The 2018 NHL Draft class for the Minnesota Wild may very well end up as a case study in “what might have been.” The top pick from that year, questionable first-round selection Filip Johansson, didn’t even make this year’s T25U25 list. Third-round selection Alex Khovanov might be talented (and spoiler alert, we may talk about him later), but was demoted from the KHL to the lower-tier AHL after rumored disagreements with the AK Bars Kazan coaching staff.
But buried underneath the headline selections is forward and 2018 fifth-round selection Damien Giroux: a smart, tough, reliable centerman prospect who has being going about his business, improving every season and building his skillset with an eye on a bottom- to middle-six role in St.