Minnesota Wild 10 Game Update

After about 2 weeks of watching the Wild it's safe to say things have changed since last year. The strength of the team is still in the defense, but a lot of players have stepped up to bring a little more explosiveness to the offense. I still have major concerns about the team, but if anything they are a lot of fun to watch this year, and I am excited to see what they are able to put together.

Kirill Kaprizov is a legitimate star for this team. Before the season started my initial thoughts about him revolved around him being a goal scorer. More of a player that would be able to make a pretty deke and pick any corner he wanted, which he definitely has the ability to do. He has 8 points in 10 games, but only 2 of those points are from goals. Although 2 goals is nothing to be ashamed about, it's just not what I expected. What has been more impressive to start the season with him is how hard and fast he is skating at all times. Kaprizov never slows down and is always skating at 100%. He makes strong moves around players before just racing past them and making smart plays. He digs in the corners and even lays the body when given the chance. He's been fancy a couple of times, such as when he attempted a between the legs shot against San Jose, and even though he did not score it was exciting just to see him try it. I can't remember the last time the Wild had a player that was talented and confident enough to try something like that. He's been thrilling to watch, and as long as the effort remains I know the goals will come flooding eventually.

Joel Eriksson Ek (JEE), Kevin Fiala, and Jordan Greenway have been the other main offensive contributors. The line with JEE, Greenway, and Marcus Foligno have been the best line on the team in my opinion. It seems that the three of them are aware of everything around them at all times as well as putting pressure on the puck consistently. Greenway and JEE are developing into two of the best players on the team, and it shows as the two of them are the team leaders in points with 10 and 9 respectively. Fiala has been fantastic to start the season as well, although he missed a couple games, and will miss one more due to a suspension. A lot of the other forwards have seemed to step into lower roles. Parise is not "the guy" anymore, but is still a gritty player that is always in the corners. Marcus Johansson is not an elite talent that will put up 20 goals like he did years ago, but he makes plays when he needs to. Nick Bjugstad has even stepped up to be a #1 center on the team. Center is a weaker spot within the forwards, but Bjugstad has filled in nicely, as well as Nick Bonino winning a lot of faceoffs. All together the forwards are taking a step in the right direction. The Wild are developing players nicely, and it has been a lot of fun to watch the younger players step up.

As I said, the strength of this team is still found in their defense. Jared Spurgeon, Ryan Suter, and Jonas Brodin are still great shut down defenseman, and all of them have made some amazing plays to shut down opposing offenses. Matt Dumba is still more of an offensive defenseman with a huge shot, but when paired with Brodin they make a great tandem. Ian Cole was acquired about a week ago and has played nicely with Carson Soucy. Although the two of them don't see as much ice time as the first four, they do their job when they need to. They all do a great job limiting scoring chances, and have only given up more than 3 goals twice this season. Defense isn't as entertaining to watch as offense, but they do a great job that leads to more offensive chances.

Cam Talbot has been sturdy between the pipes, and thrives on making the first save. He doesn't make a lot of flashy saves, and gives up a lot of rebounds, but that is where the defense is able to bail him out. They do an excellent job of clearing pucks most of the time, which allows him to focus on just getting in front of the puck. I was skeptical of the signing when I first saw it, but so far it has played out pretty well. Kaapo Kahkonen has been decent as well, although slightly more average I'd have to say. I think he has been and will be a good backup, most likely replacing Alex Stalock. I wouldn't be surprised if Stalock was traded at some point this season or in the following off season. Kahkonen was in goal for both of the games that the Wild gave up more than 3 goals, and Talbot has yet to allow more than 3 in any game. I think the goaltenders have been solid, but they will need to continue to rely on good defensive play if the Wild want to continue winning.

The biggest problem was the Wild as of right now is the power play. The Wild are very bad with a man advantage. They have 2 power play goals on 39 chances, giving them the lowest percentage in the league with 5.1. They rank 7th in the league on the penalty kill, but they can't convert when they are given the chance to. Good hockey teams capitalize when their opponents make mistakes, especially when considering penalties. I think in order for the team to take the next step they need to start converting on the chances they are given. If we do even a little better on the power play we can start to make a lot of our games multiple goal leads instead of one goal leads.

My other concern with the Wild so far has been the way they seem to play down to their opponents level. The Kings, Sharks, and Ducks are not good hockey teams and they should be able to beat them more more ease than they did if they want to be considered a good team. Their first test against a true playoff team came Saturday against the Avalanche where they lost 5-1 and it wasn't pretty. My hope is that they take that game as an eye opener to the level they need to compete at if they want to make a playoff run. Signs are pointing in the right direction after they rallied to beat the Avs today in overtime. If they can play more games like they did today, I think they will be able to compete not only for a playoff spot but for the division title.

As the Wild stand now, they are 6-4-0 with 12 points that puts them 1 point outside of first in the division. They rank tied for 6th in the league in terms of points, although their goal differential is smack dab in the middle at 16th. I think this team is right on the edge of being a competitor. Getting over that edge could come from sustained efforts like the one they showed against the Avs tonight, or it could come from the return of key players off the injury list. Mat Zuccarello and Marco Rossi aren't looking good for this season, but Dumba, Fiala, Foligno, and Johansson will all be back soon hopefully. I have a lot of hope for this team, especially with Kaprizov keeps playing the way he has been.

As always with cautious optimism, go Wild!