Jack McBain was a more reasonable pick. He slid further than I thought he would. Teams were concerned about his skating, but he’s a fine player. Alexander Khovanov is the ultimate wild card. He may come into camp next season as a completely different player. I liked Simon Johansson where they got him, and I think Damien Giroux has sleeper potential. Their Day 2 didn’t salvage their questionable Day 1 pick, but they left Dallas with some talent at the least.

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Khovanov gets a free pass from some for the battle with Hepatitis A.  But even scouts will say watching him play while healthy...he still seemed to struggle a lot skating-wise.  His vision, skill are not really in question but as a smaller player with skating issues...it makes the other two qualities a moot point.  

 

I thought it was interesting in Pronman's report he didn't really say anything about Connor Dewar.  Dewar is the one forward the team drafted that wasn't hurt for a significant portion of the season or any skating issues.  I wouldn't say I'm expecting him to be a steal, but I like his straight-forward game; where its about hustle and selflessness.  

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Problematic is the Wild are terrible with their #1 picks and the deeper they go into the draft, those players seem to rise to the occasion a lot more than their higher picks.

 

While the Wild desperately fail to hit a home-run with their #1 picks I sit back almost disinterested until the later rounds because those are the only players it seems that pan out for the Wild. They're almost brilliant at picking out diamonds in the rough in the 4th to 7th rounds (Haula a 7th rounder) is a prime example. Kuemper, Graovac, Seeler... They make the team while higher round players aren't much better. I'm not saying they're all runaways to make it into the NHL but they do as supportive fringe players - and their higher round players simply struggle a ton more barely making it or they completely fail.

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26 minutes ago, rottenrefs said:

Problematic is the Wild are terrible with their #1 picks and the deeper they go into the draft, those players seem to rise to the occasion a lot more than their higher picks.

 

While the Wild desperately fail to hit a home-run with their #1 picks I sit back almost disinterested until the later rounds because those are the only players it seems that pan out for the Wild. They're almost brilliant at picking out diamonds in the rough in the 4th to 7th rounds (Haula a 7th rounder) is a prime example. Kuemper, Graovac, Seeler... They make the team while higher round players aren't much better. I'm not saying they're all runaways to make it into the NHL but they do as supportive fringe players - and their higher round players simply struggle a ton more barely making it or they completely fail.

 

Here is the Wild's draft record from 2009-2013 (Early Fletcher years).

 

2009 - 8 picks - 1,3,4,4,6,6,7,7

Leddy (t-CHI) (1, #16, 578 gms), Hackett (3, #77, 26 NHL gms), Focault (4, #103, 1 NHL gm), Kuemper (LA/PHX) (6, #161, 131 NHL gms), Haula (VGK) (7, #182, 342 NHL gms)

 

2010 - 6 picks - 1,2,2,2,6,7

Granlund (1, #9, 398 NHL gms), Bulmer (2, #39, 17 NHL gms) Larsson (t-BUF) (2, #56, 258 NHL gms), Zucker (2, #59, 330 NHL gms)

 

2011 - 6 picks - 1,1,2,5,6,7

Brodin (1, #10, 404 NHL gms), Seeler (5, #131, 22 NHL gms), Graovac (t-WAS) (7, #191, 62 NHL gms)

 

2012 - 7 picks - 1,2,3,4,5,6,7

Dumba (1, #7, 310 NHL gms), Christoph Baertschy (6, 158, 9 NHL gms)

 

2013 - 7 picks - 2,3,4,5,6,7,7

Olofsson (2, #46, 56 NHL gms), Gabriel (3, #81, 16 NHL gms), Soucy (5, #137, 3 NHL gms)

 

Depends on what our definition of finding late round talent is. Do they have to just appear with the NHL club (Focault played in one NHL game), or do they have to stick with the NHL club (Like Granlund), or do they have to stick with another NHL club (Like Leddy, never played for Wild but has played for 8 seasons in NHL, or Haula, played for Wild and currently on Vegas roster)...

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17 minutes ago, IllaZilla said:

 

Here is the Wild's draft record from 2009-2013 (Early Fletcher years).

 

2009 - 8 picks - 1,3,4,4,6,6,7,7

Leddy (t-CHI) (1, #16, 578 gms), Hackett (3, #77, 26 NHL gms), Focault (4, #103, 1 NHL gm), Kuemper (LA/PHX) (6, #161, 131 NHL gms), Haula (VGK) (7, #182, 342 NHL gms)

 

2010 - 6 picks - 1,2,2,2,6,7

Granlund (1, #9, 398 NHL gms), Bulmer (2, #39, 17 NHL gms) Larsson (t-BUF) (2, #56, 258 NHL gms), Zucker (2, #59, 330 NHL gms)

 

2011 - 6 picks - 1,1,2,5,6,7

Brodin (1, #10, 404 NHL gms), Seeler (5, #131, 22 NHL gms), Graovac (t-WAS) (7, #191, 62 NHL gms)

 

2012 - 7 picks - 1,2,3,4,5,6,7

Dumba (1, #7, 310 NHL gms), Christoph Baertschy (6, 158, 9 NHL gms)

 

2013 - 7 picks - 2,3,4,5,6,7,7

Olofsson (2, #46, 56 NHL gms), Gabriel (3, #81, 16 NHL gms), Soucy (5, #137, 3 NHL gms)

 

Depends on what our definition of finding late round talent is. Do they have to just appear with the NHL club (Focault played in one NHL game), or do they have to stick with the NHL club (Like Granlund), or do they have to stick with another NHL club (Like Leddy, never played for Wild but has played for 8 seasons in NHL, or Haula, played for Wild and currently on Vegas roster)...

 

I've seen a lot of places tag it to a 200 game threshold but I haven't really felt that really meant a player was a 'success' either.  IMO, its relative to what the player was expected to be.  Patrik Stefan played in almost 500 games,  had almost 200 points does that make him a success?  I don't think so.  

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44% of players the Wild draft make it to the NHL

 

This was an article I saw a few weeks ago from the Wild's propaganda site, StateofHockey.com  (which I think is why they took steps to file that Cease and Desist order for my old name State of Hockey News).  I feel this article is deceptive because in the first draft, the Wild intentionally drafted older European players to fill out their roster and did so for the first few seasons which were guys they knew they were going to give NHL auditions to which skews the percentage IMO.  

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