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Did anyone else hear Tommy Thompson, Wild Vice President during the second intermission of the Orono, STA game? When asked about scouting for the NHL, he said that there are not NHL players at the A level, but there are at AA. What is everyones take on that?

Duluth East Hockey Fan wrote:Did anyone else hear Tommy Thompson, Wild Vice President during the second intermission of the Orono, STA game? When asked about scouting for the NHL, he said that there are not NHL players at the A level, but there are at AA. What is everyones take on that?

Take? He's ignorant and is making generalizations.

I didn't hear it, but clearly he is wrong. Take a look at a draft. Clearly there are kids at the A level that are skilled enough to develop into professional hockey players. A comment like that is ignorant considering how kids develop and grow as hockey players once they reach the Junior or college level.

I would say it has nothing to do with what level you play in high school, but more about your size and speed.

Size and speed get scouts attention no matter what level.

Sounds a like a PR nightmare for the Wild. I heard him say that too. He really sounded like an idiot.

Not sure what end he was talking out of there...

What a shocking statement by a Wild representative. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. How embarassing for the Wild and State of Minnesota Hockey, especially if that's what he believes!

I agree.


Look at Oshie and Wheeler for an example

My sense of it - and I'm willing to admit I might be wrong - is that he was saying there was no one they considered an NHL prospect in THIS YEAR'S Class A tourney. I didn't take it as a general putdown of Class A hockey, because clearly you've had guys like Wyatt Smith and John Pohl come out of the Class A tourney, and obviously he's aware of that because Smith is on the Wild.

I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on this one.

Tommy Thompson is a pencil pusher, his job title of vice-president is an indictment on his level of knowledge about what is really going on.

There might have been a time when he was combing the rinks and knew talent, but once you start wearing a tie for an organization or company that plays a game, it cuts off the blood supply to the brain.

There are thousands of people in management that aren't paid to know their product, they're paid to make sure someone else knows the product.

I heard him say that there definitely were players at AA who would be getting looked at (Patrick White most likely)... I don't think he meant that there wouldn't be any A players who could end up playing in the NHL, I simply think that he KNOWS of AA player(s) they WILL be looking at.

goalieguy1 wrote:My sense of it - and I'm willing to admit I might be wrong - is that he was saying there was no one they considered an NHL prospect in THIS YEAR'S Class A tourney. I didn't take it as a general putdown of Class A hockey, because clearly you've had guys like Wyatt Smith and John Pohl come out of the Class A tourney, and obviously he's aware of that because Smith is on the Wild.

I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on this one.

Marvin, LeBlanc, even festler/hanowski etc.... Fact is, you just can't tell for a couple years where their development will take them. These kids are all as talented as some of the top AA players.

Are there any AA players drafted already? There are in A.

Hickey (AA) was drafted last year and Marvin (A) too.

The only other A players listed on the Players to Watch or 2007 NHL CSS mid term rankings are LeBlanc from Hermantown, Sachetti from Virginia and Bahnemann from Rochester Lourdes.

We'll find out in June who from this group will be drafted.

All I have to say is OSHIE.

2 words:

Blake Wheeler



#5 overall, class A school

His answer left room for a lot of interpretation; did he mean in the whole state or just in the state tournament? I took it as just in the state tournament and tend to agree with him.

Patrick White from Grand Rapids & Nick Larson from Hill-Murray are both top 51 prospects and in the AA field. Joe Stejskal, Matt Reber, and Joe Baudette are also in the field. Nico Sacchetti is ranked #61 and didn't make the tournament. LaBlanc from Hermantown is the only A player in the state tournament listed on the NHL Central Scouting Sevices Mid term rankings.

You don't make it to his position in the NHL by being ignorant or an idiot.

goldy313 wrote:His answer left room for a lot of interpretation; did he mean in the whole state or just in the state tournament? I took it as just in the state tournament and tend to agree with him.


You don't make it to his position in the NHL by being ignorant or an idiot.

Agreed.

I have not had the opportunity to read the Wild scouting report on MN kids.

But I am 90% sure he meant this year's draft eligible kids playing at the state tourney (that the Wild are interested in following).
He would have little knowledge of what the rest of the league is thinking nor the time to find out.

Don't make something out of nothing.

He didnt say that no A players can make the NHL or will be looked at, he said they arent watching any of the A players that are there at the tournament.

And one year ago tomorrow Shooter wrote:

One NHL scouting report at the state high school hockey tournament Wednesday in St. Paul: "Ben Hanowski, a 6-1 freshman from Little Falls, has been the surprise of the first day. Great hands and great savvy."

Apparently someone does...

I might think he's an idiot if he believes it.

He is an idiot for saying it during the A tournament.

Wayne Gretzky thought there was a class A player good enough to get drafted #5 overall, but then again what does he know...

elliott70 wrote:But I am 90% sure he meant this year's draft eligible kids playing at the state tourney (that the Wild are interested in following)..

I believe your take on it is correct. Other than LeBlanc, there really are no 2007 NHL draft eligible guys in Class A worth looking at. I would bet this is what he meant.

Gopher Blog wrote:

elliott70 wrote:But I am 90% sure he meant this year's draft eligible kids playing at the state tourney (that the Wild are interested in following)..

I believe your take on it is correct. Other than LeBlanc, there really are no 2007 NHL draft eligible guys in Class A worth looking at. I would bet this is what he meant.

That is ridiculous. You never know when you may find someone or something interesting. Never close doors on a kid because he is from a smaller school. The Wild will need to do some explaining if that is their stance on things, and I am a huge Wild fan.

ummm... straight out of their highschool team blake wheeler is the highest out of mn, there is johnson #1 but he was drafted out of U18 USA. Sounds like this guy put his foot in his mouth

State Champ 97 wrote:That is ridiculous. You never know when you may find someone or something interesting. Never close doors on a kid because he is from a smaller school. The Wild will need to do some explaining if that is their stance on things, and I am a huge Wild fan.

I think you are taking it the wrong way. I don't think he was meaning to slag small schools at all. I believe he was simply discussing the state tourney Class A teams and any potential 2007 NHL draft picks it has.

If you go by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's rankings, the only draft eligible player that is a potential draft pick in the Class A state tourney is LeBlanc.