Wild Lands 10th Overall Pick

The Minnesota Wild had a 2.1% chance to win tonight's NHL Draft Lottery and move up to the sixth overall pick. Those aren't good odds, but the Wild will be plenty happy with the 10th overall pick, which they wound up with following Tuesday night's draft lottery. The Draft will be held in St. Paul at Xcel Energy Center on June 24 and 25. It will be the first time the Wild has ever held the 10th overall selection.

For the second straight year, the last place Edmonton Oilers wound up with the top overall pick in the Draft, while the New Jersey Devils won the lottery and landed the fourth overall selection.

The Central Scouting Service ranks defenseman Duncan Siemens of the Saskatoon Blades of WHL as the ninth-ranked North American skater. However, that does not include European skaters, and Swedish blueliner Adam Larsson is a lock to be taken with one of the picks prior to 10.

In NHL.com mock drafts, two experts - Adam Kimmelman and Mike Morreale - project the Wild to take Swedish center Mika Zibanejad of Djurgarden. Steven Hoffner thinks the Wild will take defenseman Ryan Murphy of Kitchener in the OHL.

TSN's Bob Mckenzie also ranks Zibanejad as the 10th best prospect available in the draft.

Unlike last year, when three Minnesotans - Derek Forbort, Nick Bjugstad and Brock Nelson - were taken in the first round, it would be a surprise if the State of Hockey had a player taken in the top 30, although New Prague's Seth Ambroz of the USHL's Omaha Lancers is the 31st ranked North American skater.  

Here are the previous 10th overall picks over the past 10 years:

2010 - NYR - D Dylan McIlrath - Moose Jaw (WHL)
2009 - EDM - LW Magnus Paajarvi - Timra (Sweden)
2008 - VAN - C Cody Hodgson - Brampton (OHL)
2007 - FLA - D Keaton Ellerby - Kamloops (WHL)
2006 - FLA - Michael Frolik - Kladno (Czech)
2005 - VAN - D Luc Bourdon - Val-d'Or (QMJHL)
2004 - ATL - D Boris Valabik - Kitchener (OHL)
2003 - MTL - RW Andrei Kostitsyn - CSKA Moscow (Russia)
2002 - CGY - LW Eric Nystrom - Michigan (CCHA)
2001 - NYR - G Dan Blackburn - Kootenay (WHL)