Shattuck duo, goaltender are second-day picks

By MICHAEL RUSSO, Star Tribune

Last update: June 27, 2009 - 11:06 PM

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WILD NOTES

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MONTREAL - One day after taking Eden Prairie defenseman Nick Leddy in the first round, the Wild tapped into Minnesota twice more during Day 2 of the NHL draft Saturday.

Well, sort of.

The Wild took Shattuck-St Mary's roommates Alexander Fallstrom and Erik Haula in the fourth and seventh rounds, but they're not exactly "Minnesotans." Fallstrom is from Stockholm, Sweden, and Haula, a future Gopher, hails from Pori, Finland. Both are forwards.

Obviously, you never know until three or four years later, but the Wild was delighted with its seven selections Saturday. The Wild especially worked to replenish its thin goaltending depth, selecting the top-ranked goalie in the draft in the third round in Matt Hackett -- the nephew of longtime NHLer Jeff Hackett -- and Red Deer's Darcy Kuemper in the sixth round.

"No one was more excited than [goalie coach] Bob Mason," assistant GM Tommy Thompson said.

With Barry Brust and Anton Khudobin entering the last year of their contracts and GM Chuck Fletcher shopping 25-year-old backup Josh Harding, it was critical the Wild draft goalies.

"We wanted to get a blue chip candidate," Thompson said of Hackett.

Hackett, 19, was traded last season from Windsor to Plymouth, where his career took off this season. He went 35-14-3 with a 3.04 goals-against average and .913 save percentage. He and St. Louis Blues prospect Jake Allen are the two leading goalie contenders to play for Canada in the next world junior championships.

Jeff Hackett, fired by the Colorado Avalanche as goalie coach three weeks ago, played 500 games with six NHL teams. In their hometown of London, Ontario, Uncle Jeff started taking Matt on the ice with London-based NHLers at age 9, meaning he got to take shots from guys such as Steve Rucchin, Jeff Carter, Brian Campbell and Andy McDonald.

"I'd get hit in the hand and it would kill. I thought I broke my hand every time I caught the puck, but it was fun having those guys coming down full speed," Matt Hackett said. "I loved it. My uncle made me the goalie I am today.

"People say I look like him in net. He's taught me everything he knows, so yeah, I guess I do look like him in net."

Minnesota flavor

Twelve of the 55 Americans drafted were native Minnesotans, and five more have Minnesota ties. Six were current or future Gophers (Leddy and Haula to the Wild, Jordan Schroeder to Vancouver, Zach Budish to Nashville, Josh Birkholz to Florida and Seth Helgeson to New Jersey).

"It's a global game and we're very proud of the way the Minnesota system has developed," Thompson said. "Look at what Shattuck's done: They're getting world-class people, not just from Minnesota but from all over the world."

Fallstrom, who will attend Harvard, was Shattuck's senior captain, scoring 40 goals and 87 points. A huge Wild fan who loves Kim Johnsson, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Marian Gaborik, Fallstrom is a power forward who wants to be like Detroit Red Wings power forward and countryman Johan Franzen.

"I'm loving Minnesota, and getting drafted by the Wild is definitely a dream come true," Fallstrom said.

Haula was ecstatic. He'll play in Omaha of the USHL next season, then for the Gophers in 2010.

Etc.

When Budish came to the riser to talk to the media after being taken 40th by Nashville, Montreal's media thought he was Charles- Olivier Roussel, whom Nashville took one pick later at 41 (Wild's pick from Marek Zidlicky trade).

Budish started getting questioned in French.

"Sorry," Budish said, smiling. "He was taken right after me. I don't speak French."

• Fletcher is expected to hire an assistant GM to replace Tom Lynn early next week, while coach Todd Richards said he's less than a week away from naming his staff.

• Fletcher confirmed Wild prospect Petr Kalus will return to the team.

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