Prospect Info: 12th Overall 2024 Draft, LHD Zeev Buium

[AKL]

I'm assuming that is because you know how expensive it is there to buy a house, and how high the taxes are there.

Yeah, it's ridiculous. But it's also a very nice city if you can afford it.

SEA has also gotten to be just as expensive housing wise, though the lack of State income tax is nice. Boston is also much more expensive than here- I like it as a city, though...lots to like. The other cities and locales have their charms, though I don't know them all.

Yep, Seattle and Boston are also expensive, but I really love those cities outside of that. Think you can have a good lifestyle there even on 2M per year, but my love for the cities themselves outweighs the money factor here.

I'm not saying that MN is a paradise, just saying that it is not some repellent hellhole. It is also not even close to being the worst location in the NHL -

For sure, I don't think any of the NHL cities are hellholes (though I can't fathom living in Winnipeg under any conditions)

I'd say it's somewhere in the middle, unsurprisingly enough. If PIT, EDM, and DET can have Cup winning dynasties, there is no reason that we can't, based on location, anyway.

Based on location, no, although Detroit hasn't had much success since they were able to get Europeans for pennies on the dollar. PIT and EDM of course had the whole generational talents thing going for them. Outside of those periods, they haven't been very successful franchises.

Our location should not be used as an excuse. We are not trying to attract baseball players from Latin America, or hoops guys from southern climes. For every Buium or Matthews, there are 20 players from climates similar to, or worse than here.

I would say that in order for us to use location as an excuse, we would have to build an attractive organization that people would want to play for. I don't think we've ever had that because the on-ice product is always mediocre. We need to build a good product through the draft, consistently. Hopefully we're doing that now with Kaprizov, Boldy, Rossi, Buium, Yurov, Wallstedt, (Faber), but we'll see.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

The weather is just always going to be what it's going to be. You play in Florida (or LA or Dallas or Vegas) and you can golf on your off days and you float in your pool. You play in Minnesota and you can't. Is what it is.

 

[Digitalbooya]

As someone who has lived in a variety of other places, you are way underselling Minnesota. The taxes are less, or the same, as many other NHL locales(every Canadian one, CA one, NY one, Bruins, etc.).

I mean, when you compare it to other tax hell locations, that’s not saying much.

It would be funny if Guerin was the GM who set this team up to win a Cup by prioritizing the draft and hiring an excellent scouting team.

Rossi/Yurov/Buium/Wallstedt/Heidt/Ohgren/Khusnutdinov/Hunt/Lorenz/Ritchie/Stramel/Peart/Kumpulainen/Bankier/etc

I’ve never been more excited for a group of prospects. That includes the Granny class.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

We just need to pass a law that subsidizes athlete home purchases. Just think if the taxpayers could fund 35% of Kaprizov's next house here. We could get him crazy cheap.

 

[57special]

I mean, when you compare it to other tax hell locations, that’s not saying much.

It would be funny if Guerin was the GM who set this team up to win a Cup by prioritizing the draft and hiring an excellent scouting team.

Rossi/Yurov/Buium/Wallstedt/Heidt/Ohgren/Khusnutdinov/Hunt/Lorenz/Ritchie/Stramel/Peart/Kumpulainen/Bankier/etc

I’ve never been more excited for a group of prospects. That includes the Granny class.

All of Canada, and most of Europe is a tax hell compared to MN. Just ask our resident Swedes and Finns what they pay in Income tax. Now, that blow is softened when you take into account how inexpensive their education and health systems are compared to ours, but hockey players usually aren't worried about those two things. Minor league hockey players, sure.

I do like how Guerin has prioritized the draft compared to Fletcher. Fletcher did pick a good one in Brodin, and a great one in Kaprizov, but in general, Guerin and Brackett appear to be better drafters. Wallstedt, Yurov, Buium all appear to be good choices, relative to where they were drafted. I am getting worried that the D group (Hunt, ROR, Peart, Spacek, etc. are going to be duds, or underwhelming). We'll not know for another 3-4 years.