As you saw in yesterday's post, we unveiled the #1 Wild player of all time. If you missed any of the posts, here they are again:
Thank you to all of those who kept checking back on a daily basis.
Next week, I will begin my Top 10 prospects list, so please check back.
Follow Giles on Twitter @gilesferrell
Friday, December 7, 2012
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Wild All Time Top 10: #1-Marian Gaborik
Marian Gaborik
Goals: 219
Assists: 218
Points: 437
On June 23, 2000, the Wild took part in the expansion draft, with the Columbus Blue Jackets. In that draft, they built most of their team up for their inaugural season. But when they came out of that draft, they were missing an elite goal scorer on the team.
The very next day, the Wild held the 3rd overall pick in the 2000 Entry Draft. And following Rick DiPietro and Dany Heatley, the Wild selected 18 year old Marian Gaborik from Slovakia.
Gaborik had all the tools required to be the superstar the Wild needed. He had skilled hands, he could fly down the ice, and he had a snapshot that was far superior than most other players.
The good news was, he was very successful in bringing those elite tools to Minnesota.
In 8 seasons in Minnesota, Gaborik set most offensive records for the team, and set the bar for those records pretty high. At the time of his departure, Gaborik held the Wild all time record for Goals, Assists, Points in a Wild career, and also set many single season records in the same categories.
"Gabby" found a way to score at least 30 goals respectively, in 5 seasons here. He was the go to guy. The player you wanted to shoot the puck on a power play. During his time here, there perhaps was no other player in the league, who meant more to his team's success, than Marian Gaborik was to Minnesota.
Marian's finest season came in the 2007-08 division championship season, when he set the Wild single season record for goals, assists, and points when he put up a 42-41-83 line. He did it with his countryman, Pavol Demitra on his wing. And as we noted in Demitra's post last Wednesday, the two were great linemates together.
But despite the great goal scoring production from Gaborik, the big problem with him was his inability to stay healthy (A certain lower body injury was always the problem). Just 4 out of his 8 seasons here, he played in more than 71 games. And in those 4 seasons he did not, he averaged 49 games played.
And even though he had shortened seasons, he still found a way to score 30 goals in at least 5 seasons. So not a bad consolation prize for being oft injured.
In his final season in Minnesota, Gaborik went down with an injury early on in the season, and returned very late in March. But more importantly, the Wild were unable to trade him away and get something in return because he was shelved for all but 17 games in 2008-09.
The following summer, Gaborik departed Minnesota and signed a big contract with the New York Rangers (The same team he scored 5 goals on, in one game). In 3 seasons in New York, Gabby has scored 40+ goals in 2 of them, while staying surprisingly healthy.
Marian Gaborik, didn't exactly leave Minnesota on great terms. And now that its been a few seasons, the saltiness of his departure has left, and we can all just sit back and appreciate his time spent here.
He has been the best player in the short 11 year history of the franchise. But, the question is, will he still be #1, in another 11 years?
That concludes the Wild All Time Top 10 List! Thanks for reading along!
#1-Marian Gaborik
Follow Giles on Twitter @gilesferrell
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Wild All Time Top 10: #2-Mikko Koivu
Mikko Koivu
Goals: 108
Assists: 253
Points: 361
Following their inaugural season, the Wild held the 6th pick in the 2001 Entry Draft. With that 6th pick, the Wild chose TPS forward Mikko Koivu. And the Wild struck gold when they drafted Saku's younger brother (Kudos to Tampa Bay, Florida and Anaheim for drafting Alexandr Svitov, Stephen Weiss, and Stanislav Chistov respectively ahead of the Wild drafting Koivu).
It took him 5 years before he finally made it to the Wild, but once he made it, it became very clear why the Wild drafted Koivu.
Koivu uses his elite vision and hands to set up the guys on his wing to score. He is a pass first guy, but when the situation calls for it, he can make a nice highlight goal himself. Unluckily for Koivu, he has spent most of his years, playing without a great forward on his wing (Until Heatley joined him last year), so his stats have really yet to fully get to where they can be.
(I didnt need to put this video in here, but Greenlay's pylon comment is awesome)
But more importantly, Koivu has been a tremendous team leader. He was named team captain a couple of times under the Jacques Lemaire system, but then in 2009, he was named the first permanent captain in team history. It is a position he still holds to this day, and will more than likely not lose it for as long as he plays in Minnesota.
In the 2008 playoffs, Koivu stepped up and scored 4 goals, in the team's 6 games played, including a go ahead goal with just under 2 minutes left in Game 2. But, since then, the Wild have yet to return to the playoffs (Ironically, most of that time has been under Koivu's captaincy). But give him another chance, and he will shine in the Stanley Cup Playoffs again.
Mikko Koivu, comes in at #2 in Wild history, in terms of the best player. But, he is the greatest leader this team has ever had.
Come Back tomorrow and see who comes in at #1
#2-Mikko Koivu
#3-Wes Walz
#4-Andrew Brunette
#5-Brian Rolston
#6-Pierre-Marc Bouchard
#7-Niklas Backstrom
#8-Brent Burns
#9-Pavol Demitra
#10-Dwayne Roloson/Manny Fernandez
Follow Giles on Twitter @gilesferrell
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Wild All Time Top 10: #3-Wes Walz
Wes Walz
Seasons With The Wild: 7
Goals: 82
Assists: 100
Points: 182
Following a 2 game stint with Detroit in 95-96, Wes Walz decided to take his hockey talents overseas. He bounced around in Europe for the next 5 seasons. But then in 2000, the NHL expanded by 2 teams, and Walz was given a chance to play in the NHL again with the Minnesota Wild.
Walz had a very quick turn around, making the transition back to the NHL very easy for him, scoring 18 goals in the Wild's inaugural season (The 18 goals was tied for the team lead with Marian Gaborik and Darby Hendrickson).
But, it wasn't being a goal scorer that made Walz a player the Wild kept around. It was his great defensive skills, as he was constantly being matched up with the opposing team's top line, and continually shut them down. Walz also was on the team's top penalty kill line, leading one of the league's top PK units during his run here.
During the Wild's improbable run to the conference finals in the 03 playoffs, Walz stepped up in a big way, scoring 7 goals and 6 assists, in addition to being on the ice with the likes of Peter Forsberg and Markus Naslund.
After 6 full seasons with the Wild, Walz took a leave of absence in the 7th season after playing 11 games. After a month of being off the grid, the 37 year old Walz, returned to St. Paul and announced his retirement from hockey.
Walz has been one of the more popular players in team history (A recent HW post suggests #37 should be retired), despite the fact you rarely found him on the scoresheet. So that truly goes to show, how good he was defensively.
Because an entire fan base saw it, and still to this day, loves him for it.
Check back tomorrow and see who comes in at #2!
#3-Wes Walz
#4-Andrew Brunette
#5-Brian Rolston
#6-Pierre-Marc Bouchard
#7-Niklas Backstrom
#8-Brent Burns
#9-Pavol Demitra
#10-Dwayne Roloson/Manny Fernandez
Follow Giles on Twitter @gilesferrell
Monday, December 3, 2012
Wild All Time Top 10: #4-Andrew Brunette
Andrew Brunette
Seasons With The Wild: 6
Goals: 119
Assists: 202
Points: 321
Following the Wild's inaugural season of 2000-01, they signed little know free agent forward Andrew Brunette to a 3 year contract. Brunette had just come off two seasons spent with the Atlanta Thrashers, in which he had scored 50 and 59 points respectively. Brunette came to the team, and became an anchor on their top scoring and power play lines.
Brunette never was gifted with his feet. So he had to make up for that, with his hands. Brunette was one of the more able stick handlers in the history of the franchise, and made a nice living around or behind the net, setting up scoring opportunities. He also was rarely injured, playing in all but 3 games of his 6 seasons in Minny.
In his first season with the Wild, he set a franchise record for most assists (48) and points (69) scored in a season (Both records have since been broken).
But Brunette's claim to fame with all Wild fans, of course, came in the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs. In Game 7 of the Quarterfinals against Colorado, Brunette put on a display of patience and stick handling, and scored the overtime winning goal to send the Wild on to the next round. No goal has even come close to being as significant as Bruno's goal in that game.
Brunette was released following the 03-04 season, and spent the next 3 in Colorado, much to the torture of Wild fans (He took it to us pretty good in the 08 playoffs). But, the following summer, then GM Doug Risebrough admitted it was a mistake to let Brunette leave (A pretty easy thing to say when he scorched your team in the postseason), and brought him back on another 3 year deal.
Over the course of the 3 year deal, Brunette played no less than 80 games and averaged 22 goals and 31 assists in those 3 years, while anchoring the Wild's top line with Mikko Koivu and Antti Miettinen. Unfortunately for Bruno and the rest of us, the Wild could not get back in the playoffs during his second stint here.
But he comes in at #4, because he is the hero Minnesota Wild fans needed...
Check back tomorrow and see who comes in at #3!
#4-Andrew Brunette
#5-Brian Rolston
#6-Pierre-Marc Bouchard
#7-Niklas Backstrom
#8-Brent Burns
#9-Pavol Demitra
#10-Dwayne Roloson/Manny Fernandez
Follow Giles on Twitter @gilesferrell
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Wild All Time Top 10: #5-Brian Rolston
Brian Rolston
Seasons With The Wild: 3
Goals: 96
Assists: 106
Points: 202
In July of 2004, Doug Risebrough signed 31 year old Brian Rolston to a 4 year contract, to help boost a stale Wild offense. He was coming off a season in Boston, where he scored just 19 goals and 29 assists, but at that point, he was better than any in house option they had.
Unfortunately for Rolston and the Wild, the 04-05 season was lost to a lockout, as well as a year of that contract he had just signed.
But once the puck dropped again, the Wild had found a second line scorer they sorely needed.
In his 3 seasons in Minnesota, Rolston tallied at least 31 goals, and set a career high in goals, assists, and points in 05-06, when he scored 34-45-79 to lead the Wild in scoring that year.
Rolston was a good skater, but what set him apart from the league, was his slapshot. Rolston would use it in any situation, whether it was a penalty shot, or in a shootout. No goalie in the league stood a chance against Brian Rolston's slapshot.
He was also a team leader, being named the team captain a handful of times during his tenure here (Back then, the captaincy was handed out on a monthly basis under Jacques Lemaire). He was instrumental in leading the team to the playoffs twice, and the team's lone division title in 07-08.
Even though he only played 3 seasons here, Brian Rolston made a tremendous impact to the team on the ice. After his tenure ended in Minnesota, Rolston has played for 3 other teams (Devils, Islanders, and Bruins), and he has yet to show anything close to what he was here in the State of Hockey. So we hope he can say that his best years, were his years with the Wild. Because all of us Wild fans should feel that way...
Check back tomorrow and see who comes in at #4!
#5-Brian Rolston
#6-Pierre-Marc Bouchard
#7-Niklas Backstrom
#8-Brent Burns
#9-Pavol Demitra
#10-Dwayne Roloson/Manny Fernandez
Follow Giles on Twitter @gilesferrell
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Wild All Time Top 10: #6-Pierre-Marc Bouchard
Pierre-Marc Bouchard
Seasons With The Wild: 9
Goals: 98
Assists: 229
Points: 327
The Wild drafted Pierre-Marc Bouchard with the 8th overall pick in 2002. He was coming off a season in the QMJHL where he posted a line of 46-94-140 in just 69 games played. Without a doubt, the Wild made the best possible pick at that point in the draft (Only two other players drafted in the first round, behind PMB, made an All Star Game), a rare credit to former GM Doug Risebrough.
Bouchard played 50 games for the Wild the following season. What they found, was a forward with great hands and elite vision on the ice to create scoring plays. He also used his phenomenal foot work, to turn defenders and goalies alike inside out, while him and his teammates were on the attack.
It took him two full seasons with the Wild, before he finally made his breakthrough. In the 05-06 campaign, Bouchard ranked third on the team in scoring (17-42-59), only trailing the big stars of Rolston and Gaborik. In the following two seasons respectively, "Butch" scored 57 and 63 points, while playing in 163 out of a possible 164 games.
Following the 2007-08 season, the Wild signed Bouchard to a 5 year extension. And now we are in the final year of that contract (Lockouts do not stop the contracts from going. If a year is lost, the player loses a year on his contract), and it has been disastrous. In the first game of the 09-10 season, Bouchard suffered a concussion, and never played again that year. He had played in parts of the next two seasons to follow, but he still battled post concussion symptoms, which is why he was held out more times than none.
He has yet to fully return to that player he once was. Should the lockout end, and any type of season gets saved, Bouchard should be at 100% (Fingers crossed!), and we will get to see a glimpse of that great player one more time. Because his future in a Wild sweater, beyond the 2012-13 season, is very uncertain.
Check back tomorrow and see who comes in at #5!
#6-Pierre-Marc Bouchard
#7-Niklas Backstrom
#8-Brent Burns
#9-Pavol Demitra
#10-Dwayne Roloson/Manny Fernandez
Follow Giles on Twitter @gilesferrell
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