Judd Brackett Leaves Wild After Nearly Six Years
Judd Brackett is leaving the Minnesota Wild after nearly six years, and he will not run the club’s draft this month. He is headed toward an elevated role with another organization, a move that strips the Wild of the man who had run their draft table for the past five years.
Wild Draft Table Shifts
Brackett was not in attendance when the Wild’s amateur scouting meetings began Monday in St. Paul, Minnesota. Mat Sells and Ricard Persson are expected to handle the draft until Bill Guerin opens the director of amateur scouting job to internal and external candidates.
That change lands in the middle of a critical stretch for Minnesota’s scouting staff. Several amateur scouts are entering the final month of their contracts, so Brackett’s exit may force more than one personnel decision inside the department.
Toronto And Vancouver Interest
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks have shown interest in Brackett. He was in the final year of his contract, and the Wild offered him an extension in December, but Brackett was seeking more responsibility and an elevated role with the franchise.
Guerin was not willing to promote him because the Wild already have three assistant general managers. That left Brackett with a narrower path inside Minnesota even after five years at the top of the draft table.
Brackett spent 12 years with Vancouver, including the last five as the Canucks’ director of amateur scouting, before taking the same job with Minnesota. His path through two organizations now points to a third stop, and the destination will shape how quickly he can move into a larger front-office role.
Minnesota Draft Record
During his Minnesota tenure, Brackett made seven first-round picks: Marco Rossi, Jesper Wallstedt, Carson Lambos, Liam Ohgren, Danila Yurov, Charlie Stramel and Zeev Buium. Charlie Stramel is turning pro next season after two years at Wisconsin and two at Michigan State.
Of the nine second-round picks made under Brackett, only Marat Khusnutdinov became an NHL regular before being traded to the Boston Bruins in advance of the 2025 trade deadline for Justin Brazeau. Hunter Haight looks like he has a chance to become a quality NHLer, Riley Heidt has promise, Rieger Lorenz just turned pro and Ryder Ritchie remains in college.
Minnesota currently has five picks in the 2026 draft, with its first-round pick already traded to Vancouver in the Quinn Hughes deal, its second-round pick sent to the Nashville Predators in the 2025 Gustav Nyquist trade, and its seventh-round pick moved to the Florida Panthers for Jeff Petry in March. The Wild own their third-, fourth-, fifth- and sixth-round picks, plus a fifth-round pick from the San Jose Sharks acquired in the 2023 Calen Addison trade.
Brackett’s departure leaves Guerin with a draft setup that will need a new lead and a scouting staff with contracts about to expire. The next move inside the Wild front office will determine how much of Brackett’s structure remains in place.
