Minnesota Wild make Swede Theodor Hallquisth their first pick of 2025 NHL draft, add him to prospects pipeline

With an economical style that prioritizes defense over offense, Theodor Hallquisth believes he plays like a fellow Swedish defenseman familiar to the Wild.

“Jonas Brodin,” Hallquisth revealed before explaining that the two are “pretty similar in our games, and I love to watch him.”

The Wild might need a stand-in for Brodin to start next season after Brodin underwent surgery on a wear-and-tear upper-body issue that flared up after he participated at the world championship in May, but it won’t be Hallquisth.

He will resume his career in Sweden as one of the Wild’s newest draft picks, the team tabbing Hallquisth 52nd overall in the second round before making three selections in Round 4 (after adding another in a trade that sent defenseman Declan Chisholm to Washington) and then finishing up in the fifth round.

This was one of the Wild’s smallest draft classes in their 25 years and first without a first-round headliner since 2017, the byproduct of trades designed to help the organization in the present and the future.

But the Wild’s pipeline is still bursting with prospects, and the youth movement to the NHL is gaining momentum.

“To see them start to become what we hoped and what we envisioned, it’s not just a testament to the scouts,” said Judd Brackett, the Wild’s director of amateur scouting. “It’s our development staff and where they’ve been playing, the work they’ve been putting in. We can try to have some foresight, but it’s on the players, too.

“It’s an exciting year.”

After not trading into the first round Friday night, the Wild were finally on the clock Saturday and chose Hallquisth first.

“Try to focus on fast and easy plays, which I think is one of my strengths,” said Hallquisth, an 18-year-old righty who played for Orebro in Sweden’s junior league but was called up to Sweden’s top league to make his professional debut. He’s likely to get more games next season.

“He feels pressure, he can find his first read and get it out of the zone,” Brackett said. “But he’s got a good engagement, too. He plays with some bite.”

With No. 102 from Seattle as part of the Frederick Gaudreau trade on Thursday, the Wild chose 18-year-old center Adam Benak, a 5-8 playmaker lauded for his skill and vision who led Youngstown of the United States Hockey League in scoring (59 points in 56 games) after leaving Czechia.

“He just has a pedigree for being able to create and against bigger players,” Brackett said. “So, hard guy to bet against.”

They took Lirim Amidovski at 121, a winger known for his speed, and the Wild had a third fourth-rounder at 123 to pick two-way center Carter Klippenstein after trading Chisholm and their sixth-round pick to the Capitals; the Wild also landed minor league defenseman Chase Priskie in the deal, a soon-to-be free agent the Wild aren’t sure yet whether they will sign.

A waiver-wire pickup in 2024, Chisholm, 25, was in out and out of the Wild lineup as insurance, logging 66 games last season for the injury-plagued defense. He was due a new contract as a restricted free agent, and the cost for that didn’t make sense for the Wild, Guerin said.

Even with Chisholm’s exit and Brodin’s recovery — the Wild are hopeful he’s ready for the beginning of the season but recognize he probably will miss some action — Guerin is comfortable with the incumbents on defense, although the team will look to bolster its depth once NHL free agency begins Tuesday.

Finally, the Wild concluded the draft with defenseman Justin Kipkie at 141 in the fifth round; Kipkie re-entered the draft after he was chosen two years ago but went unsigned by Utah.

The Wild are trying to bring all five prospects to their upcoming development camp and, while they continue to grow, the players who were in their position in recent years are making strides to the NHL or have already arrived.

Zeev Buium made his debut in the playoffs less than a year after the Wild drafted him 12th overall, the defenseman appearing in four games and previewing the offensive instincts that have led his ascent through college and international hockey; the 19-year-old won a gold medal with Team USA at the world championship.

Buium is expected to spend some of his offseason in the Twin Cities.

Same with David Jiricek.

The Wild traded for Jiricek last November, giving their 2025 first-rounder to Columbus for the 6-4 defenseman who was the sixth overall pick in 2022.

Jiricek played sparingly with the Wild before suffering a season-ending lacerated spleen with Iowa in the minors, but he is healthy now, and the Wild want him to establish a role on the team.

“He’s got to earn it,” Guerin said. “But we believe in him.”

Liam Ohgren is in a similar situation, the winger having already cracked the Wild lineup but now needing to make a case to stay after skating mostly with Iowa last season where he flashed his offensive skill.

“This was a good learning experience for him this year,” Brackett said. “He’s probably going to show up in camp really hungry to prove himself.”

Ohgren was drafted 19th in 2022, five picks ahead of Danila Yurov, who is leaving Russia to join the Wild after signing a three-year, entry-level contract in May.

He will get a look at center after playing wing in his draft year, and the Wild have another budding center in Charlie Stramel.

The Rosemount native struggled in his first two seasons at Wisconsin, but a move to Michigan State suited him: As a junior, Stramel had his highest production in college (27 points in 37 games) while centering the Spartans’ first line for most of the season — what Brackett called a “rebirth” for the 6-3 Stramel, who was drafted with the No. 21 pick in 2023.

“He did work off ice, changed his body, got lighter,” Brackett said. “Was in a great environment, competitive team competing for a national title, and hopefully will again this coming season. So, that was great to see.”

As for the Wild’s first-rounders from 2021, defenseman Carson Lambos has been progressing with Iowa after getting chosen 26th, while goaltender Jesper Wallstedt is next in line to back up Filip Gustavsson despite coming off a down season in the American Hockey League.

Wallstedt, the 20th overall selection that year, is also supposed to train in Minnesota this summer.

Guerin and Brackett made a point to hold on to their draft capital after Brackett was hired in 2020, particularly picks in the first couple of rounds, and that decision started a process that is on the cusp of completion: One-time prospects are getting the chance to graduate into pros with the Wild.

“We need guys to come in and make an impact and do something, not just make the team and take a seat in the locker room,” Guerin said. “Help us. Do something, and I think we got some young guys that are going to be able to do that.”