Judd Brackett just got back from last week’s NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo, N.Y., and he heard a lot of the hot topics were the — um — interesting questions asked.
The new one this year was Utah asking prospects about their Uber ratings. But the Montreal Canadiens asking players, “What animal would you be?” is legendary.
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So, what would the Minnesota Wild’s director of amateur scouting say if he were asked?
“I’m a Cape (Cod) guy, and we’re infested with great white sharks,” Brackett said. “So I’d be a great white. Apex predators. They’re pretty awesome. They’re everywhere on the Cape.”
Brackett joined for an extended interview on the “Fellowship of the Rink” podcast, and the full conversation will be posted early next week. But here’s a snippet of that talk, which featured insight on this year’s NHL Draft, a look back on Charlie Stramel and Marco Rossi, thoughts on the young defense prospects in the system and more.
Note: Some answers have been lightly edited for clarity and style.
On the Wild’s and other teams’ ‘odd’ questions and why they ask them
It’s important to make the player at ease a bit. We want to get a nugget from them, we want them to feel comfortable. It’s not the rehearsed answer they worked on with their agent or mom and dad all week. When I get asked, “What’s my greatest ability?” what am I going to say? I’ve said it 26 times this week: We want them to feel comfortable. If a question like that gets them to stop for a minute, think on their own, not have a planned answer, that can help create that mood. There’s other ways to do it. Billy (Guerin) is great at it. He’ll ask guys what they’re watching on Netflix and make a connection with them. Then we can talk about what the show is, who the characters are and ad-lib from there.
On the Wild’s priority in terms of a player’s attributes — skill, skating, size, etc.
I think the hardest one to define is hockey sense, and it’s the one you can’t live without. You have to have hockey sense to be able to insert yourself into the game, play multiple positions, understand what’s happening around you. Hockey sense, for me, is critical. It trumps everything. It generally allows someone who might be smaller or slower or less skilled to still perform because they can perform at a different rate. There’s a baseline for everything. A baseline in terms of what the cutoff is — where are you too slow to possibly continue to perform? Most things are improvable. If you want to work on it, we’ve seen guys take major strides in skating. That’s where we go back to character. Are you willing to put the work in? Are you willing to do it when you’re not 100 percent, when you’re sick? When you’re trying to make the climb to the NHL, it depends on how much that fire burns inside you.
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On how he sees the draft, where the Wild sit at No. 13
We’re in a good spot. There’s a couple at the very top of the draft and then a strong middle section of the first round, and we’re firmly in it. I like this draft. It’s interesting with players from all over. You look at the Under-18 age group in the Hlinka (tournament) or the April U-18 world championships — not everyone was there. When you look at the talent level at times when you leave the tournament, it’s like, how is this going to shake out? Guys are playing at the NCAA level, guys in the CHL playoffs. I think it’s a strong draft, and it’s amazing how many of these guys are now starting to play in men’s leagues in Europe. It’s incredible. Their skill level is there, and they can handle it. So they’re getting it sooner.
On the Wild’s chances of moving up in the draft
We’d love to. Every year, we identify the lines in the first round where you’d move up, where you’d stand still, where you’d trade back. We’d love to. The problem is going to be that the teams in those spots are very happy with their choices that they have. (Guerin) is very active. If we encourage him to make a call on a trade-up, he’s never afraid to. It’s really refreshing. From that standpoint, he’s very active. We’ll listen and identify it. I just think the chances to move up will be difficult. There are teams that have eyes on players they’ve liked. We’re 13, and if that range (of top players) is 12-14, most teams are liking the players in their grouping.
On whether moving down in the draft might be the best option
That’s the trick. As the draft starts to unfold, usually there’s a line where you want to stand still and get a player from. And if for some reason the players we are eyeballing start to go sooner than we expected, we have to make a decision on the floor there and see if we can find a partner. It’s never as easy as it sounds. We can fantasize about trades, but if you don’t have the partner, nothing is happening.
On 2024 draft prospect Cole Eiserman
Sometimes being identified early in your development can be a bit of a curse. You can get picked over. I liken it to Phil Kessel. He’s a guy coming in super highly rated; he’s scored a lot of goals. Their paths have parallels there between the two. You can’t deny what Cole does. He’s an elite goal scorer. He’s proven it at every level and continues to do so.
Charlie Stramel was drafted by the Minnesota Wild with the No. 21 pick of the 2023 NHL Draft. (Jason Kempin / Getty Images)
On where 2023 draft pick Charlie Stramel is one year later
I’m really excited for Charlie’s upcoming year. I’m not a huge fan of the portal in college. But I think Charlie’s situation is exactly what it’s for. Someone who was committed to a different coaching staff. The opportunity, the situation, changed. And he’s had the ability to make a decision, which is great for him. He’ll play for his former coach, so immediately there’s trust and confidence, and with that comes opportunity. I’m really excited.
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He has to go do it. This isn’t all about what he didn’t get. He has to go out and do it. I’m excited for him. I think he’s got a bit of a chip on his shoulder and is excited for what this year looks like. He’s faced some challenges early; some guys face it later. Development isn’t linear. He’s had some emotional challenges, he’s had some physical challenges this year. Now, how do we overcome all those and still become the guy we envisioned? We believe. He’s got our full support, and we’re really excited for this year.
On where Brackett sees Stramel on an NHL roster eventually
The first thing that comes to mind is the physical nature of him. It’s not just the size and the strength but his mobility. He’s got to be abrasive, he’s got to be playing hard downhill on the forecheck. Charlie’s game has never been about stats — he’s a point-per-game player. But he’s abrasive. He’s hard to play against. He’s an effective penalty killer. Those are hard to find, especially in a 6-foot-3, 225-pound package that moves the way he does. You go back to last year, he did really well at the combine. He’s not just a big body. He’s an athletic body. It’s size, it’s strength, it’s compete. It’s been abrasive. It really fits the identity that Guerin has built here in Minnesota.
On lessons in drafting for need vs. the best player available
In a perfect world, we can find the balance. We can find someone that is the best player available and fits a positional need, whether it’s size, strength and speed. We are always talking about our prospect pool and where it’s shallow and where we can make gains in a draft. But we won’t want to reach too far. We want to make sure we’re still in a range of player we think is going to be successful. More than need, it’s identity. There’s a culture being created, systematically, the way Guerin wants the team to play. So when we can find the best available that also fits that, we’re going to jump all over it. It doesn’t happen every year. Some years, you get higher here and lower in one area. But overall, we want to find the best cross-section of identity plus best player available.
On the development of young defense prospects in Iowa
I think goaltending and defense are the slowest-developing positions. These guys need their reps. Look at Iowa — at times we had four or five first- or second-year defensem*n, a first- or second-year goaltender. These guys are taking on a lot of responsibility this early, and I think it’s important to be patient. You look at (Carson) Lambos’ draft. Two defensem*n were picked in the top 10 before him, and collectively they’ve played 45 to 50 games in the NHL. He’s a rookie. He’s playing first-year pro hockey doing some things well, learning some things. He’s going to have a big summer. He’s a student of the game. He loves it. Now it’s important for him to take the next step. Is it a huge step? Is it a medium step? That’s for us to continue to evaluate and work on. But they all have a big summer ahead of them. You look back at the effect of COVID-19 on some of those guys. Ryan O’Rourke, there was no hockey in the OHL the year after he was drafted. You can’t think that didn’t have an effect on his growth rate.
(Top photo of Judd Brackett: Brandon McCauley / NHLI via Getty Images)
Joe Smith is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Minnesota Wild and the National Hockey League. He spent the previous four years as Tampa Bay Lightning beat writer for The Athletic after a 12-year-stint at the Tampa Bay Times. At the Times, he covered the Lightning from 2010-18 and the Tampa Bay Rays and Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2008-13. Follow Joe on Twitter @JoeSmithNHL
