[Article]Wild fortunate to land late bloomer

[mnsportscentral]

If you cross paths with Wild Assistant General Manager/Player Personnel Tommy Thompson this week, suppress the urge to give him a congratulatory slap on the arm for a job well-done at Saturday's National Hockey League’s (NHL) entry draft. The bruising from Thompson's self-inflicted pinching when Benoit Pouliot remained available through three picks, will likely need some time to heal.<br> <br>When former Vancouver, and newly hired Mighty Ducks GM Brian Burke, stepped to the microphone to, surprisingly, announce Bobby Ryan as the Sidney Crosby runner-up, he set off a chain-reaction which dropped, perhaps, the draft's second most offensively gifted player into Thompson's lap. Carolina's wise selection of defenseman Jack Johnson with the third pick, left Pouliot (POOH-lee-OTT) on the board for Minnesota and Thompson practicing auto-ecstatic masochism.<br><br>Read More<br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.mnsportscentral.com/content/ ... <!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--> <p></p><i></i>