Jake Gardiner fits into Ducks' plans

A star at Minnetonka High and the best prep player in the Twin Cities this school year, the 17-year-old also grew up rooting for the hometown Wild and was not a happy camper when the Ducks eliminated them in the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs.

He also knows how to switch allegiances.

"That was pretty upsetting, but now it's a great feeling that they won the Cup," said Gardiner, whom the Ducks took Friday with the 17th pick of the first round. "It's such a great organization. They like to win and they do it a lot."

Gardiner called Friday "the best day of my life" and said he had an inkling the Ducks would pick him after meeting with team officials in the morning.

"Right when that pick came up, I said, 'Here it is,' " he said. "Those guys looked up at me and they smirked at me. I kind of knew from there."

Having watched Scott Niedermayer lead his team to the top of the NHL the last three years, Ducks General Manager Brian Burke grabbed Gardiner after trading down from the No. 12 spot because of a common attribute the two players share: speed.

The only prep taken in the first round, Gardiner is considered to be one of the best players in the entire draft.

"The No. 1 thing is can he skate well enough at the NHL level?" Burke said. "If he can't, it doesn't matter how hard his shot is."

On Saturday, the Ducks continued to stockpile young players down the line for an organization that's thin on top prospects.

With two second-round picks they got from Phoenix in a trade for the 28th overall selection, the Ducks selected centers Nicolas Deschamps and Eric O'Dell at Nos. 35 and 39 respectively. Four picks later, they went for defenseman Justin Schultz.

Six other players were taken. The Ducks used their three third-round picks on left wing Josh Brittain, goaltender Marco Cousineau and center Brandon McMillan and went heavy on defense, taking Ryan Hegarty in the fourth, Stefan Warg in the fifth and Nick Pryor in the seventh.

"We're very happy with the players we drafted today," said Alain Chainey, the Ducks' director of amateur scouting. "They're still young and have things to improve upon, but we feel really strongly about this group."

The focus will certainly be on Gardiner, who is set to attend Wisconsin in the fall.

Gardiner said he figures to play for the Badgers for at least two years and Burke said it would be a major surprise if he was ready to turn pro any earlier than that.