Wild NHL Draft takeaways: Jonas Brodin out to start season, most interesting pick, stocking up on D

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ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Wild are preparing for Jonas Brodin to potentially miss time at the start of the 2025-26 regular season after the veteran defenseman underwent surgery a couple of weeks ago for an upper-body injury.

Brodin, 31, was dealing with the injury during the regular season, and it “flared up on him” during workouts following the World Championship, Wild president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin said Saturday.

“He could have done it during the season, but it started feeling better,” Guerin said. “It’s one of those things where you can leave it alone and it might be fine. And you can leave it alone, and it might not. … It’s not a traditional injury. It’s more of a wear-and-tear thing that, if you leave it, it could be OK, but it could be painful.”

The fact that Brodin could miss time made one of the Wild’s Saturday moves interesting, as they traded depth left-shot defenseman Declan Chisholm and their sixth-round pick to the Washington Capitals for a fourth-round pick and AHL veteran defenseman Chase Priskie. Guerin said he’s not sure if they’re going to re-sign Priskie, a pending unrestricted free agent.

Guerin called Chisholm one of the better waiver pickups he’s seen in a while. The Wild claimed him from the Winnipeg Jets in January 2024, and he played 95 games for them over two seasons, including some stretches in the top four.

Guerin said the finances didn’t match up in signing Chisholm as a restricted free agent, though, and he felt he’d get a good opportunity with the Capitals.

Guerin was OK moving Chisholm in part because he feels good about the depth he already has. Even if Brodin isn’t ready to start the season, the Wild have two young defensemen in Zeev Buium and David Jiricek in the mix with veteran Zach Bogosian, as well as locks Brock Faber, Jared Spurgeon and Jake Middleton.

“We’re pretty comfortable with the seven,” Guerin said. “We know what they can do.”

Trading Chisholm also elevates defense prospects Carson Lambos and David Spacek, among others, in the organizational depth chart. They’ve each spent a couple of seasons with AHL Iowa.

“They’ve put in some solid time down there and gotten better,” Guerin said. “For defensemen, it’s usually a bit of a longer road. They’ve shown improvement every year.”

Most interesting pick

The Wild made five picks in this 2025 NHL Draft, and the most intriguing might be fourth-rounder Adam Benak.

Benak, a 5-foot-7 center, is one of the smallest prospects taken this year, but he gets rave reviews for his skating, hockey sense and competitiveness. As TSN director of scouting Craig Button, a former NHL GM, put it, Benak is a “very skilled, gifted and competitive player — (Mats) Zuccarello-like.”

Benak was the leading scorer for USHL Youngstown last season and should receive a lot of attention from CHL teams this fall, according to Wild director of amateur scouting Judd Brackett.

“At first blush, you see the size, but he’s a dynamic offensive player,” Brackett said. “Great vision, skill, speed, tenacious at that size. He’s continued to prove it despite his size. He just has that pedigree for being able to create against bigger players. He’s a hard guy to bet against.

“Trust me, the creativity, he’s a fun player to watch. He’s really exciting.”

“People that look at his size should think twice. He’s a special player. Just give him some time.”

Adam Benak is one of the smallest players in the #2025NHLDraft. He’s also one of its fastest and smartest.

My feature:https://t.co/0NGgIPFNWh pic.twitter.com/cJ3M5bR0kh

— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) April 27, 2025

More D for the system

Brackett acknowledged there was more pressure with the Wild’s second-round pick this year. With no first-rounder (dealt for Jiricek in November) and none in the third round, No. 52 was probably their best chance at finding an NHL player.

Whether they have one in second-rounder Theodor Hallquisth, 18, remains to be seen, but the Swedish defenseman has a pretty good (and fitting) model. He even wore his No. 25 on draft day.

“Jonas Brodin is someone I look at a lot,” Hallquisth said. “I think we’re pretty similar in our games. I love to watch him.”

The Wild have a lot of defense prospects in their system, especially in AHL Iowa with Lambos, Spacek and Jack Peart. Aron Kiviharju, last year’s fourth-rounder, called himself the steal of that draft. Jiricek is in line for a shot at NHL time this year.

“Having depth and having competition is good,” Brackett said. “If bringing in Theodor creates a little more pressure and stress on other players, that’s good for us.”

The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler, who had the Swede No. 85 on his top 100 list, said Hallquisth plays a “simple, efficient, effective” game and projects him as a third-pair defenseman in the NHL.

“He’s clearly a two-way defenseman,” Brackett said. “He’s got the ability to get back on a puck. Good IQ. He feels pressure. He can find his first read and get it out of the zone. He’s got good engagement, too. He plays with some bite, which is nice. He’s a good, competitive kid, can separate players from pucks. He takes short routes to pucks, is very assertive. We saw improvement in his skating as the year went on — a testament to what he’s made of.”

The other defenseman the Wild took was Justin Kipkie in the fifth round (No. 141). The 6-4 left-shot was originally drafted by Arizona at No. 160 in 2023. He has had two strong seasons since then with WHL Victoria. Kipkie, 19, racked up 62 points last season, including 22 power-play assists, and served as team captain.

“We saw great development in the last couple of years,” Brackett said. “He can handle the puck well, moves it well. It’s an opportunity for us, where he’s going to buy a little more time and go to college. If he continues this growth, we think it’s a good late option for us.”

‘Heat-seeking missile’

The Wild’s other fourth-round picks were forwards Lirim Amidovski (No. 123) and Carter Klippenstein (No. 181).

Amidovski, a 6-1, 181-pound two-way winger, had 32 points and 38 penalty minutes in 67 games with OHL North Bay.

“The first thing you notice about him is his speed,” Brackett said. “He plays with reckless abandon and is a real heavy forechecker. A north-south style skater. Physical at the point, gets to the net. He’s sort of a heat-seeking missile type of player.”

Klippenstein, 18, is a hard-nosed two-way center who is a good penalty killer, Brackett said. He’s 6-3, 181 pounds and has played three seasons with WHL Brandon.

“He plays with an abrasive, physical nature,” Brackett said. “He will stand up for teammates when he has to. He’s a shot-blocker, good penalty killer. He thinks there’s more emerging skills as he gets older in the CHL, but that’s not going to be the hallmark. This is going to be a rugged, two-way Mason Marchment type of player.”

(Photo of Jonas Brodin: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

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