The Minnesota Wild have hired Judd Brackett to oversee its amateur scouting department. This move is the first major decision that Wild General Manager Bill Guerin has made since stepping into his current role in 2019. Brackett has been with the Vancouver Canucks for the past 12 years. Frank Seravalli of TSN announced the move late Thursday morning.
#mnwild announce they've hired Judd Brackett as director of amateur scouting, after a 12-year run with #Canucks.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 9, 2020
Wild Hire Judd Brackett
Brackett takes over a department that has seen changes in recent months. The Wild let several scouts go in early May, including one who helped run the draft last year. Guerin and assistant GM Tom Kurvers likely would have helped run the draft and make the picks this year but the draft has been pushed back to sometime in the early fall. That gave the front office time to hire a top name to oversee draft preparations.
Brackett has had a very good run with Vancouver over the past 12 years, five of which were spent as head of the Canucks’ amateur scouting. His department helped identify and push for Brock Boeser in 2015 and Elias Pettersson in the 2017 Draft. Brackett’s people also went with intriguing Russian Vasily Podkolzin in the most recent 2019 Draft. Even later rounds have produced solid players such as Adam Gaudette. The former fifth-round pick in the 2015 Draft has 17 goals and 45 points in 120 games but most of that came in 2019-20. Brackett brings a wealth of experience to an organization that has had some front-office turmoil since last year’s draft.
What This Means for the Future
We will have to wait and see what Brackett does with Minnesota’s scouting. The Wild had a good draft class in 2019 featuring Matthew Boldy but the Wild’s farm system is far from being in a position to help the team remain competitive. An individual such as Brackett should give Minnesota fans hope that the next few draft classes are outstanding. Any selections that work out will only help the team stay tough in the brutal Central Division.
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