12. Minnesota Wild – Philip Broberg (D, AIK, Allsvenskan)
The Wild have been back and forth between taking forwards and defensemen in recent years.
After taking a number of forwards since 2015 including Joel Eriksson Ek, Jordan Greenway, and Luke Kunin, they switched things up and took a defenseman last year in Filip Johansson.
Johansson unfortunately had a down year last season, so the Wild might try their luck again on the back end and take someone like Philip Broberg.
Broberg’s rankings this season have been odd. Some have him ranked as high as ninth overall, some have him going as late as 29th.
I have him going at 12th for the sole reason that he’s an incredible skater. Scouts have deemed him as one of the best skaters in his draft class, and when you pair this with the fact that he’s 6’3 and 203lbs, he could become a total threat on the back end in the pros.
He has good reach and put up nine points over 41 games for AIK this year, so the Wild would be wise to take him if he’s around at 12th.