The North Star Rant

Another year, another set of mock drafts. If you remember these from the previous seasons, you know that I like to roll out a handful of mock drafts starting in the dead of winter and extending through to the heat of summer, so far away.  Anyway, here we go again - hope you enjoy. I've collected a group of prospects that I quite like, and written down brief, digestible analyses for busy readers like yourself. The 2023 draft is speculated to be historic - and that means it should be exciting, even though there's a very palpable, real chance that generational talent Connor Bedard goes to the Chicago Blackhawks. Yuck.  21st overall:  Gabe Perreault - W/C - USNTDP Gabe Perreault can do just about everything there is to do in the offensive zone. I'd consider him one of the most versatile offensive weapons in the draft class for that reason.  Son of Yanic and brother of Jacob, Gabe here is exceptionally creative and possesses a high amount of skill. He can stickhandle with...

 Goddamn.  The Colorado Avalanche are Stanley Cup Champions. Frankly, I'm getting lightheaded just having to type that out - the fact that this is the world we now live in is purely disgusting. I don't ever wanna hear the words "Nathan" or "Mackinnon" again, to be quite honest.  Anyway, on to the real thing of import - the NHL Entry Draft, slated to start on July 7th. I originally planned to release this a little bit closer to the day at hand, but I'm gonna be out of town this weekend. Figured I might as well knock this out and give you fine folks something to read on your 4th of July roadtrips (and if you happen to be beach bumming on Lake Melissa this weekend, look me up.) There's an intense wrinkle added to the Minnesota Wild's draft this year - the status of Kevin Fiala. He's on his way out, all the indicators say, and that has some real potent implications for the draft possibilities coming to the Wild. But we just don't know yet. An...

  We're here once again. I love doing these, as you can perhaps tell. You see, I really feel like professional sports is like the ultimate reality show - raw, genuine, and totally real. Seeing the almost Julio-Claudian rise and fall of teams, coaches, executives, and of course - players - over the course of several years is part of that equation. It's not just  about how many games your team wins in a given year, or how many goals Kirill Kaprizov can score. It's about a lot more. It's about how the decisions your team makes fits in within the larger narrative. Kirill Kaprizov means so much to us because of what came before - he's a total outlier. Someone unique, a brazen mark of heat within the icy evenness of the Wild's legacy.  Which brings me to this practice of investigating the draft, investigating the next generation of hockey heroes. We really don't know what's in store for these kids yet - whether we'll think of them as stars, villains, savio...

  Since the firings of Head Coach Mike Zimmer and General Manager Rick Spielman, the Minnesota Vikings have conducted several interviews, looking for the next forerunners to lead the franchise into the next era. The next regime will have several questions to answer: What to do with Kirk Cousins? How to rebuild the defense? What can be done with the offensive line? While many writers rightfully consider the Minnesota Vikings to be an attractive landing spot for aspiring coaches and executives, it’s clear that work is still cut out for them here in the North Star State. To that end, I’ve identified who I want in the big chairs: Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Vice President of Football Operations for the Cleveland Browns Adofo-Mensah is one of the most sought-after GM candidates this cycle, and for good reason. An ex-denizen of Wall Street, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah spent nine seasons helping to build the San Francisco 49ers into Super Bowl contenders before being poached by Cleveland Browns Ge...

                    Yes, yes, I know. I’m an addict. I can’t help myself. It’s only January and I’m already scouring tape, documents, and analysis about the next crop of NHL hopefuls.                 A lot is still up in the air. The Minnesota Wild could move up, or down, or get out of the first round altogether. There’s still plenty of time for the stocks of these players to rise, fall, or spin in circles. But I still think it’s important for us to tackle the subject early, so we thoroughly understand what we’re looking at when it does come to be draft day. Life moves pretty fast, sometimes. If you blink, you could miss it.                 Of course, this is an odd season regardless. COVID-19 has ravaged leagues around the world, often truncating...

  I love Minnesota.  I was born here, and I was raised here. I spend my summers on lakeside porches, kicking back with Grain Belts, while watching the Minnesota Twins quest for a third World Series title. I spend my winters holed up in my living room under a mountain of blankets, watching Dalvin Cook and the Vikings make strides up the gridiron. I love Minnesota, and its teams, down to my very blood.  But Minnesota has a culture problem.  Look, I get it. When the professional organizations in your state have been under threat of relocation (or straight up relocated), never quite good enough to take down a championship, or otherwise completely dreadful for over a half-century - it's easy for a sports market to find itself incredibly insecure.  DON’T CONFUSE LOVE WITH INSECURITY  That's where the root of this problem lies. Insecurity. We are very, very, insecure. And insecurity is a very bad look.  Norm Green tore all of our hearts out in 1993 when he br...