»POSITION Defense »SHOOTS Left »HEIGHT 6'3 »WEIGHT 210 »BIRTHPLACE Port McNeill, B.C. »BIRTHDATE 4/23/77 »SALARY $0.00 »EXPIRES - »DRAFTED Drafted by New Jersey in the 8th round(199nd) in 1996 NHL Entry Draft. »ACQUIRED from New Jersey for Sean O'Donnell, 4th rounder on 3/4/01.

»Season Stats GP G A PTS +/- PIM SH SH% 242 7 44 51 14 275 224 3.13

»Playoff Stats GP G A PTS +/- PIM SH SH% 18 1 3 4 5 14 18 5.56

»Scouting Report

Role with the team: Willie is the physical defenseman who has size and finesse, he is a good role player and charismatic both on and off the ice.   Strengths: Good speed, skating, and checking. What the Wild hopes to be the start of a great physical defenseman. A mobile, physical defenseman who has a big shot and some untapped offensive abilities.   Weaknesses: Needs to show he can be healthy, needs to develop his mental game so it can rival his physical performance.   Potential: Could be a premiere and underrated defensive defenseman like Keith Carney.

»Player Biography

Spends offseason in his hometown of Port McNeil, B.C.; his grandfather tried out for the New York Rangers during the days of the Original Six; the Vancouver Canucks were his favorite team as a kid; idolized Gretzky and Roenick; claims his parents as his most influential people in his life; loves seafood and dill pickle chips; first job was working at a logging camp; enjoys fishing and was kidded around as the "Expert Fisherman of the Wild" during a 10,000 Rinks Foundation fundraiser.

Player Biography Information courtesy of NHLPA and Wild.com