Shootout Woes

Photo: Rob Carr

Last year, the Wild had tremendous success in the shootout thanks to the addition of Zach Parise. Parise brought a goal scoring skill set that the Wild have not seen since the likes of Marian Gaborik roamed these parts, but even he was not great in the shootouts.

Minnesota Wild 2013 Regular Season Awards

Since the playoffs begin tomorrow, I decided we would pay our respects to the 2013 regular season, by handing out some hardware. It seems early to be doing this, but I'm going to go ahead and do this anyway.

Team MVP: Ryan Suter-Zach Parise and Matt Cullen were in the running as well for this award, but in the end, Suter was the clear choice for this award. Suter lead the NHL in average time on ice per game with 27:16 of ice time. He eclipsed 30+ minutes of TOI 10 times this year, including three out of the final four games of the season. Suter ranked second among NHL defenseman with 28 assists (Kris Letang had 33), while scoring four goals. Suter's poise in any situation was a great addition to the Wild roster this year and bolstered a blue line that is rather bothersome, after the top d-pairing. As we saw in the St. Louis game on April 11th, Suter missed the last half of the game, the defense looked awful and suffered horribly without him. He returned the next game and helped the team win a big matchup against Columbus (A 3-2 shootout win, which looks pretty good right now). Plain and simple: Ryan Suter is the Wild MVP of the season. There is no argument there.

Benoit Pouliot Award (Rookie of the Year): Jonas Brodin-Since Brodin will finish in the top three of the Calder Award (NHL ROY) voting, this award was not a close decision (with all respect to Charlie Coyle and Jason Zucker). Brodin, 19, showed poise of a 29 year old, while being an anchor on the top d-pairing with Ryan Suter. Brodin showed tremendous defensive skills, putting on a clinic to some of the best forwards in the league, while adding 11 points (2 goals, 9 assists) on the season. He will be a staple on the Wild blue line for many seasons to come, and at the age of 19, still has his best years ahead of him.

Keith Carney Award (+/- leader): Matt Cullen (+9)-A finalist for Team MVP award, Cullen was a tremendous asset for the Wild this year as their second line center. He posted a 7-20-27 line on the year, in 42 games played. We saw in those games he missed, the team was just lost and confused without him. To win the +/- award, Cullen only finished the game with a minus just seven times out of those 42. He also never finished a game with a -3 or worse this year. Considering some of the games the Wild has played this year, that is no easy feat.

Performance of the Year: Josh Harding vs Dallas-There was a lot of coverage about Harding this offseason, once he was diagnosed with MS. He continued on with his hockey career, and in his first game this season, he notched a 24 save shutout against Dallas. Harding missed a good chunk of time later on in the year, but has returned to the Wild lineup in time for the playoffs. He is the Wild's nominee for the Masterton Trophy, and after reading the other 29 canidates, he should be a lock to win that award.

Hit of the Year: Charlie Coyle-13 seconds into the April 13th game against Columbus, Charlie Coyle delivered a controversial, but legal, hit to Columbus F Artem Anisimov. Four seconds later, Coyle was locked in a fight with Brandon Dubinsky, then was given a match penalty following the conclusion of the fight. The match penalty was rescinded the next day, confirming the legality of the hit. Coyle has been a force on the top line this year, bring a bit of physicality that his line mates Koivu and Parise, do not.

Goal of the Year: Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, Ryan Suter-Another award handed out with very little contest. This goal was a thing of beauty to see, and continues to get better over time. Please watch the goal and admire how awesome it is.

A New Face In The State Of Hockey: Ryan Suter

Ryan Suter

Defenseman

6'1"

198 lbs

Shoots: Left

Born: January 21, 1985

Birthplace: Madison, Wisconsin

Since he came into the league in 2005-06, Ryan Suter has been just about as solid as you can get in terms of defenseman in the NHL. He has played no less than 70 games a season. He has 5 straight seasons of scoring at least 30 points. And he carries a career +/- rating of +43. He is clearly, the right man to anchor the Wild blueline in the next decade.

Suter is not known for being a goal scorer (career high in goals in a season is 8). But that could be in part due to playing with an even better defenseman in Shea Weber all his years in Nashville. So now that Suter is free of Weber, you could perhaps see an increase in goal scoring now that his defensive partner will be Tom Gilbert.

Suter, as before mentioned is an iron man. He will play no less than 90% of the team's games. And last year, he was 3rd among all defenseman in time on ice by averaging 26:30 per game. Take into account his likely partner, Gilbert, averaged 31 shifts last year, you will see plenty of the two on the ice in the upcoming season.

Last year, the Wild seemingly shuffled a few players out there as the quarterback of their powerplay (Matt Cullen got the most time), due to lack of offensive defenseman (A big reason, in my opinion, that the Wild PP was atrocious in 11-12). Suter will now be stepping into that role, and moving whatever forward Mike Yeo wanted to put on the blue line, back to forward, and giving the Wild two bold power play lines. 

In addition to his skills, Suter is a proven leader. He served as alternate captain in Nashville the last few seasons, and will serve in the same capacity here in Minnesota. 

Ryan Suter is just about everything the Wild need in terms of a defenseman. And I for one am glad, he chose to take up residence in the State of Hockey for the next 13 years.

Welcome to the Team of 18,001: Ryan Suter


This is the fourth post in a five post series on the Wild's free agent signings this offseason. We have previously looked at Jake Dowell, Zenon Konopka, and Torrey Mitchell. Tomorrow will be our final installment in this series by taking a look at Zach Parise.

A New Face In The State Of Hockey: Torrey Mitchell

Torrey Mitchell

Forward

5'11"

190 lbs

Shoots: Left

Born: January 30, 1985

Birthplace: Greenfield Park, Quebec

Mitchell was signed by the Wild just a few hours after free agency opened on July 1st. He signed a 3 year, $5.7 million deal (Cap hit of $1.9 million per year) to be a stronghold on the team's 3rd line.

You may remember Mitchell, as the Sharks player who checked Kurtis Foster into the boards in San Jose and broke Foster's femur, just a few weeks prior to the 2008 playoffs (That was a huge blow to the Wild).

Mitchell does not jump off the page statistically (30-43-73 line in 260 career games). But if you watch him closely, he brings speed and gritty play to the table, something Mike Yeo is always looking for to add to the squad. He also will add some depth to the lower lines, something the Wild did not have much of in 2011-12. Mitchell is also a pretty decent penalty killer, so look for him to help bolster a pretty decent PK unit from 2011-12.

(Mitchell doesn't score often, but when he chooses to do so, he can make it look pretty)

He had played his entire 5 year career with San Jose to this point, so in addition to his gritty play, he will also bring some valuable postseason experience to the Wild. He has played in 55 playoff games thus far in his career, and that puts him up there with Dany Heatley (66), Matt Cullen (63), and Zach Parise (61) as team leaders in the playoff games category.

Torrey Mitchell has the characteristics to fit the Mike Yeo system perfectly, so look for him to be a valuable part of the Wild for the next three years.

Welcome to the Team of 18,001 Torrey Mitchell!


This is the third post in a five post series on the Wild's free agent signings this offseason. We have previously looked at Jake Dowell and Zenon Konopka. Tomorrow, we will take a look at Ryan Suter.

Wild Interested Jordan Staal?

The offseason can't come enough for Wild fans. The team holds the #7 pick in the entry draft, they are expected to sign Mikael Granlund (The team's #1 prospect) to his entry level contract, and nearly $18 million of cap space so they could pursue notable free agents such as F Zach Parise and/or D Ryan Suter. But Sunday, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review suggested that the Wild are one of four potential canidates to land the Penguins Center.

The article suggests that Staal would be a perfect leader for the team (Taking a shot at its current leader, Mikko Koivu), citing old Penguins connections with Chuck Fletcher (former Pens assistant GM) and Mike Yeo (former Pens assistant coach), so he would be familiar with Yeo's system. It then goes on to list who the Wild could offer in return, saying Cal Clutterbuck, Devin Setoguchi, and the team's #7 overall pick in the entry draft would be tossed around.

After I read this article, I came away with the following thoughts:

1. There would be a surplus of centers. Should Staal put on the iron range red next fall, the Wild would have Koivu, Staal, Kyle Brodziak, and Matt Cullen all slotted in at center. Meaning, someone (Most likely Cullen) would have to take the demotion to the fourth line, unless they would accept a spot on the wing. And don't forget Granlund is a center, but one would think he will play wing for a year or two before moving into the middle.
2. The Wild would be unwilling to part with Clutterbuck and the #7 pick. Despite what Josh Yohe (the writer of the article) think, the Wild value both of them quite a bit. Clutterbuck is a perfect player in the Mike Yeo system. He gives it 100% every shift, plays gritty, and can score a goal when is called upon to do so. And the team would be more than likely to draft a defenseman (something they sorely need down in the system) with the #7 pick, so giving that up for another forward would just not work out to Chuck Fletcher's advantage. As for Setoguchi, one could see the Wild be willing to part with him due to all the young forwards coming up in their system. And he is coming off a down year, so perhaps he could use a fresh start on a team featuring Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin as the top centers.
3. Staal would have to sign an extension before being traded here. Staal is under contract with Pittsburgh for just one more year. So giving up a very good package for him would be a waste on just a one year rental. The team would need Staal to sign a contract extension (Probably somewhere around $7 million a season over 4-6 years) before they even think of pulling the trigger. 
4. Who would be top line center? Mikko Koivu has been the team's #1 center for four years now. He's also been the team's permanent captain for three years. But in those years he has seen his share of wings come and go, and this past season it appears he found a good linemate with him in Dany Heatley. But a big knock on Mikko is he is not considered a top line center. He is more suited for a second line center spot. So should the team get Staal, it should be assumed that Jordan would man the top line center spot. But, it easily could go the other way too.

After taking all this in, I came to this conclusion: The Wild should not go after Jordan Staal simply due to the fact he would cost this team too much. There are plenty of teams interested in him, and even the package listed in the article would simply not be enough compared to what other teams can offer. They should and most likely will stick to going after the free agents with all the cap room they have.

It was a nice thought. But its one of those things you can try out in a video game, not real life.

Cold Hard Facts

I saw this segment on NHL Live yesterday, so I figured I would give this a try on here. This one is not pretty so please read with caution:

1. Guillaume Latendresse and Pierre Marc Bouchard will not return this year: Russo hinted at this the other day, I believe. But to expect either of these two players to return to action this year, is rather ridiculous. Both are battling concussion symptoms (Latendresse returned briefly in December, but had a relapse after throwing his body around too much), and as we all have seen, this takes a lot of time to recover from. The Wild have suffered greatly with both out of action due to the team’s lack of depth, and it will continue moving forward with both out of the lineup. So please don’t expect both to return at all this year…but one can hope right?

2. The Matt Cullen signing has failed: If hockey were a 2 month sport, Matt Cullen would Wild’s top scorer. But, unfortunately, it’s not. And Cullen has been abysmal in the months not named October or November in his two seasons in a Wild sweater. In 56 games this year Cullen has posted an 11-18-29 line, and is a -7 on the season as well. He is on pace to score around the same amount as he did in 10-11 (12-27-39 in 78 games). Cullen was brought in to add some offense and some depth to the power play. But he has done nothing to that extent (It pains me to watch him on the power play now). When you are being paid $3.5 million, you have to put up more than 39 points in a season. Too bad we have to endure one more year of this.

3. Time to resign Kyle Brodziak: Before injuries to Latendresse and Bouchard, Brodziak was playing unbelievable hockey. But, he has come back down to earth a bit, but nonetheless, it’s time to sign him to an extension. Brodziak has been the team’s best center at times (sorry Mikko) this year, and held sometime on the top line while Mikko Koivu was down with injury. He is a very valuable asset to this hockey team now and for the future, so locking him up should be a no brainer for GM Chuck Fletcher.

4. We still got the better of the Heatley-Havlat trade: Despite Heater’s slow production pace to start the year, he has picked it up as of late. He currently holds a line of 19-21-40 and has played in every game this season. Heatley still has a shot to hit the 30 goal mark this season (He needs to score 11 in the team’s final 26 games), something that has not been done since Marian Gaborik resided in St. Paul. Meanwhile, Havlat has seen injuries holding him back to just 26 games so far this year, and has produced horribly (2-13-15) on a very offensively gifted team. So if there is one thing Wild fans can hold their head up about this year, it’s this trade that landed us Dany Heatley.

5. This team will not make the playoffs: It can’t get much worse than this. This team was atop the NHL standings in mid December. But since, it’s been a train wreck. The team has lost all confidence in its ability to do anything. And it cost them their spot atop the NHL standings, the West, the division, and now it will cost them an appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It’s been a very painful couple of months for the State of Hockey, and it won’t get better until next season. The front office might as well admit defeat and start trading some players (Zidlicky, Zanon, Harding) and get something in return. In fact, at the rate their playing, they could end up with a top 5 pick in June’s entry draft. And what’s the harm in that?

Be Thankful

For a change, the Wild are sitting nicely in the standings this Thanksgiving. They have stunned everyone in the NHL with their 13-5-3 record at the quarter pole in the 2011-12 season. With that said, here are some things to be thankful for today while we sit around and eat turkey:

• Matt Cullen has 8 goals and 12 points so far this year, he scored 12 goals and 39 points all of last year.
• Josh Harding has fully recovered from his torn ACL and his 6-1-1, 1.82, .942 line is one of the best in the NHL.
• With the great outings from Harding, Nik Backstrom has stepped his game up (7-4-2, 1.97 GAA, .935 SV%) giving the team a potent 1-2 punch between the pipes every night.
• The young defenseman (Marco Scandella, Jared Spurgeon, Justin Falk, Nate Prosser) have carried on the success of playing for Mike Yeo, and have stepped up to deliver on of the league's best defenses.
• Mikko Koivu and Dany Heatley click very well on a line together.
• Kyle Brodziak gets the job done with good old fashioned hard work.
• Cal Clutterbuck's mustache is second to none.
• Mike Yeo has this team believing they can win every night...and it shows.
  
• The Wild are first in their division, in their conference, and in the National Hockey League.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving Folks!

Power Play Woes

If there has been one thing that has ailed the Wild this season, its been their power play. A promising opening night in that department (2/4), has since been drowned out by a horrid stretch of play while on the man advantage. In the 7 games since opening night, the Wild have gone 1 for 27 on the PP, including the 0 for 19 stretch they are currently under. The last time Minnesota got a tally on the man advantage, was Devin Setoguchi's goal in Ottawa. Clearly, something has to change on the team's PP unit.

The main concern for me, is that I have grown tired of watching a forward (Lately it has been Pierre-Marc Bouchard) sit on the point with the top line. PMB's performance on the Power Play has been simply abysmal. For proof of this, watch his PP shifts against Pittsburgh. But, there is a lack of scoring defenseman on the team, and it would appear that we will be seeing a forward on the PP blueline for most of the season (Unless the team acquires a defenseman that can score). It also creates a lack of punch on the second line of the PP when PMB sits on the point, and guys like Bulmer and Clutterbuck take his spot (Not exactly the offensive types). But, Mike Yeo has taken notice of PMB's performance, and as Russo points out today, it would appear he is going back to the second PP line, while Matt Cullen takes over on the point.

Another concern with the man advantage is still the lack of shots this team is taking. The Wild are still towards the bottom of the league in shots taken (27th-25.4 shots per game), despite their offensive upgrades this offseason. And as much as I like the quality of their shots, it would still be nice to see them take more shots, period. You never know what can happen when you fire one on net. Hopefully, Yeo feels the same way and sends them the message to start firing more frequently.

I know, there are still some growing pains going on with the new system of Yeo. So you would like to think that at some point, the power play (and the team for that matter) can take off. Perhaps Yeo would also try juggling his PP lines up a bit, much like he has with his regular top lines (Switching up PMB and Devin Setoguchi between lines 1 and 2), to see if he can spark his stale PP units.

This team is very capable of scoring, so you would like to think that that the power play can get out of its funk sooner rather than later. This team needs a strong power play to help the lack of scoring on the team, in general. Otherwise, if it stays like this, we are going to be in for a frustrating season once again.

NHL 2011 Preview-Minnesota Wild

In just three days, we drop the puck on the 2011-12 (Year 11) Minnesota Wild Season. So in this post we will dive into looking back on their offseason, and we will look ahead to their season and ultimately where they will end up in April.

Offseason Moves

Coming In: RW Dany Heatley, RW Devin Setoguchi, C Darroll Powe, D Mike Lundin
Heading Out: RW Martin Havlat, D Brent Burns, LW Andrew Brunette, RW Antti Miettinen, RW Chuck Kobasew, G Jose Theodore

The Wild were very active this offseason, as GM Chuck Fletcher dealt first liners Havlat and Burns in separate deals to San Jose In return for Heatley, Setoguchi, RW Charlie Coyle, and C Zack Phillips. The Wild had to sacrifice their best d-man in Burns, but it was a move that will help out the team in the long run. I will admit, it would of been nice to see what Havlat and Burns could of done in the new system, but Fletcher felt they could best help the team by trading them. It was a very bold offseason for Fletcher, and hopefully for him, its one that pays off in the long run.

Projected Lines
(Stats Listed are from the 2010-11 Season)

LW-C-RW
(GP-G-A-PTS)

Dany Heatley-Mikko Koivu-Devin Setoguchi
(80-26-38-64)-(71-17-45-62)-(72-22-19-41)

Guillaume Latendresse -Matt Cullen- Pierre-Marc Bouchard (11-3-3-6)-(78-12-27-39)-(59-12-26-38)

Darroll Powe-Kyle Brodziak-Cal Clutterbuck
(81-7-10-17)-(80-16-21-37)-(76-19-15-34)

Colton Gillies-Eric Nystrom-Brad Staubitz
(7-1-0-1)-(82-4-8-12)-(71-4-5-9)

Reserves: Eric Johnson (4-1-2-3), Brett Bulmer (57-18-31-49 in WHL)

Defenseman

Greg Zanon-Marek Zidlicky
(82-0-7-7)-(46-7-17-24)

Nick Schultz-Marco Scandella
(74-3-14-17)-(20-0-2-2)

Mike Lundin-Jared Spurgeon
(69-1-11-12)-(53-4-8-12)

Reserves: Clayton Stoner (57-2-7-9), Justin Falk (22-0-3-3)

Goalies

Starter: Niklas Backstrom (22-23-5-2.66-.916)
Backup: Josh Harding (DNP-Torn ACL)

Reserves: Matt Hackett (23-16-2-2.37-.916 in AHL)

Mike Yeo: The 3rd Head Coach In Wild History

Back in early September, I did a post on Mike Yeo. In the video below, you can see what he is going to try and establish with this team. He wants a team that gives a full effort every night. He wants a team that will pay attention to the details. He wants to have a team that will be aggressive, physical, and structured. And most of all, he is going to try to establish an identity with this team. Yeo had been an assistant in Pittsburgh before coming to the Houston Aeros last season, so having that knowledge of what it takes to win from behind the bench will be very key for the Wild. When the Wild hired Todd Richards two years ago, I thought they got it right. I had thought they had someone they will have behind the bench for a while. Boy, was I wrong. And here I am again saying they got it right. I believe Yeo is the right hire for the Wild. He took the Houston Aeros from a 7th place finish, to a 2nd place finish and a date in the Calder Cup Finals. And I believe, he can translate that same success to the Wild this season.

Players That Need To Step Up

Matt Cullen

As you can read from his stats up top, Cullen had a awful first year with his hometown team. Out of the 39 points Cullen scored last year, just 14 came at even strength. That was tied for 388th best in the NHL. That is just plain awful, from a guy who is being paid three and a half million a year. If the Wild have good success this year, they need much much more from Cullen. If Latendresse and Bouchard can stay healthy and on his wings, there should be no issues with Cullen putting up better numbers than last year.

Guillaume Latendresse

Last year, we all heard about how Gui showed up to camp out of shape. It was so bad, the winger could only play in 11 games last year. Not exactly the greatest thing to do, when trying to lock down a contract for longer than two years. But this year, he showed up to camp much slimmer and looked much better in the preseason. He will be relied on to provide that secondary scoring, that he gave us in 09-10 when he came out of nowhere to score 25 goals in 55 games after being traded to us from Montreal. And with the pass happy Bouchard and Cullen on his line, Gui should have no issues putting 20-25 goals in the net this year.

Marek Zidlicky

When the Wild acquired Marek Zidlicky prior to the 08-09 season, they got a really great offensive defenseman. In his first season, he put up a 12-30-42 line (the 12 goals were 8th best in the West). But, in the offseason Jacques Lemaire left and Todd Richards came in, and Zidlicky really hasn't been the same since. In the 124 games Zidlicky played under Richards, he posted a line of 13-54-67 and was -22. So hopefully, a change behind the bench is what he needs. Because with the loss of Brent Burns, the Wild need someone to step up and put up good offensive numbers from the blueline. And that someone should be Marek Zidlicky.

Niklas Backstrom

Mike Yeo's new aggressive system is really going to test his defense and goalies. So, he will need his #1 goalie, Niklas Backstrom, to step up his game this year. Last year, Backs put up mediocre numbers, while also battling injuries for a brief part of the year. Backstrom, much like Zidlicky, has seen a drop in numbers since the departure of Lemaire. His GAA took a jump from the 2.3's to the 2.7's, and his save percentage dropped from the .920's into the .900's & .910's. For a guy who is being paid $6 million, its about time we see the Backstrom that helped the Wild win the Northwest division three years ago. You hope he can return to that form, otherwise the Wild may need to start looking for a better/cheaper option between the pipes.

5 Prospects That Will Impact the 2011-12 Season

No, this list will not include Mikael Granlund or Jonas Brodin. They are the top prospects the Wild have, but they won't be anywhere near the State of Hockey in 2011-12.

Marco Scandella-D

If anyone stuck out with me, as to who had a great preseason, it was Marco Scandella. He looked very sharp on the blue line as he played in all 6 games this preseason. He won't put up big time offensive numbers, but he could very well put up big time minutes for this team going forward. So in essence, he is a young Nick Schultz. Look for Scandella to play most of, if not all of, this season with the Wild this season.

Nate Prosser-D

If a defenseman gets hurt for the Wild this year, Nate Prosser will be the first one to get the call up. He is very similar in size and ability to Scandella, but the edge on most things would still go to Scandella. Prosser projects to be a second line blue-liner, at most. He is solid defensively, but offensively he won't be expected to put up much numbers. He has played very well for the team since being signed out of Colorado College following the 09-10 season.

Casey Wellman-F

Like Prosser, Casey Wellman would be the first forward called up if someone went down with injury. Wellman was another of the Wild's undrafted college signees, as he came out of UMass following the 09-10 season. Wellman is only 6'0" and 173 lbs, so he will need to rely on his speed and stick handling to remain on the team, should he get the call up. Wellman can put up 20+ goals in a season if he can stay healthy. And that is they key for him: Keeping him on the ice.

Matt Hackett-G

Matt Hackett would not of been in this post had I made it two days ago. But, due to an injury to Josh Harding, Hackett got the call up and will probably be up here a few games before returning to Houston. Hackett has only been in pro hockey for just one season, and he is already third on the Wild depth chart in the goaltending area. As you saw from his stats above, he had an impressive year with Houston as their #1 goalie. Hopefully, Backstrom and Harding can stay healthy so Hackett can stay down in Houston and get another season of being the #1 under his belt. But, if called up, he should do just fine.

Brett Bulmer-F

When the final roster cuts came after Friday's game against Edmonton, Brett Bulmer surprisingly did not see his name. He became the first player from the Wild's 2010 draft class to crack the big club. Last year with Kelowna of the WHL, Bulmer had improvements on all his stats from the previous year. He also posted 109 penalty minutes last year, and the year prior he had 95. He is the aggressive, physical type that Yeo is wanting to see from his players. And with Bulmer's very strong preseason, it shouldn't come as that much of a surprise to see him make this team out of camp. Look for Bulmer to get minutes on the third and fourth line this year.

Where They'll Finish

It's really tough trying to bolt down where this team will finish. I believe this can be a playoff team. But, their final couple of preseason games were really disheartening. The team could not hold a third period lead, and ended up with losses against St. Louis and Edmonton because of it. There will be growing pains with the new system from new Head Coach Mike Yeo. There will be growing pains from the young defensemen trying to step up and play big minutes from this team. The offense should begin to pick up and be a solid improvement from last year with the new additions. But ultimately, I believe this team will be on the outside looking in next April, as they end up being the last team out of the playoffs. The West is just filled with so many good teams, I can't put the Wild in there just because they are my favorite team. I would love nothing more than to be proven wrong here. So here's to hoping the Wild can do just that in 2011-12.

Tomorrow, I will have my final NHL 2011 Preview post, as I recap the division winners, pick the 16 playoff teams, award winners, and of course pick the Stanley Cup winner.

Training Camp Scrimmage

This past weekend, the Wild held team scrimmages on Saturday and Sunday that were open to the public. I made it to the Saturday session, and I was able to watch most of Sunday's session on the Wild website. In the two scrimmages, just one goal was scored, and it was a Dany Heatley penalty shot goal. So here are my thoughts and observations from the scrimmages:

• The Heatley-Koivu-Setoguchi line looked good for the most part. Their chemistry look good, and hopefully after a few games it can get even better. I noticed Heatley had more of a hesitation to shoot in the scrimmages, but I also think that should go away as the start playing actual games. I did take some video's of the top line when they were on the ice, but the shifts I got on tape, weren't anything special. So here is one of them.
  

• Guillaume Latendresse looked very sharp in these two sessions. For one, he has slimmed down and has come into camp in very good shape. He showed good speed, and had a lot of jump in his strides. I can't remember a shift where he didn't make something happen for the positive. He will be a huge key for the Wild's success this season, so having him play like that is very big.
• I payed a lot of attention to our young defenseman (Marco Scandella, Justin Falk, and Jared Spurgeon) during this session. They all seemed to do okay, but none stuck out as having a great scrimmage. I will give Scandella credit for a laser shot he fired on Saturday that hit the crossbar. Probably the best shot I saw all weekend.
  
• Pierre-Marc Bouchard looked outstanding in yesterday's session. He missed Saturday with a hamstring injury, but was back on the ice Sunday. And on top of that he was on the line with Latendresse and Matt Cullen, and that line looked as good as line 1 yesterday. As Michael Russo pointed out, having Gui and Butch back gives this team a different element.
• I also payed particular attention to C Zack Phillips (Acquired in Setoguchi trade) this weekend. He didn't do anything that stuck out, but he had some solid shifts. It will be interesting to see how he handles being in camp with these guys at the age of 18.
• Lastly, the teams only scored one goal in the two sessions. I didn't think it was a bad thing, but it is certainly not a good thing. My guess is that the players are still getting used to the new system, so as always, it will take some time to get used to. I think the goals will come in due time, but hopefully they can get that sorted out in the preseason.
  
• The Wild open their preseason schedule Tuesday at Edmonton. No one on the top line will be traveling, but the Latendresse-Cullen-Bouchard line will be. I look forward to see them in a actual game. The Wild's first home preseason game is Friday vs Columbus.