2022 MN WILD/NHL THREAD

CaptainMusky wrote:

Guys! Are we avoiding the elephant in the room? Ek with 6 PPG this year where he had 1 in his career before this season? Stonehands is a PP juggernaut.

we’ll this year he’s actually getting pp1 time…

Colorado is heating up. They have dropped seven goals on opponents three games in a row. First the Flyers then the Rangers and last night on Detroit. I think we all know anything the Wild are going to do this year they will have to go through the Avalanche and or Blues. Kuemper is actually playing fairly well but he’s not a deep playoff Cup type goalie. Lawton was speculating last night that Fluery could wind up there. God I hope not.

We have a seven point cushion on Colorado right now with Colorado having two games in hand. A couple game stumble by the Wild and Colorado could be right there and the Blues not far behind and the Preds are in the mix too. Yes we are playing extremely well and rolling up the points but objects in our mirror are closer than they appear.

Ice Cap wrote:

Colorado is heating up. They have dropped seven goals on opponents three games in a row. First the Flyers then the Rangers and last night on Detroit. I think we all know anything the Wild are going to do this year they will have to go through the Avalanche and or Blues. Kuemper is actually playing fairly well but he’s not a deep playoff Cup type goalie. Lawton was speculating last night that Fluery could wind up there. God I hope not.

We have a seven point cushion on Colorado right now with Colorado having two games in hand. A couple game stumble by the Wild and Colorado could be right there and the Blues not far behind and the Preds are in the mix too. Yes we are playing extremely well and rolling up the points but objects in our mirror are closer than they appear.

I agree Colorado is getting their groove back, not sure how Colorado can get Fleury under their cap without some BS LTIR games…They also dont have a 1st or 2nd round draft pick this year which would be needed… I think the Oilers will get Fleury before the deadline…

Ripjiggen wrote:

I think someone has hijacked grouse account. His post are all way to positive to be the actual grouse.

CaptainMusky wrote:

LMAO I was sorta thinking the same thing. He’s not wrong alot telling it like it is but it’s funny. Perhaps he’s not drinking famous grouse anymore?

I’ll have you both know, that I’m descended from a family of pure Bohemian ancestry and, of course, as with all eastern Europeans, we are not exactly known for our sunny optimism. So I’m not sure what got into me in the above posts. However…

Most of us also have the uniquely Bohemian gift of being able to see bad sh!t before it happens. Really! My ancestors had so much bad sh!t happen to them in that part of the world, that through the eons they developed the ability to actually SEE it coming. You sunny, bright, cheerful Germans, Scandanavians, etc, etc, look at a situation and hope it might go right. I see where it will all go wrong.

So stay tuned. If it’s all going to go wrong for the Wild, you’ll hear it from me first.

Famous Grouse and Becherovka, neither shall pass my lips. I don’t do blended scotch and as for Becherovka, well, I don’t care how Czech it is. That sh!t’ll kill ya.

In likely his last Swedish Elite league game before starting practice with Sweden’s WJC team, goalie Jesper Wallstedt stopped 38/39 shots in a 2-1 shootout loss, the guy never gets more than 1-2 goal support… his numbers (1.80 gaa, 92+ sv%) are insane for an 18/19 year old, he’ll likely sign with the Wild at the end of this year and start in Iowa next year.

Long ways to go boys, just enjoy them ( and their commercials)
I figure as long as they’re having fun why shouldn’t I?
On a more serious note 9:30pm for a saturday game?!!?!?! I don’t care WHERE you’re playing!!!

Meh game last night, I usually don’t complain about the refs, but wow those guys were terrible!

I learned one new thing last night, Brandon Duhaime is truly crazy! Dude almost did a Hanson Bros stick decapitation when Lemieux skated along the Wild bench after his goal… I thought back to the clip of him screaming his head off from the bench when Foligno fought Simmonds in the leafs game… I was wondering wtf is he doing, now it makes sense, he’s just crazy!

Quick sub24 hour turnaround against the Golden Knights today… Did Brodin get hurt in practice? Don’t remember him leaving during the San Jose game..

I was wondering what happened to Brodin don’t remember anything either. Out again today. Game was sloppy last night. When have you seen Kaprizov not handle a pass from zucc?

As long as we beat the Vegas Golden Refs I’m willing to overlook last night

“Team in A box” goes DOWN tonite.
REffing was not stellar last night so we need to stay out of trouble tonight. I expect a full on effort tonite. Should be a fun game!

Lambos and O’Rourke make team Canada WJC team, Hunt would have as well but he got hurt blocking a shot in today’s final tryout scrimmage. Peart added to USA tryout camp, but USA is loaded at D so its unlikely he makes the team… That really sucks for Hunt, he’s the closest to the NHL of the 3 Canadiens, love the offense/sandpaper he brings!

Just making the tryout roster, let alone the actual final roster for Canada/USA means your elite for your age, so its safe to say the Wild’s Defense prospects are developing extremely well….

Games been everything I’ve expected so far. Not happy about some Vegas no-calls but we haven’t been able to do anything on our power plays, including a 5 on 3

Things don’t get easier with Carolina tomorrow night. And then the Panthers on Saturday and Buffalo sandwiched in between. Buffalo might be the most important game of the three as that’s a game they should clearly win. If they can steal one from Carolina or Florida great but wouldn’t be a surprising loss to either.
Vegas didn’t look the tightest either but still looked like the better team. If Eichel returns to form by the playoffs they are going to be even more difficult to beat than last year.

Sloppy with the puck last night. Gave up far to many odd man rushes. I stopped tracking how many pucks Dumba and KK lost. KK seems to be throwing a lot more blind passes lately and they are not working out they usually wind up going the other way. Rest of the team was not looking much better. It wasn’t as close as the score.

Things are getting tighter quickly. Nashville and the Blues are four points back and Colorado five. That New Years game at Target Field with the Blues is shaping up to be a more than just a Winter Classic game it’s going to have some real meat on the bone.

I have a feeling Deano won’t be nice at practice today, but with 4 games in 6 nights and flying home from Vegas, maybe they won’t even have practice today?

They had chances to tie or win both games so i’m not fazed by the losses…if there’s anything they truly need to get better at it’s taking less penalties…

I’m okay losing a couple games here and there. They are good reminders of who this team really is. Sure they can score with a lot of teams, but when they play the really skilled teams they need to tighten things up.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

Lambos and O’Rourke make team Canada WJC team, Hunt would have as well but he got hurt blocking a shot in today’s final tryout scrimmage. Peart added to USA tryout camp, but USA is loaded at D so its unlikely he makes the team… That really sucks for Hunt, he’s the closest to the NHL of the 3 Canadiens, love the offense/sandpaper he brings!

Just making the tryout roster, let alone the actual final roster for Canada/USA means your elite for your age, so its safe to say the Wild’s Defense prospects are developing extremely well….

Some scout’s notes on the Wild prospects from the tourney. Also included is Connor Bedard because he’s freaking 16 and might be Canada’s best forward. I really screwed up not naming any of my kids Connor…

Really exciting pipeline the Wild have quickly developed. Cupboards are no longer bare and we will need to use them in the coming years for sure.

For those with an Athletic subscription, there’s an interesting article from Cory Pronman on how the SKA organization in the KHL is building itself out as a competitor to the NHL for top young talent. The article focuses on Matiev Mitchkov (The projected top pick in the already legendary draft of 2023) and how SKA locked him up with a 6 year contract at age 16 and how that might effect where he’s drafted. They mention Kaprizov several times in how he was locked up for several years as well and thus delayed his NHL debut and allowed him to sign his huge deal so early…

It also mentioned how players who are likely to leave for the NHL the following season are typically given diminished roles and icetime because SKA wants to then focus on the players staying, this is EXACTLY what’s happening to Khusnidinov this year….

JoeMX1825 wrote:

It also mentioned how players who are likely to leave for the NHL the following season are typically given diminished roles and icetime because SKA wants to then focus on the players staying, this is EXACTLY what’s happening to Khusnidinov this year….

I was thinking that is what was happening to him. Havent heard much about him lately. I did see he made the Russian WJC Team. Wheeler said there were quite a few Russian players who play in North America that were snubbed and predicted that they would finish 3rd in their group because of it. Interesting.

CaptainMusky wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
It also mentioned how players who are likely to leave for the NHL the following season are typically given diminished roles and icetime because SKA wants to then focus on the players staying, this is EXACTLY what’s happening to Khusnidinov this year….

I was thinking that is what was happening to him. Havent heard much about him lately. I did see he made the Russian WJC Team. Wheeler said there were quite a few Russian players who play in North America that were snubbed and predicted that they would finish 3rd in their group because of it. Interesting.

The Russian WJC team has 9 (NINE!!!) skaters from SKA plus their starting goalie, Askarov.

To be fair, Kustnutdinov started the season getting tons of playing time until SKA signed 3 players out of the NHL that all happened to play the same position as Khusnutdinov, left shot right wing. So it’s tough to argue them giving established veterans more playing time than a 19 year old. If anything he should be sent to their VHL team to finish the season.

If it results in him getting pissed off and for sure signing with the Wild in April when the KHL season ends then great. Dont want any contract drama with Russian players anymore

CaptainMusky wrote:

Really exciting pipeline the Wild have quickly developed. Cupboards are no longer bare and we will need to use them in the coming years for sure.

Or at the deadline this year.

ESPN giving the Wild some love

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/32860406/the-case-minnesota-wild-top-stanley-cup-contender

Does anyone ever think WHAT IF Kaprizov signed with the Wild in the summer of 2017? Fletcher, Bruce, Parise, and Suter might all still be around and pretty sure the team would look vastly different!

But then I also think WHAT IF George McPhee was smarter and accepted Kaprizov + Haula instead of Tuch + Haula. The Wild might have folded as an organization if KK was tearing it up in Vegas right now.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

For those with an Athletic subscription, there’s an interesting article from Cory Pronman on how the SKA organization in the KHL is building itself out as a competitor to the NHL for top young talent. The article focuses on Matiev Mitchkov (The projected top pick in the already legendary draft of 2023) and how SKA locked him up with a 6 year contract at age 16 and how that might effect where he’s drafted. They mention Kaprizov several times in how he was locked up for several years as well and thus delayed his NHL debut and allowed him to sign his huge deal so early…

It also mentioned how players who are likely to leave for the NHL the following season are typically given diminished roles and icetime because SKA wants to then focus on the players staying, this is EXACTLY what’s happening to Khusnidinov this year….

I don’t follow the KHL much and have not yet read the article. But my first reaction is I don’t see the problem. If the KHL wants to bill itself out as league to it’s self rather than just a farm league to be cannabalized by the NHL let them have at it.

Rewarding players with ice time who are willing to show loyalty to that league over others who do not only makes sense for them. However they are most likely shooting themselves in the foot as I don’t see many of the top talent staying in the KHL when all the money is in the NHL. This will stop when 16 year olds refuse to sign long contracts. But the KHL has the right to make their own decisions on how they want things to run.

My point was that the KHL was always thought of as a rag-tag league and providing players with a “coach” level experiance vs the NHL’s 1st class…There have been numerous former KHL players who’ve told horror stories of cross country train travel, cheap hotels and sub-US high school level facilities to play/practice in..The KHL has a couple of bigtime franchises that get all the good press (SKA & CSKA) because they are based out of the major cities in Russia and bankrolled by oligarchs, you look at the rest of the league and they have nowhere near the same deep pockets…

SKA is now trying to break those stereotypes and putting huge $ towards facilities and salaries to retain the top Russian talent and provide a good alternative to the NHL…

I’m not hating on them for trying, just pointing out that there’s been a recent shift to make KHL life alot better for the players at least in the major markets…

reminder that tonight’s game is viewable on ESPN+ only

JoeMX1825 wrote:

reminder that tonight’s game is viewable on ESPN+ only

I just bought a new 70″ tv a couple weeks ago. Since it was a smartv I figured I could just “push a button” and watch ESPN+ LOL. Nope. Had to plug in my Roku last night to make sure I could get in.
You guys are in luck, Hextall is doing the game I think.

Russians have always despised the AHL and they still do. You don’t see many Russians playing on 4th lines in the NHL either. The Russians that do play in the AHL or as fringe NHLers are the ones that played in the CHL or other North American juniors.

Tough to blame them for that when they have the KHL available where they can be closer to home, make more money, and have equivalent competition.

CaptainMusky wrote:

You guys are in luck, Hextall is doing the game I think.

Some of the ESPN+ exclusive games have a Spanish broadcast option… I may listen to that tonight lol