With the No. 53 overall pick, the Minnesota Wild select ... Maxin Strbak from the Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL).
Why pick him? Strbak is rated the best defenseman in the entire USHL outside of the NTDP. He isn't the flashiest of defenders, but his style of play is solid. It's intriguing. He will be a good bottom pairing defender with physicality.
What the scouts say: "When you watched him at the World Juniors playing for his country, you got excited. You saw a lot of passion, a real physical role and some puck skills. There's some concern about his defensive side of the his game and his intensity, but ultimately you have a 6-foot-2 right shot with puck skills that is a good skater."
Who are the other options? David Edstrom a defensive center out of Gothenburg, Swe. Edstrom has been compared to Joel Eriksson Ek, who is a Selke finalist caliber two-way center. Roman Kantserov of the Magnitogorski Jr team in Russia could be available. He's a smaller winger who shoots left, but plays on his offside. Kantserov has high-end skill that jumps off the page and is flashy.
What else is on the agenda? It is hard for me to see a world were the Wild take two defenseman with their first two picks of the draft, but it is possible. The Wild have the best prospect pool in the NHL and their deepest position they have is defenders. Not to mention they have players like Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin and Jake Middleton locked up for a few years.
I also believe they may package the 53rd overall pick this year with possibly the 64th to move up in the draft or just use it as a trade chip considering their prospect pool is so deep. Then again, not every prospect can pan out; It's rare.
That being said, Strbak would add some size and a physical presence to the Wild's backend that really hasn't been there since Carson Soucy. Plus, you can never have too many good defensemen.