Minnesota Wild Trade Picks with Vancouver Canucks, Draft Mario Lucia in Round-Two –NHL Update
Minnesota Wild made a big impression at its home stadium during the second round of the 2011 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft. It was a night for Wild to shine and they sure did at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA on Saturday.
Mario Lucia became the first and only Minnesota player to be drafted into his home team after the club had to trade their third and fourth round picks for the 60th pick of the second round.
They traded with Vancouver Canucks, who happily accepted their offer and received the chance at two picks.
Lucia, who is yet to turn 18 in August, played a full season with the Wayzata High School in Minnesota.
He registered an impressive 47 points in the 24 games played including 25 goals and 22 assists in the regular season and led his team to the sectional playoff games.
He is the son of Don Lucia, who is currently the head coach of the University of Minnesota ice hockey team.
Don has had a number of achievements during his career as well, including multiple NCAA titles, and according to him, this is also one of the biggest.
"This ranks right up there, but I've been through this enough to know it's a long way off, and he's got a long way to go", Don Lucia said about his son being drafted on Saturday. "You've got to prove yourself in juniors and college and maybe after that you'll
get your chance. It's great that we had the draft here in town, but it's also great that he was drafted by the hometown team".
His induction into his home team was more like a dream than a reality for him, since it would not require him to separate from any loved ones or friends.
"I couldn't have written a better story than this", Mario Lucia said. "Growing up in Minnesota, to be drafted by the hometown team—fun time, not only for my family, but for myself, too".
The Minnesota Wild had pre-planned the occasion for the Minnesota native, and with luck, they were able to make it happen.
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