Bliz 0 Report post Posted June 2, 2007 (edited) The Hockey News web site says that the Wild have jettisoned their 2004 first round selection and ex-MSU Spartan AJ Thelen. He was booted from MSU a couple years ago. At 6'3" and 210+ pounds he has good size and supposedly posseses good skating ability, though his numbers in the WHL aren't great for an offensive d-man. So, why would the Wild cut him loose? A bad work ethic, or something related to his dismissal from MSU? I'm curious if there's more to the story than his unspectacular numbers. Edited June 2, 2007 by Bliz Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest bullocks Report post Posted June 2, 2007 Because he sucks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zetterbergfuturemvp 0 Report post Posted June 2, 2007 (edited) Because he sucks! not because he sucks cause he had problems and got caught drinking ( big deal) , i think they just couldnt come to an agreement ......we should go after him , heres the article ....... Wild relinquish rights to former 1st-round pick 6/1/2007, 9:55 p.m. EDT The Associated Press ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Wild relinquished their rights to 2004 first-round pick A.J. Thelen on Friday after failing to sign him. The Wild chose the 6-foot-3 defenseman with the 12th overall pick in the 2004 draft. He was coming off a stellar freshman season at Michigan State, where he was a second-team All-American. But Thelen ran into trouble at the school and was kicked off the hockey team after being caught drinking underage. He spent the next two years in Canada's Western Hockey League, where he helped the Vancouver Giants win the Memorial Cup. The Wild had until Friday to sign him to a deal or forfeit his rights. The Wild will receive the 42nd overall pick in July's draft as compensation. The Wild also failed to get deals done with two 2005 draft picks, third-round goaltender Kristofer Westblom and fourth-round center Kyle Bailey. Edited June 2, 2007 by zetterbergfuturemvp Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest bullocks Report post Posted June 2, 2007 not because he sucks cause he had problems and got caught drinking ( big deal) , i think they just couldnt come to an agreement ......we should go after him , heres the article ....... Wild relinquish rights to former 1st-round pick 6/1/2007, 9:55 p.m. EDT The Associated Press ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) �€†The Minnesota Wild relinquished their rights to 2004 first-round pick A.J. Thelen on Friday after failing to sign him. The Wild chose the 6-foot-3 defenseman with the 12th overall pick in the 2004 draft. He was coming off a stellar freshman season at Michigan State, where he was a second-team All-American. But Thelen ran into trouble at the school and was kicked off the hockey team after being caught drinking underage. He spent the next two years in Canada's Western Hockey League, where he helped the Vancouver Giants win the Memorial Cup. The Wild had until Friday to sign him to a deal or forfeit his rights. The Wild will receive the 42nd overall pick in July's draft as compensation. The Wild also failed to get deals done with two 2005 draft picks, third-round goaltender Kristofer Westblom and fourth-round center Kyle Bailey. ye i was joking, never heard of the guy....hmmm he played for the giants in this past memorial cup eh...i watched like all the games, for some reason his name doesn't ring a bell lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kp-Wings 3 Report post Posted June 2, 2007 A top 20 first round pick, going unsigned. Hmm... Despite his problems, I'd like to see the Wings make a go at him. Unless he really is that big of a problem. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zetterbergfuturemvp 0 Report post Posted June 2, 2007 (edited) A top 20 first round pick, going unsigned. Hmm... Despite his problems, I'd like to see the Wings make a go at him. Unless he really is that big of a problem. im sure he would change his ways here , plus he got caught for under age drinking ? big deal ! who hasnt drank before there 21 in the states .........i would definetly draft the guy, if not the 1st round then the 3rd if were lucky and hes still in , hes 6'3 212pds and 21 yrs old which means hes closer to making it to the nhl then another guy we'd pick , plus he played in michigan before so it might help him out if he came here .........heres his whl page http://whl.ca/en/stats/player.php?id=23221 and heres his page on hockeysfuture with the wild , they had him listed as their 7th pick http://www.hockeysfuture.com/prospects/a.j._thelen it most likely wont happen but if we took him with the 27th pick i wouldnt be pissed at all Edited June 2, 2007 by zetterbergfuturemvp Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204 Report post Posted June 2, 2007 I'd like to see us go after him , a big tough defenceman , something were missing in our system now that May is gone. Plus hes a top prospect , the Wild's management is terrible, how can you give up on a kid like this ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BPruch29 0 Report post Posted June 2, 2007 There is a lot more to this story than everyone knows. He wasn't just cut from MSU because he was caught drinking underage. Do you think that if a kid gets caught drinking he automatically gets cut? The coaches know that kids on the team are drinking every weekend. Thelen is a bad apple that has fallen off from being a prized prospect. I hope the Wings stray from him as I'm sure they will. Why not just take a flyer on Jeff Lerg from MSU in a late late round as opposed to this former Spartan. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vangvace 12 Report post Posted June 2, 2007 (edited) im sure he would change his ways here , plus he got caught for under age drinking ? big deal ! who hasnt drank before there 21 in the states Underage drinking is enough to get you fired from alot of jobs now-a-days. Personally I don't like the fact because he was stupid enough to get caught. If he's has the talent, another team will give him a chance though, I just hope he learned his lesson. Edited June 2, 2007 by vangvace Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zetterbergfuturemvp 0 Report post Posted June 2, 2007 Underage drinking is enough to get you fired from alot of jobs... Personally I don't like the fact because he was stupid enough to get caught. If he's has the talent, another team will give him a chance though, I just hope he learned his lesson. ya but how many underage kids do you know that didnt drink?? everyone drinks man its not that big of a deal i find , anyways hes available now which is good for us lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MacK_Attack 108 Report post Posted June 2, 2007 im sure he would change his ways here , plus he got caught for under age drinking ? big deal ! who hasnt drank before there 21 in the states .........i would definetly draft the guy, if not the 1st round then the 3rd if were lucky and hes still in , hes 6'3 212pds and 21 yrs old which means hes closer to making it to the nhl then another guy we'd pick , plus he played in michigan before so it might help him out if he came here .........heres his whl page http://whl.ca/en/stats/player.php?id=23221 and heres his page on hockeysfuture with the wild , they had him listed as their 7th pick http://www.hockeysfuture.com/prospects/a.j._thelen it most likely wont happen but if we took him with the 27th pick i wouldnt be pissed at all He's now an unrestricted free agent, he's not back in the draft. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zetterbergfuturemvp 0 Report post Posted June 2, 2007 (edited) He's now an unrestricted free agent, he's not back in the draft. Thelen is now an unrestricted free agent and has already generated interest from the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. k i just saw that on tsn, they must of updated it .............canucks and oilers huh ? lol ...........i hope the wings make a push, since he played in michigan before we might have a chance Edited June 2, 2007 by zetterbergfuturemvp Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204 Report post Posted June 2, 2007 where did you hear that ???? i heard his agent was trying to get him unrestricted free agent status but he was gonna be re-entering the draft He's 20 years old now , He cant be re-drafted Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chrisdetroit 189 Report post Posted June 2, 2007 A top 20 first round pick, going unsigned. Hmm... Despite his problems, I'd like to see the Wings make a go at him. Unless he really is that big of a problem. Really? Why? Because he's big. That makes no sense. We don't need guys that have personal problems just because they are big. We need big guys that are fast, gritty, can skate and have great hands. Those are the guys that we should go after. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204 Report post Posted June 2, 2007 Really? Why? Because he's big. That makes no sense. We don't need guys that have personal problems just because they are big. We need big guys that are fast, gritty, can skate and have great hands. Those are the guys that we should go after. Sorry to burst your bubble , but you just described Thelen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kp-Wings 3 Report post Posted June 3, 2007 Sorry to burst your bubble , but you just described Thelen Exactly. Thelen, if he gets his head straight, could be a good player. Who only knows. Maybe he'll end up like Cleary and turn himself around here with the Wings. You never know. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KronwallCRUNCH 5 Report post Posted June 3, 2007 Really? Why? Because he's big. That makes no sense. We don't need guys that have personal problems just because they are big. ::cough:: Bertuzzi ::cough:: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StaticWithABeat 0 Report post Posted June 3, 2007 According to the latest THN mag the Wild let him walk because they are "so disappointed in his lack of progress." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
