SAINT PAUL, Minn. - General Manager Chuck Fletcher made it clear he wanted to make a statement at the draft. Provincial Minnesota hockey fans have long called for more Minnesota born players to be drafted by the Wild. Both parties got what they wanted, and yet somehow, the fans still seem unhappy.

The vast majority of mock drafts had the Wild taking University of Minnesota forward Jordan Schoeder. The provincial fans mentioned earlier were calling for the same pick. When Fletcher traded down from twelve to sixteen to gain more picks in the later rounds, Wild fans held their collective breath. In several different chat rooms, fans discussed the possibility of Schoeder falling to sixteen.

Then, with the fifteenth pick, Anaheim selected Peter Holland, and Wild fans were again excited. Fletcher had traded down, stocked the cupboard with an extra pick, and the Wild could still take Schoeder. As Fletcher stood up to walk to the front, Columbus made a last ditch pitch to trade the recetly acquired 26^th pick to the Wild for the 16^th. Fletcher opted to make the pick.

Fletcher walked to the microphone, and with his first draft pick as the Minnesota Wild GM, he selected a Minnesota boy. Nick Leddy, defenseman from Eden Prairie High School.

The response from Wild fans was immediate, and was not pleasant. A torrent of curse words lit up message boards, emails and text messages. The Wild had passed on Schoeder, and had taken a player ranked at 24 on the North American skaters list by NHL central scouting. One fan immediately blamed the “ghost of Doug Risebrough.”

Seems it was not just any Minnesota boy the fans wanted. They wanted Schoeder, had the chance to get him in two different positions, and passed both times. Adding insult to injury, Schoeder ultimately went to arch rival Vancouver.

However, the Wild have a different take on the matter. Assistant GM Tom Thompson said, “We believe Nick Leddy is an excellent prospect who has the potential to be a complete defenseman while generating a lot of offense, he is an excellent skater and puckhandler and an exciting player to watch.”

Leddy measures in at 5’ 11” 179 pounds, making him small, but with a good frame to fill out. According to Central Scouting’s Jack Barzee, Leddy is a “world class skater.” Leddy was also Minnesota’s “Mr. Hockey,” an award given to the state’s outstanding male high school hockey player. He is an offensive minded defenseman, which fits well into Chuck Fletcher and Todd Richards’ system.

The choice to take Leddy was not an immediate hit with the fans. With Leddy looking at college hockey at the University of Minnesota, it gives fans plenty of time to fall in love with him. Time will tell who turns out to be correct.

The author can be reached at bryan.reynolds@prohockeynews.com