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Wild make deal with Dubnyk after finishing draft focused on offense
The weekend's NHL Draft is 100 percent complete with the Minnesota Wild adding six more players on Saturday.
Minnesota also made an even bigger addition, by retaining one of last season's stars.
According to the Associated Press, the Wild agreed to terms with goalie Devan Dubnyk on a six-year contract, making the 29-year-old the team's unquestioned netminder moving forward.
"We've been chasing our goaltending a little bit the last couple years, chasing stability in the goaltending position," Wild GM Chuck Fletcher said at the draft. "And we're hopeful that Devan can be a steadying influence back there."
Fletcher's objectives in Florida for the draft were always multiple. A deep draft could help replenish the organization's pool of prospects. But Fletcher also had his sights set on finishing deals with Dubnyk and restricted free agent Mikael Granlund.
Dubnyk was 27-9-2 with a .936 save percentage and 1.78 goals-against average with Minnesota, and was named a Vezina Trophy finalist.
"Believe me, we've analyzed this to death," Fletcher said in regard to the length of the deal with Dubnyk. "We've looked at it every which way. We're very comfortable with the analytics."
When he spoke after the draft, Fletcher said he hadn't had a chance to speak again with Granlund's agent but feels "it's close. We'll see if we can't close the gap."
A busy Saturday also led to Minnesota adding more young talent.
After drafting Swedish center Joel Eriksson Ek in the first round, the Wild's first pick on Saturday was another forward. With the 50th overall pick, Minnesota drafted 6-foot-5 Jordan Greenway out of the U.S. National Team Development Program. A New York native, Greenway had eight goals and 29 assists in 44 games for the U.S. under-18 team last year. Greenway, who also played prep hockey at Minnesota-based Shattuck-St. Mary's, is committed to Boston University for next season.
"I would say I'm a power forward; go to the net, gritty in the corners, create space, finish checks, those types of things, get rebounds in front," Greenway said after being drafted.
For the second straight year, the Wild drafted two players from the U.S. development program. In the sixth round, they selected 6-foot defenseman Nicholas Boka. Boka, who described himself as a shutdown defenseman, had four goals and three assists in 45 games last season.
"Boka is a kid that we had projected higher," Minnesota assistant general Brent Flahr said. "We were kind of concentrating on forwards earlier in the draft and he fell. He's a tremendous skater, real character kid and he's a guy that our guys were obviously happy to take."
The wait was tough on Boka, who has committed to play at Michigan.
"It's very nerve-wracking, but I'm glad to be a part of the Wild and I'm so proud to be in a great organization," Boka said. "A lot of guys who played at USA before have been drafted by Minnesota. It's just a great place to be, great organization."
Minnesota drafted 6-foot-3 goaltender Ales Stezka from the Czech Republic in the fourth round and acquired a fifth-round pick in a trade from Boston to select Russian forward Kirill Kaprizov. Stezka had a 2.74 goals-against average and .913 save percentage in 27 games for the Liberec junior team in the Czech Republic. Kaprizov had four goals and four assists as a 17-year-old last season in the Kontinental Hockey League.
The Wild ended the draft with two defensemen in the seventh round. They added Gustav Bouramman, a native of Sweden who had five goals and 39 assists in the Ontario Hockey League last year and Minnesota native Jack Sadek, who is committed to the University of Minnesota for next season after finishing at Lakeville North High School.
"Our scouts are happy," Fletcher said. "The players we were picking late were still rated fairly highly on our list. So, I think it was a good day. It was a very deep draft and I think this year, again, there were some pretty talented players that fell probably further than they would in a normal year. Being able to draft three defensemen late, again we were surprised all three of them lasted until the sixth and seventh rounds but hopefully that works to our benefit."
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