Gillies was the second overall pick by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2004 Western Hockey League (WHL) Bantam Draft. Gillies spent parts of four seasons with the Blades, but the team struggled and consequently Gillies played in only 10 playoff games during his major junior career. Still, he gained attention with his strong physical and two-way play, and was selected to represent Canada at the 2007 IIHF World U18 Championships in Finland, where Canada finished 4th overall. \n', '

That summer he was selected in the first round of the NHL draft by the Minnesota Wild, who traded up three spots in the draft in order to pick Gillies 16th overall. Gillies was named captain of the Blades during the 2007-08 season and again represented his country at the 2008 World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic where he helped Canada to its fourth consecutive gold medal at the tournament.\n', '

Late in the 2007-08 season Gillies made his professional debut with the Wild\'s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Houston Aeros. He managed 8 points in 11 games with the team. That fall he cracked the Wild roster out of training camp and went on to play 45 games for the team during the 2008-09 season. Gillies recorded his first career point, an assist, on October 11, 2008 against the Boston Bruins, and his first career goal on December 19, 2008 against the New York Islanders.\n', '

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