panoo

Associated Press
Updated: June 1, 2007, 8:45 PM ET

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild relinquished their rights to 2004 first-round draft pick A.J. Thelen on Friday after being unable to sign him to a contract.

The Wild chose the 6-foot-3 defenseman from Savage with the 12th overall pick in the 2004 draft. He was coming off a stellar freshman season at Michigan State, where he was named second-team All-American.

But Thelen ran into trouble at the school and was kicked off the hockey team after being caught drinking underage.

He spent the next two years in Canada's Western Hockey League, where he helped the Vancouver Giants win the Memorial Cup.

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