There was one reason the Minnesota Wild overlooked Rochester native Mark Stuart, with their 20th pick in the NHL Draft: Offense.
They used their first four picks to draft forwards; Of the Wild's nine draft picks, six were forwards.
"Stuart was on our list of players, but we were looking for offense and (Brent) Burns was the top guy on our list when we picked," an official from the Wild told the Post-Bulletin.
• Golf; fans can get a quasi-sneak peak at the Somerby golf course this weekend by tuning into the 2003 U.S. Women's Open at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Oregon. The co-designer of Pumpkin Ridge was John Fought, who is co-designing with Tom Lehman the course at Somerby near Byron.
"Pumpkin Ridge was built on land which is very similar to the land that Somerby is being built on here in Byron, said Ken Jack, sales director at Somerby. "The golf course grassing plan at Somerby is very similar to Pumpkin Ridge, however, Somerby will be using improved and more expensive species of the same grasses. Somerby will have much more technically-advanced drainage and irrigation systems along with the finest bunker sand available."
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Don't think that potential suitors haven't been calling Twins General Manager Terry Ryan to inquire about trade possibilities for top prospects Michael Cuddyer and Rochester native Michael Restovich and offering pitchers in return. Cuddyer is still nursing a hamstring that has sidelined him for three weeks; Restovich is hitting .258 with 11 home runs and 53 RBIs for the Class AAA Rochester (N.Y.) Red Wings.
Restovich's home run Monday against Scranton-Wilkes-Barre was his first since June 10, a span of almost a month. He homered again on Wednesday night. Restovich, along with Red Wings pitcher Grant Balfour, will play in the AAA all-star game July 16 in Memphis.
Byron native Owen Hoegh is 2-2 with a 3.35 ERA in six starts for the Honkers. Hoegh has walked 14 and struck out 45 in 372⁄3; innings pitched…; Mayo grad Justin Sokol, a 17th-round draft pick of the San Diego Padres last month, is 3-0 with a 3.62 ERA in six starts for the Thunder Bay Border Cats. Sokol has walked nine and struck out 24 in 371⁄3; innings pitched.…; Lewiston-Altura grad Andy Kreidermacher, who was named Northwoods League player of the night recently, is 3-3 with a 4.96 ERA in six starts for Thunder Bay. Kreidermacher has walked 12 and struck out 18 in 322⁄3; innings pitched.
The Class B Rochester Royals hope Tim Welke's broken foot will be healed by the playoffs in mid-August.…; Joe Duda leads the Royals with a .361 batting average through Tuesday. Pitcher Andy Larson has logged the most innings (29) for the Royals this season, more than twice anyone else.
Rochester Lourdes golfer Mike Pehler qualified for the U.S. Junior Golf Championship recently, by shooting a 73-72 at Faribault Country Club. The USJGC is July 21-26 at Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Md..…Pehler; competes in the MGA's 77th annual state junior boys championship July 7-8 at Dellwood Hills in Dellwood, Minn.
Rochester Golf &; Country Club's David Petric carded a one-over par 74 Tuesday at Bellwood Oaks in Hastings, Minn. to qualify for the 100th Minnesota Golf Association Amateur Championship. The championship is July 21-23 at Minneapolis Golf Club in St. Louis Park, Minn.
Entering their game Wednesday against Austin/Hayfield, the Class C Rochester Blues had lost five games this season -- all by one run. The Blues' pitching trio of Adam Sikkink, Andy Brigham and Nate Matti is one of the best in the Twin Rivers League. Sikkink is 4-2 with a 1.23 ERA, Brigham is 3-2 with a 3.43 ERA, and Matti is 3-0 with a 0.31 ERA. Matt Rink is the Blues' top hitter with a .367 average and a team-high 17 RBIs.
Troy Young's local sports notebook runs every Thursday and Saturday. He can be reached at tyoung@postbulletin.com.
