Wild wrap up 2020 draft by selecting two forwards, two defensemen
Bill Guerin’s first NHL draft as general manager of the Minnesota Wild is complete.
The Wild selected four players in the final six rounds of the 2020 draft Wednesday — two forwards and two defensemen.
More Wild coverage
Before Minnesota was on the clock, Guerin traded Luke Kunin and a fourth-round pick to Nashville for Nick Bonino and second- and third-round selections.
Using the No. 37 overall pick gained in the Kunin trade, the Wild chose Russian forward Marat Khusnutdinov. The 5-foot-9 center played 44 games for SKA-1946 St. Petersburg last season and registered 13 goals and 25 assists (38 points).
Two picks later, the Wild selected defenseman Ryan O’Rourke at No. 39 overall. The 28th-ranked player in the draft by Elite Prospects, O’Rourke appeared in 54 games for the Soo Greyhounds “C” of the OHL and logged seven goals and 30 assists. According to Elite Prospects, O’Rourke plays “mean, nasty and violent.”
In the third round, Minnesota traded the No. 70 and No. 132 picks to move up to the 65th slot and selected defenseman Daemon Hunt. In 2019-20, Hunt tallied 15 assists in 28 contests for the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL.
“Daemon is a hard-nosed two-way defender with excellent mobility and has strong leadership skills,” Wild director of amateur scouting Judd Brackett said.
Later in the draft, Guerin traded up again, sending a sixth-rounder (No. 163) and seventh-rounder (No. 194) to St. Louis in exchange for the Blues’ fifth-round pick (No. 146). Minnesota used the 146th pick to select right winger Pavel Novak.
Novak, who stands 5-9 and weighs 170 pounds, played 55 contests for the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL in 2019-20 and logged 25 goals and 33 assists (58 points).
On Tuesday night, Minnesota selected Austrian center Marco Rossi with the No. 9 overall pick.
