Previous Wild first-round draft picks

2018: Filip Johansson, D, Leksand (Sweden), 24th overall. Risky pick in GM Paul Fenton's first draft. Played in Sweden's second division last season.

2017: No pick. Traded to Arizona in February 2017, basically for center Martin Hanzal, who left in free agency following the season. With the Wild's pick (23rd overall) the Coyotes took defenseman Pierre Olivier-Joseph.

2016: Luke Kunin, C, Wisconsin, 15th. Figures to be a regular for the Wild and could be a captain someday. Has eight goals in 68 NHL games.

2015: Joel Eriksson Ek, C, Farjestad (Sweden), 20th. Also slated for a top-nine role next season; has played 148 NHL games (16 goals). Part of what was likely GM Chuck Fletcher's best draft, with Jordan Greenway in the second round and top prospect Kirill Kaprizov, playing in Russia, in the fifth.

2014: Alex Tuch, RW, U.S. Development Program, 18th. Tuch, considered a step slow, was traded to Vegas in 2017 so the Golden Knights would take Erik Haula in the expansion draft instead of a Wild defenseman. Tuch and Haula were stars for Vegas, and brokering that deal might have been one of the reasons Fletcher eventually lost his job.

2013: No pick. The choice was traded to Buffalo during the season, basically for Jason Pominville. The first-round pick, 16th overall, was used on Russian defenseman Nikita Zadorov, who has been a regular for Colorado the past three seasons.

2012: Matt Dumba, D, Red Deer (Western Hockey League), seventh. Has emerged as one of the league's top scoring defensemen.

2010: Mikael Granlund, C, HIFK Helsinki, ninth. With 322 points in 477 games, he's been good-but-not-great scorer. Traded to Nashville for winger Kevin Fiala last season.

2009: Nick Leddy, D, Eden Prairie, 16th. Fletcher's first draft. He traded Leddy while he was playing for the Gophers the next season along with pending free agent Kim Johnsson to Chicago for former No. 3 overall pick Cam Barker. Leddy won a Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks before being traded to the Islanders, and Barker was a washout.

2008: Tyler Cuma, D, Ottawa (OHL), 23rd. Ugh. Cuma never made the NHL and is playing in Austria. GM Doug Risebrough's fifth consecutive first-round miss, and his last draft before being fired.

2007: Colton Gillies, LW, Saskatoon (WHL), 16th. Another ugh. Gillies scored six goals in 154 NHL games for the Wild and Blue Jackets.

2006: James Sheppard, C, Cape Breton (QMJHL), ninth. A ham-and-egger who scored 23 in 394 NHL games for the Wild, Sharks and Rangers. Look for him now in Germany.

2004: A.J. Thelen, D, Michigan State, 12th. Taken after an All-America freshman season for the Spartans, but was booted off the team as a sophomore. He played major junior and went unsigned by the Wild, and his efforts to play pro hockey were thwarted by concussions.

2003: Brent Burns, RW, Brampton (OHL), 20th. Converted to defenseman, and might be best Wild first-rounder. Could be a Hall of Famer, but unfortunately it is coming as a San Jose Shark. Has 198 goals and 451 assists in 1,043 games and has won a Norris Trophy. Traded to San Jose in 2011 for first-rounder Charlie Coyle and Devin Setoguchi.

2002: Pierre-Marc Bouchard, C, Chicoutimi (QMJHL), eighth. Decent NHL career (593 games, 110 goals) but had concussion issues.

2001: Mikko Koivu, C, TPS Turku (Finland). Emerged as a strong defensive player and team captain and is the team's all-time scoring leader. Will play in his 1,000th game next season coming off knee surgery.

2000: Marian Gaborik, RW, Dukla Trencin (Slovakia), third. Great pick in a lousy year for NHL-caliber talent. Played eight seasons for the Wild and is still the team's leading goal scorer (219). Back surgery in 2018 probably ended his NHL career at 1,035 games and 407 goals.