When you dedicate years of your life and countless difficult hours to a goal, it can be hard to put into words what it means to see that hard work culminate in one gigantic moment. After being drafted by the Minnesota Wild, Carter Klippenstein did about the best job describing it that anyone could.
“It was unreal,” he said. “It’s a great hockey state and a great organization, and to see my name come up is a dream come true. It’s nice to see my hard work paying off.”
Klippenstein, a 2006-born forward with a wicked shot and a mean streak, knew he was on NHL radars thanks to the season he’d just had with the Brandon Wheat Kings, and the interviews he’d had at the NHL combine. Minnesota ended up selecting him in the fourth round, 123rd overall.
“I knew I was in that (round) three to five area,” he said. “When it came to which teams, it was up in the air, I didn’t have much idea. I did have a good interview with Minnesota at the combine and spoke with them throughout the year so it’s been nothing but great things from them so far.”
It’s easy to see why the Wild might want Klippenstein, as his heavy, hard hitting style meshes well with the identity the Wild have forged for themselves. It also meshes well with the identity of the Florida Panthers, a team fresh off their second consecutive Stanley Cup, and teams trying to match the Panthers’ physicality is all to the advantage of prospects like Klippenstein.
“Actually me and my agent were talking about that a couple days ago,” he said. “To see a guy like Sam Bennett win the Conn Smythe, who takes pride in work ethic and playing the right way, it definitely contributed to helping me in this draft.”
Klippenstein had been making his case as a hard worker before the Panthers won the cup, however. He’d been working hard in the gym all season and offseason, and dominated the combine with seven top-ten finishes in fitness testing. Sure enough, when the media panel broke down Klippenstein’s selection, his off-ice testing was one of the first things they brought up.
“When I was invited there (to the combine) I was very excited,” said Klippenstein. “I knew I could prove myself in the off-ice department, I could show my work ethic is strong off the ice just like it is on. I definitely think that played a part in their selection of me.”
Now, Klippenstein knows full well the hard work doesn’t end with being drafted. In fact, the next batch of work comes up right away. No sooner is the draft over than teams begin setting up their development camps, and Klippenstein is on a flight to Minneapolis early tomorrow morning. And once his first taste of an NHL camp is done, it’s into more offseason training for what promises to be a huge season for both Klippenstein and the Wheat Kings, who had three forwards drafted over the past two days.
“Expectations should be high,” Klippenstein said. “Fans should be excited and I know all of us are excited. We’ve got a good group coming back next year and I’m very excited to get started. I think we can do a lot of damage.
Klippenstein was selected alongside Roger McQueen (10th overall to the Anaheim Ducks) and Brady Turko (200th overall, also to Anaheim.).
