Let's Meet: Jed Ortmeyer

With Kyle Brodziak ill and Mikko Koivu broken, the Wild were forced to call up another center. If anyone (ahem, me) was questioning why the Wild may want to trade for a center, I guess this will answer it. Ortmeyer has a very short window of time to prove he can hack it. Getting called up in the thick of a playoff race can't be easy, yet he best be able to do it.

With Ortmeyer coming up for his first action with Wild, we offer you this "Let's Meet" post so you at least have a small idea who the guy is and where he came from. Having been around the NHL since the 2003-04 season, Ortmeyer is truly a role player.

What that role is? After the jump.

First off, who is this guy?

Jed Ortmeyer

#40 / Right Wing / Minnesota Wild

Height: 6-0

Weight: 200

Born: Sep 03, 1978

Apparently he is a fan of silly faces, so that's good. He has good size, and is not incredibly old... at least, he is only six months older than me, so... 

He is an Amrican, if that helps anyone like him more, and played college hockey for Michigan. That, of course, makes him dead to Nathan and most of the readers of this site, but Michigan is a powerhouse NCAA squad, and he played fairly decent hockey for them.

Here are his stats for the length of his measured hockey career:

Nothing jumping off the page at us, screaming SAVIOR! SAVIOR! Although, he seems to have staying power. He is consistent at every level he has played at, and the Wild need someone who can jump in and just play solid defensive hockey. Sounds like a match, at least for now.

We saw Ortmeyer get drilled by Cal Clutterbuck in the Walk today, so here are some videos of him NOT being schooled:

Nice open ice check on Matt Hendricks. Good to see he could hit in college. What else you got?

How about that? Ortmeyer have a history with everyone in the locker room, or what?

Of course, the second video probably just endears Ortmeyer to fans in Minnesota, and at least one in Houston. Gets rocked by Clutterbuck, fights Cam Barker, currently plays for the Aeros? Yeah. Ms. Conduct is a fan.

If Wild fans are expecting Ortmeyer to come up and suddenly turn into a goal scoring forward, they are going to be sorely disappointed. Think John Madden, not Mikko Koivu. Think Eric Nystrom, not Matt Cullen. He is, however, the best they have in the situation they are in. 

Let's hope their best option is good enough. Two AHL centers in the lineup tonight. Couple rookie d-men, too. Should be interesting to see how it goes. Todd Richards can't really plow Madden and Cullen into the ground either. With a game tomorrow, the minutes need to be balanced.

Should be fun.