Minnesota Wild draft pick Adam Benák still benefiting from decision to leave home and play in USHL

Adam Benák was with family and friends in the Czech Republic when he found out he’d been drafted by the Wild.

“I was crying a little bit,” Benák recalled. “My whole family was crying. It was amazing.”

While he was in Minnesota last week for the team’s development camp, Benák received a text message letting him know he had been drafted again. But this wasn’t a mix-up.

After the Wild tabbed Benák in the fourth round with the 102nd pick, he went second overall in the Canadian Hockey League’s import draft Wednesday, getting chosen by Brantford out of the Ontario Hockey League.

“I’m not sure if I’m going to play there, but I’m excited to be drafted,” Benák said, “and I will talk to Minnesota’s staff, my agents. So, we will figure it out.”

Already the 18-year-old center feels he is trending in the direction he is supposed to be going after uprooting his career a year ago.

“I think so,” Benák said. “I think I made some good decisions.”

After skating since he was 2 years old, Benák left the Czech Republic for Ohio ahead of last season.

Why Ohio? The Youngstown Phantoms in the United States Hockey League had drafted him, and Benák wanted to come to North America.

“It was hard at the start,” said Benák, who knew only basic English but improved every day by being immersed in the language. “But everybody helped me with it, so it was good.”

His transition on the ice was also smooth.

Scoring 17 goals and adding 42 assists in 56 games, Benák led Youngstown with 59 points, tied for first in assists and had the fourth-most goals. Compared to other USHL rookies, Benák was top in assists and second in points. He was named to the league’s all-rookie team and second all-star team.

While representing his country, Benák helped the Czech Republic win silver at the past two Hlinka Gretzky Cups, a best-on-best under-18 tournament held each August.

He also “will do everything” to make the roster the Czech Republic sends to the next World Junior Championship, which will be in Minneapolis and St. Paul in December.

“At first blush you see the size, but he’s a dynamic offensive player,” said Judd Brackett, the Wild’s director of amateur scouting. “Great vision. Skill, speed, tenacious at that size, and he’s continued to prove it.”

Benák is listed at 5-7 and 164 pounds.

“It’s more than the body,” Brackett said. “It’s more the brain. He knows where to be. He can stay out of harm’s way. He can create. Tremendous vision. He’s a playmaker first, but he can finish, too.”

His favorite players have similar statures, Benák mentioning Utah’s Clayton Keller (5-10) and Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point (5-11) as the ones who influenced his quick, crafty style.

“I don’t take it as a disadvantage,” Benák said of his height. “It’s an advantage for me because I can be more skilled with the puck. I can be faster than the bigger guys. So, I take it as an advantage, so I want to prove that size doesn’t matter for me.”