SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA - The 2014 CCHL Entry Draft is complete for the Minnesota Norsemen. With seven picks that included four forwards, one defenseman and two goaltenders.
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"I think we accomplished what we set out to do with this year's crop," said general manager, Blake Wendt. A crop that by many expert's accounts, was not overwhelmingly laden with a wealth of depth.
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"With our first pick, we waited for the third round and took the best available player," said Wendt regarding the 47th overall selection, defenseman Ryan Collins. "He just happened to a local kid who will be heading to the 'U' (University of Minnesota) in the fall. We like his game. He's a big, 6'5", sturdy stay-at-home defenseman that needs some seasoning and added strength to play to his full potential. He should get that under Don Lucia at Minnesota and we will be patient with his development. But we love the potential that is there."
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The Norsemen next pick came in the fourth round with the selection of forward, Ryan Dzingel from THE Ohio State University. The Weaton, Illinois-native finished his collegiate season with 46 points in 37 games.
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In the fifth round, Wendt and his staff reached all the way across the Twin Cities and picked up arguably the best NCAA goalie from the past two seasons, Adam Wilcox from the University of Minnesota. The South St. Paul-native was someone that the Norsemen had coveted for the past couple seasons. "We were quite aware of what Wilcox has been doing in his first two seasons of college hockey," said Wendt. "We almost took him last season, but our list was pretty extensive. This year we knew we wanted him, and when other similar goaltenders were being picked, we made the move then before he was gone."
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In the sixth round, Minnesota used their own pick to take another goalie in 28 year old, UMass-Lowell alum, Carter Hutton. The Thunder Bay, Ontario-native is expected to fight Jonas Gustavsson in Training Camp for the back-up role behind Semyon Varlamov.
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Using one of two picks bought from the Georgetown Millers, the Norsemen again stayed in-state and chose St. Cloud State scoring machine, Jonny Brodzinski. The Ham Lake, Minnesota-native finished his sophomore season with 41 points in 38 games.
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Round 7, and the Minnesota Norsemen finally reached across the pond to take Axel Holmstrom from the Swedish Hockey League's Skelleftea AIK.
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With their final pick from the Millers, it was back to the local flare and Caleb Herbert from the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
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"This is a small class compared to years past for us," said Wendt. "We're in a different stage in the development of a competitive overall hockey club. These players here will all play a role in that transition. Some are older and more seasoned. The curve isn't as drastic as maybe a class of all eighteen year olds. We know a bunch of them can and have transitioned to a higher level of competition and been able to make an impact. That's why I think this Draft class for us is very special."

ROOKIES TIME TO SHINE

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA- Fresh sheet of ice at the Herb Brooks Olympia this week, as the Minnesota Norsemen invite twenty of their top prospects to Rookie Camp.
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Many of these players will participate in the club's Prospect Camp in July, the main Training Camp in September and be fighting for starting positions on Opening Night.
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"We're excited to get things going again," said general manager Blake Wendt. "So much of our future will be together here this week. Some have been playing in Duluth and some are fresh out of college and we get a real thorough look at where they are in their development in becoming CCHL players."
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The camp will begin on Monday and go through next Sunday. It will be run by Norsemen assistant coaches Dean McAmmond and Phil Housley and Leifs assistant coaches Mike Ramsey and Dmitri Yushkevich and goaltending coach Felix Potvin. Norsemen head coach Craig Hartsburg, Leifs head coach Mike Yeo and Wendt will evaluate out of sight from high above in the club's suite.

DRAKKAR REPORT: The Future Is Near

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA- It was a memorable time in the inaugural season of the Minnesota Norsemen Hockey Club--a memory some would rather forget as the team finished at the bottom-five of the CCHL and a record of 24-49-9.
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"In a rebuild, it's a bitter pill to swallow to watch your on-ice performance and your record is tough to look at," said general manager Blake Wendt. "With the passion we have in our fan base, we also have dialed-in, keen fans who know what we were actually accomplishing in what on the surface was a dismal season."
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What was being accomplished was top-notch players were being traded for a plethora of young, elite hockey players in mass quantity.
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Some of that youth will start arriving as full-time pros in the 2014-15 CCHL season.
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Nick Bjugstad. Star power forward honed his craft at the University of Minnesota for three years. Last season the 6'6", 220 pound giant played big minutes for the Duluth Leifs and got his seat at the adult table at the end of the Norsemen season. He is expected to center the second line behind Antoine Vermette.
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Valeri Nichushkin. Drafted 2nd overall in last year's draft by the Norsemen, Nichushkin is a budding star from Russia that played top-line minutes in the KHL as an 18 year old. The young Russian came over to North America after being drafted and participated in the Norsemen Training Camp before ultimately adjusting to the professional game in Duluth. Nichushkin will likely play on top-6 minutes, presumably on the second line.
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Nino Niederreiter. Picked up in a trade with Victoria in August, the Swiss forward plays anything but a neutral game. At 6'2" 210 pounds, there is some room to grow, and the Norsemen are hopeful that El Nino's rough and tumble game, combined with explosive speed and crafty hands will shore up their overall depth for years to come.
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Brock Nelson. Another big-bodied, homegrown power forward. The Warroad, MN-native was acquired last month from Halifax with another Minnesotan, Justin Faulk. The Norsemen love the potential of his game that looks pro-ready for next season
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Beyond the connections to the state, a lot of these upcoming players have previous connections as teammates with each other and current established Norsemen.
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Along with Bjugstad, his linemate at Minnesota, Erik Haula could make this team out of Training Camp. Both played with defenseman, Aaron Ness who might also play spot games next season. Add Keith Ballard and it looks like a Norsemen factory over in Minneapolis.
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Matt Niskanen and Justin Faulk were both stud blueliners at the University of Minnesota-Duluth (although not at the same time). Some of Faulk's teammates from their National Championship team, Justin Fontaine and JT Brown have legitimate shots at making the Opening Night roster.
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Brock Nelson joins Matt Greene as North Dakota alum
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Ian Cole looks like he might finally have an opening in the D-pairings for a full-time shot in the CCHL. The former Notre Dame captain might be joined by another Irish captain, Anders Lee this season.
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All of this and we still haven't talked about the other youngsters on the club. Tomas Tatar, Marcus Kruger, Jonas Brodin and Semyon Varlamov. Or the younger Anthony Mantha, Nic Kerdiles, Hudson Fasching, Tom Wilson and Justin Sefton.
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"We expect bumps next season," said Wendt. "With this amount of youth coming in at once, you cannot avoid it. But we feel we have surrounded these players with enough experience and talent to bring success now and continue to build on year after year. We are very excited about the future in Minnesota."