Wild receive compensatory pick for not signing draft bust Filip Johansson
The selection of Swedish defenseman Filip Johansson was viewed as a reach at the time. Now it will go down among the biggest draft busts the Wild have ever endured.
On Wednesday, the Wild officially closed the chapter on Johansson, whom former general manager Paul Fenton selected with the No. 24 overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.
As a result, the Wild received a compensatory pick in the second round of the 2022 draft.
While the maligned Fenton made a handful of shrewd moves in his short tenure with the Wild — no doubt, trading for star winger Kevin Fiala is atop that list — the decision to draft Johansson was just as baffling then as it is now.
There’s still a chance Johansson carves out a niche for himself in the NHL. He now is free to sign anywhere this offseason.
Meanwhile, with the 2022 NHL Draft about a month away, the Wild now have a pick in the first round, a couple of picks in the second round, a pick in the third round, a pick in the fourth round, a pick in the fifth round and a pick in the sixth round.
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