Wild to host '11 NHL draft
The NHL will hold the 2011 draft in Minnesota.
The award of the annual event was announced by the league at a news conference on Saturday at Xcel Energy Center, the home of the Minnesota Wild. The draft is set for Friday and Saturday, June 24-25.
It will mark the first time Minnesota has hosted an entry draft since 1989, when the Minnesota North Stars were the local NHL franchise. The North Stars moved to Dallas following the 1993 season and became the Stars. The Wild entered the league in 2000.
Saturday's announcement follows the league's decision to award the 2011 All-Star Game to Carolina earlier this week.
Wild owner Craig Leipold is also lobbying the league to bring an outdoor game to Minnesota within the next few years. The team will start next season playing in Finland, another part of Leipold's push to expand the Wild's profile.
This year's draft will be held in Los Angeles.
ESPN.com's Scott Burnside and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
- Hockey writer for ESPN.com
- 10 years at Toronto Sun, Windsor Star and National Post
- Wrote best-selling true crime book "Deadly Innocence"
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