Where do the Wild finish in 2011-2012?
by ADN on Jul 23, 2011 11:20 AM CDT
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PrintI know we've had this discussion a lot over the past month on the Heatley/Setoguchi threads, but I wanted to focus all the opinions into one thread to get a solid idea of where the Wild should/will finish. Only Rule: NO HOMERS. Please provide some well thought out opinions, not "MINNESOTA STATE OF HOCKEY TAKING THE CUP PARISE IS THE MISSING PIECE" type sentiments. :)
Editor's note: ADN asks a great question. Where do you think the Wild finish next season. We have added a poll to the original post, but please leave your thoughts about why you voted the way you did in the comment section. With the addition of the Minnesota born players through the draft and signings, this is clearly the best team the Wild have ever had... right? ADN's thoughts after the jump.
I'll break the team down by basic positions, and examine some of the key players that need to be successful as well as some of the possible weak-links.
Forwards
It's no secret that the Wild improved greatly in this area. Dany Heatley, Devin Setoguchi, and Darroll Powe are the trio of newcomers the Wild are very excited about. Each player will shore up an area of weakness that the Wild of last year possessed. Heatley brings first line goal scoring talent, Setoguchi brings speed and a shoot first mentality, and Powe brings speed and a high intensity game.
Here is what I think the lines will look like:
Pierre-Marc Bouchard - Mikko Koivu- Dany Heatley
Guillaume Latendresse - Matt Cullen - Devin Setoguchi
Darroll Powe - Kyle Brodziak - Cal Clutterbuck
Eric Nystrom - Cody Almond - Colton Gillies (I'll admit that this line could be absolutely wrong come October)
Other possible inclusions: Brad Staubitz, Casey Wellman, Jed Ortmeyer, Warren Peters
When I typed those out, some questions come to mind. The second line looks great on paper, but can we expect true second line production? There have been question marks surrounding Lats all offseason, and he could really be the weak link of this line. His injury and conditioning issues have been a problem this past year, and all Wild fans should hope he returns to his 2009-2010 form. Cullen is all a bit of a question mark, although not to the extent of Lats. Cullen had a fantastic start to the season but really fizzled as the season wore on. Was that the product of his mediocre linemates? Did he get worn down? What really happened? Both players will be key to the Wild's success, and so they'll both need to perform on a high level.
The 3rd line looks pretty good to me. A great energy line with Brodziak anchoring the middle. This could be a huge line for the Wild's success.
The 4th line is also a bit of a question mark, but that's because this line will be really affected by training camp. Almond, Wellman, Gillies, and a slew of other Houston hopefuls will be looking to crack the lineup. Who does HW think will surprise the fanbase and make it onto the opening day roster?
Defense
The biggest area of concern for the Wild. With Burns' departure, there were worries that the Wild would be really weak on the back end. Lundin's signing was good news, and he's a great add to the defense, but there are still some issues that Lundin doesn't solve. Let's take a look at possible pairings:
Marke Zidlicky - Greg Zanon
Nick Schultz - Mike Lundin
Clayton Stoner - Jared Spurgeon
Other possible inclusions: Marco Scandella, Justin Falk, Drew Bagnall, Nate Prosser
The lack of puck-movers could be a theme again this upcoming season. Zids, Spurgeon, and Scandella are the Wild dmen with the most puck moving potential, and I think Lundin also has some skills in that area. That being said, this corps of defensemen are going to rely on their positioning to find success. Zanon, Schultz, Lundin, and Spurgeon all possess great positioning. This could be really positive, as good positioning will give a little bit more offensive freedom to the forwards. However, the Wild will need to find a bit of a mean-streak with one of their defensemen. Stoner, Falk, and Bagnall all have the size to be the players to throw their weight around, but all of them have inconsistencies in their physical and overall game. Defensive toughness, as well as puckmoving, will be areas the Wild will need to shore up for a successful season.
I think some key players here are Spurgeon, Scandella, and Stoner. Spurgeon just needs to have a repeat of last year. Everybody is pulling for him, and he'll be a big part of the Wild if he can continue his outstanding play. Scandella can be that true puck-mover that can cushion the blow of Burn's departure. And Stoner will have to bring the physicality this year, and he'll be counted on for that reason.
Goaltending
Ahhh, this is a relaxing subject. The Wild have great depth here, and this is a topic I don't really need to discuss much. Backstrom. Harding. Hackett. Kuemper. Endras. 'Nuff said.
So what can we take from this?
The Wild aren't looking too bad.
Defense is obviously the limiting factor, but how much will they hold the Wild back? In my opinion, if they can focus on smart positioning and overall responsible play, they won't set the Wild back much at all. Physicality could be a huge problem, but with strong coaching that problem can be fixed (to an extent).
Depth is also a bit of a concern, but there's a lot of promising Aeros that could fill the gaps very nicely if injuries arise (which they certainly will).
Dr. ADN's Diagnosis
The Wild will finish anywhere from 6th-10th in the West. There are too many variables with this team to be sure about the playoffs, but the talent and team structure is there to make a solid playoff team.
So after that long post, what do you all think? Where will the Wild finish, and why will they finish there?
The opinions posted here are not those of Hockey Wilderness
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I say 10th in the West
Couple reasons why I’m not ready to buy this team as playoff ready:
1) New coach, new system, new adjustment period. The squad had a terrible time switching styles two years ago. While I don’t believe that the results will be as bad, I still think there is going to be some growing pains before Yeo’s system is fully understood.
2) Lack of depth, especially up the middle. When Koivu went down, well, the team did to. Would that happen again? What if Heatley gets injured? PMB with another concussion? Lats comes back unmotivated and not ready? Even if just one of these scenarios takes effect, there would be a huge ripple felt through the entire organization. While Fletch has done a great job of adding pieces for the future, we’re still not at that future. The prospects now aren’t exactly ready to shoulder the load. Plus, the Wild have had some serious injury problems the last couple years, and I’m taking that into account. Depth could really be an issue if even one top-line player gets shelved for an extended period of time.
3) The defense. While I do believe the veteran presence of Zanon and Schultz will help, there will still be questions with the inexperience of the bunch. Can Spurgeon actually improve on last season, or will he go through a sophomore slump? Will Scandella challenge for a spot, or will he still need more AHL time? Can Falk finally play like the hulking monster he is? How much is Zidlicky breaking down? This will be the major area of concern for me as I watch this year unfold.
I still say an improvement over last year, but not enough to get back into the postseason. 10th (which is where I had them pegged last year) is about where I expect the Wild to finish. They’ll show improvement, but still missing a few pieces and experience to keep playing after 82 games.
I definitely agree with #3
so many questions with the defense.
What can we expect out of Lats this season though? He’s a huge wild card. This is a contract year for him though, so he’ll have a bit of motivation to get in shape and be what we expect him to be (even if it’s not for the team). If he does come to camp in condition and healthy, he and Seto will be fun to watch.
Also, what do you expect out of Cullen? He hasn’t been talked about too often and I want to see what people expect out of him this year.
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6th-10th
I agree that 6th to 10th is likely, probably playoffs in my mind. The thing that makes me think we will make the playoffs is the NW is pretty bad. Cal, Edm, and Col all figure to be not very good. That’s a lot of games against bad opponents. I don’t have illusions of a long run, but i’m fairly confident we are atleast in the top half of the West this year.
The weakness of the NW division (if that even will be a division come October) would be a huge help to the Wild in the quest for the playoffs. The Wild just have to avoid be avoid being one of those weak teams as well!
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The Northwest was really bad last year, and that didn’t make a difference.
The Wild had the 2nd best in-division record behind Vancouver, but that didn’t make a difference.
Just because the NW is a poor division doesn’t mean that it will help the Wild. Since the team probably won’t challenge for a division title, winning against the West in general is important, and the Wild struggle against a lot of Western teams. San Jose, L.A., and Dallas own the Wild. Phoenix and Anaheim play the Wild tough. The current Chicago and Detroit crush Minnesota. Columbus is a tough opponent. Nashville and St. Louis is always a good matchup.
I think how the Wild play the West is more important than the divisional games.
I wasn’t stating that the games against the West are not important. But as the Wild got better(we think and hope) really the only powerhouse in our division is Vancouver, which as you know you play more games against your division opponents. Out West, San Jose, LA, Anaheim, even Phoenix to an extent will be beating up on eachother all season. Same goes for Detroit, Chicago and Nashville. Hell maybe even Colombus. Our division is by far the weakest, meaning we have more games against weaker opponents.
I get your argument. I was just replying that the team did beat up on the Northwest last year, but that didn’t amount to jack. The Wild don’t play the rest of the Western Conference all that well, which is part of the reason why they missed the postseason. Going from 13th to 8th is going to take more than just a weak division.
by JDesthubert on Jul 23, 2011 11:25 PM CDT up reply actions
Plus, how much worse could the Northwest be than last year? Edmonton and Colorado were the worst two teams in the NHL last year, and the Wild, Oilers, and Avs were the worst 3 teams in the West.
I don’t think it’s actually possible for the NW to be worse this year, so just assuming that the team is going get into the playoffs based on the division is a little premature.
by JDesthubert on Jul 23, 2011 11:28 PM CDT up reply actions
Actually
the Wild didn’t do that poorly against the West last year when compared with Nashville, Anaheim, LA, and Chicago (all playoff teams; Wild was only 4 points behind these teams with regards to West records). That’s still not good enough, but a largely weak division seems to have contributed to the Wild’s “decent” record with the West.
A big problem was our play against the East. We were way off what those above teams accomplished in the East (closest team was within 7 points, farthest was 10 points, a considerable difference considering how few games are played against Eastern teams).
Who knows though? Everything is speculation at this point, especially for Wild fans that have a very different looking team from last year.
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I think this will be a great season
To watch for story lines that will continue to develop two-three years from now. I can with all honesty say that this team is headed in the right direction and we should see an actual start to the “uptempo Wild hockey” we were promised two years ago. I’m taking this season as the time to “set the table”, get a few of our younger guys valuable experience, especially on defense. Two years from now I am 100% confident we will be a playoff team after learning the new system, coach and with our prospects moving up. Next year, I’d wager it was 50/50. If we make it, great. If we don’t I guess I won’t feel let down because I’m not expecting this team to make that jump quite yet.
6-10th
Dead-on. Many ’’ifs’’ to tip the balance once again, but I do think we have a strong chance to make the playoffs, providing injuries don’t get in the way too much. We were 5th in the West at one point before losing Koivu, and this time, I believe we have a coach who can rally the troops when needed. It should be a damn interesting season at the very least.
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You’ve gotta figure that, after all the damn injuries the past few years, the hockey gods will balance the cosmos a little and allow the Wild to get back to league average man-games lost :)
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In my opinion there is a slight drop off after Canucks, Sharks, Hawks, Wings, Ducks, Predators and Kings. The rest of the teams all have huge question marks coming into the season. Anywhere from 8th-13th is my guess, some teams may suprise like the Jackets, Avs, Wild! and the Blues.
I think 7-9th
is what we can expect. Growing pains of a new system will be the biggest factor in the first half of the season. We are also expecting the new players to mesh with existing ones, which doesn’t always happen. Between Bouchard and Koivu dishing pucks and Heatley, Gucci, and Gui putting them in we will have plenty of goals to win games, theoretically. Even Clutterbuck may contribute offensively again. Our defense may not be great, but like Detroit, TB, and Anaheim, we don’t have to have the greatest GA/G to make the playoffs as long as we can score.
Clutterbuck is the player that will probably replace Lats (if he needs replacing) on the second line, so he could very well be a big offensive contributor. He’s shown he’s willing to shoot, and he shoots it pretty well.
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Maybe in a pinch, but I doubt that Clutter will be a regular on a second line.
If Lats needs replacing, I look to see Wellman get an audition as the left winger on the second scoring line.
by Krotz the Wall on Jul 25, 2011 8:27 AM CDT up reply actions
This
And if given the chance, hopefully Wellman can be that guy to give us another scoring option.
I didn’t think of Wellman! He seems like he could be a good fit for the 2nd line, and this would fit in with the Wild’s development timeline.
I still think Clutterbuck wouldn’t be a bad person to have on the 2nd line from time to time, but it’s always good to have options.
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Agree with 6th-10th
In respect to the forwards, I think the 2nd line is where the most questions arise. Will Lats be able to regain his goal scoring form? Will he be able to do it without the playmaker Havlat? That I think is going to be the biggest struggle. Seeing how Seto and Lats’ chemistry develops. But I think, if it is not working, switching Butch and Seto could happen. That will give Lats the playmaker he needs to get him the puck in the right spot. And Seto and Heater want to play together, so that might work. But I would start with Butch-Koivu-Heater and Seto-Cullen-Lats to start the year. Then switch things up if its not working. As for the defense, I like that we seem to have very sound, smart positional players. But I am a little worried about the size and physicality with Stoner being the only real “physical” defenseman. Though Zanon is no slouch. I think the Lundin pick up was a stroke of genius and was the player I wanted Fletch to pick up on the cheap for some experience. I think they sneak into the playoffs and go from their. But I would not be surprised to see them just miss out again while they are learning the system and developing chemistry. With the West being so up in the air, anything is possible. I’m definitely excited to see what the results will be!!! Haven’t been this excited in a while…
Theoretically
having Seto on the first line and Butch on the second would work better, but that all really hinges on Lats. If Lats becomes a go-to goal scorer on the 2nd line, Butch would be a nice complement to feed him pucks while Seto could provide speed and (more) shooting to the 1st line. If Lats comes out like bum, then it’d be better to have Seto on that line. Seto’s speed with Cullen’s speed will/would be awesome to watch.
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I have a good feeling about this coming season.
I agree with the prediction of 6-10th, but I’m leaning towards 7th or 8th. Don’t know why, that’s just what I am thinking.
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5th-8th No doubt.
If you add up the number of goals on average for the players on the current depth chart you would get around 2.7-2.8 goals scored a game(I used lower estimates i.e. 30 goals Heatley 20 for Koivu 15 PMB.), which is a big step up from the 2.48 from last season. I think this team will bring more energy and consistency than the team of last year and after the Wild catching a slew of injuries the past two years I would bet they are going to be healthier too. This is a young team that is building up to its prime there is no way they will finish worse than last year, which was close to a playoff berth with a month and a half left in the season. If you look around a lot of the teams that were on the bubble did not improve so this alone with the goal increase expected with the names of Heatley, Setoguchi, and Latendresse in the line-up should make us ask the question how far up the standings will the Wild finish?
Between 6-10 is the obvious assumption...
But with so many possible negatives, injuries on the backside, forwards gelling with each other, and a new coach, how does all that turn out? Then at the same time, all of those supposed negatives could turn out to be something we can not even imagine, Koivu has never had the linemates he is gonna have this year, not even close in his entire career and what if they turn out to be a dare I say, "San Jose’esque " line in terms of production, and I know nothing about Yeo, but after watching “BW” the other week he seems like an upgrade to say the least. So I would say anywhere from the cellar,(Everyone gets hurt & Heatley bails midway through the season) or if everything goes well why not 4th or even challenge for the division! Anything can happen, and that is really exciting to me, and I have not been excited since we won the division. P.S. Parise on the first line with Koivu & Heatley would be sick! Haha. Good post as well!
by "Gophers Eat Badgers" on Jul 22, 2011 9:54 PM CDT reply actions
Cool! Front page!
I especially liked the “Dr. ADN’s Diagnosis” edit :D
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1ST PLACE, PRESIDENT'S TROPHY
2012 STANLEY CUP CHAMPS BABY!!!! WOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
……..
….Oh wait, no homer predictions?
Probably 6th-8th in the West then…
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My 2 cents
I honestly think the Wild will be anywhere from 7th to 9th. We can all agree we have two new shooters to play with, Lats is in his contract year again, and our shutdown line should leave other teams needing the ice baths. I am leaning towards 7th or 8th spot in the West. That is mostly based on the same ifs and the fact when healthy this team seems to finally have some talent.
Before I saw the poll my thought was 7-10.
I decided to take the cynical side of that and say 9-10. Between the awfulness that is the Oilers, Flames and Avs we should be able to scoop up points easily, if we continue our Eastern Conference “dominance” and are able to snag a point for every other game we play we should be well on our way to playoffs.
BUT, the addition by subtraction of Barker might be enough to counteract the loss of Burns. I’m hoping that the Calder Cup run helps our youngsters that will be playing in the NHL this year get some chemistry and “winning attitude”.
Ideally, I see us making the WC Finals and losing (again) after making a decent deadline deal that shifts away some talent/draft picks, etc.
Realistically, I see us making the Playoffs and losing in 6 games.
Cynically, I see us getting another top 10 draft pick to try and load up one more time.
2012-2013 is our year, not this one.
Cheering for inconsistent, undisciplined teams [Twins, Wild, Packers, Hawkeyes] since 1989. "False Hope is better than No Hope"
2012-2013 is our year, not this one.
Truth. But they will be improved. And 2012-13 will be the start of something good. Will take a couple years to get to rooks up and involved and to their potential. But that is the mark, yes.
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9-11
We should be a more balanced and offensive team this year. We are an playoff team on paper, but we are just changing too many pieces at one time, for it to go perfectly smooth. By mid November we will have people calling Heatley, or maybe Koivu crap and a bust. They will probably start out slow because, they are learning a new system, with new teammates who will also no know what’s going on, because they are learning a new system too. The Northwest should be better this year. Colorado and Edmonton are loaded with young talent and some of those guys should start breaking out, I for one am really happy that we will be shifting out of this Division in a year, it’s gonna be pretty good. we will have an exciting year but once again, we will fall short by 2-8 points and just miss the playoffs again.
Playoffs
I’m going to pull off a Joe Namath here and GARUNTEE a playoff berth this year. I really feel confident in Setoguchi and Heatley and think Koivue and Bouchard will get them the goals they need to get this team back into the playoffs. 6th, 7th or 8th is my bet.
Ok
If everyone remains healthy, here’s how I see things playing out. The Wild will finish second in the division but somewhere in the 6-8 range in the conference. There are just too many good teams in the West. As far as lines and d-pairings:
Bouchard-Koivu-Heatley
Lats-Cullen-Seto
Powe-Brodziak-Clutter
Nystrom (shudder)-Almond- Gillies
extra-Staubitz
I think Wellman starts with the Aeros and does well and replaces either Lats or Cullen due to injury or ineffectiveness. Personally, I would like to see Wellman as Seto’s pivot since they are both young and can build some chemistry together but I understand that we need to start with Cullen there first and go from there.
Zanon-Zidlicky
Shultz-Scandella
Spurgeon-Lundin
extra-Stoner
Obviously Zidlicky will get hurt again and the pairings will be changed to:
Schultz-Scandella
Zanon-Stoner
Spurgeon-Lundin
extra-Bagnall
I’d say keep Falk and Prosser in the minors all year so they get the premium minutes down there and give Scandella the full-time gig up here because I think he has that much talent and he needs to be given the opportunity now.
I agree with everything you said...
But Spurgeon and Lundin together makes me nervous. Only cause of the fact that neither of them have any size or any sort of physical presence. Putting them together could work, only because they both seem to be pretty smart and sound defensively. But the lack of physicality makes me a little nervous. I would like to see a Stoner/Zanon with each of them and that might make a better all around defense. But who knows how things are going to work out.
Isn't Lundin like 6'2"?
That’s enough size, just need to use it.
While Lundin is 6’2", he recorded 25 hits in 69 games last year, so there should be a concern about his lack of physicality. Just because he’s big doesn’t mean he is necessarily going to “use it”. The fans have already seen this with Falk. Hopefully someone finally clues Lundin in that he’s a big dude, but we’ll just have to wait and see how the players and the season unfold.
He does not play like a 6 footer though
I’ve watched him a few times in Tampa and I am kind of surprised that he is that big. He is slick and plays like spurgeon on the ice, so he does offer more than Falk did. Just not the physicality, but maybe he can step it up this year.
after looking at your defensive pairings and pondering this issue for some time
it’s becoming more apparent to me that the Wild need to give Scandella a big chance to step up. He has a lot of the tools that the Wild need in a dman. If he brings his A-game, the Wild will be a pretty dangerous team.
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I can’t see Zanon going #1 over Schultz. Nick Schultz makes a better first pass and has more offensive talent than Zanon.
Also, I can’t see Scandella having the inside track over Stoner. Stoner was called up earlier, further along in his development, and earned his stripes last year. Considering the relative inexperience on the blueline, I would say the Wild go with the safe defenseman in Stoner first. The Wild aren’t exactly in a win-now situation, so having Scandella come up may be hasty. If he can play #1 minutes and go #1 on the powerplay, I would say stay in Houston for one more year. Plus, I would love to see Scandella and Falk as a pairing later on for the Wild. A smooth skating, puck-moving defenseman paired with a stay-at-home, power defensman. I think the pairing has a lot of potential.
How I see the defense panning out:
Schultz – Zidlicky
Zanon – Spurgeon
Stoner – Lundin
Extra – Bagnall
I listed Bagnall as the extra for a couple reasons:
1) He lacks the major offensive and defensive upside that requires full ice time
2) His game is simple enough that days off won’t effect his overall play
3) On the list of guys who need developed for the future (either in the NHL or AHL), Bagnall isn’t exactly high on that list
I personally don’t think that Zidlicky and Zanon are going to get split up. Splitting them up may look good on paper, but they’ve played a lot of minutes together in the past 2 years (Zidlicky has spent 77% and 71% of his 5v5 ice time with Zanon in that time frame).
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While your argument is valid, I can’t see or support having Zanon as a top-pair defensman. Considering his age, upside, and current ability, he’s really a 3rd-pair defensman.
I believe that since Zanon and Schultz play a simple, defense-first game, they are interchangeable with each other. Both Schultz and Zanon played with an offensive-defensman who was known to make defensive blunders (Burns and Zidlicky).
In addition, while Zidlicky has an average of 74% of his is ice time with Zanon, the percentage is totally different when looking at it through Zanon’s eyes. 36 games were spent with Zids out of the lineup, so I know that Zanon can play with someone else besides Zidlicky. Now, if Zids can ONLY play with Zanon, then he’s about as useless as Marty Havlat.
While I do understand the argument that they’ve worked together in the past, I’m still not sold that they have to remain defensive partners. This isn’t marriage we’re talking about. This is the NHL, it’s a business, and it’s results oriented. Schultz has better career numbers, is a better overall defender, and he has earned the #1 pair.
The guys playing need to be flexible enough to mesh with other players, or they are way too one-dimensional and deserve to be driven out with the same annoyance as Havlat.
I think our D is pretty interchangable
But I would still keep Z squared together. They have SO much chemistry and they communicate great, as Zanon has said a few times last year. I think I like Spurgeon with Schultz, cause that keeps some of the pressure off Spurgeon. I think its a case where our top 2 pairs of defensemen can be interchangable as a 1A and 1B. Just a question of who is playing better at the time.
I think the 1A/1B part is about right
and could really open the door for Scandella as a pairing partner with Schultz. If he’s getting big minutes in all situations at the NHL level, he wouldn’t need to be in Houston to get those minutes.
Is he ready for those minutes? I don’t really know, but I don’t think it’d hurt anyone if the Wild gave him a chance.
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Well, it’s almost guaranteed he won’t play on the #1 powerplay, as Zids would most likely be the only defensman on the ice at the time, assuming that Seto moves up to play with the #1 unit. Playing with a fairly punchless #2 unit wouldn’t necessarily help his development just because he’s in the NHL.
Now, through 20 games with the Wild last year, Scandella had 2 points with a -9 rating. One point per ten games with while recording a minus every other game doesn’t seem like top-pairing numbers.
Compared to Spurgeon, it’s not even a close competition. Spurgeon had 12 points in 53 games (one point every five games) with a -1 rating as a 3rd-pair guy.
Stoner, a shutdown defender, only recorded 9 points in 57 games (which is close to Spurgeon’s production), but still ended up a +5 as a 3rd-pair guy.
Assuming Schultz, Zidlicky, Zanon, and Lundin are automatic bids to make the Wild, there are realistically only 3 spots left. I’ve made my case for Spurgeon and Stoner. Both have superior numbers, both showed they have the staying power to make the NHL and stay there, and both have more experience playing in the NHL.
Scandella doesn’t do any good in the pressbox, so having him as the #1 in the AHL is really the logical choice that I see. And like I said, the Wild aren’t in a win-now situation, so rushing Scandella seems like a waste.
For Eamon: As for Zids and Zanon having “great chemistry”, Zidlicky is a -34 in his Wild career…they don’t seem too effective together. Plus, I’m not going to take Zanon’s word on who should play with who. When coaches listen to players on who they should play with, guys like Mittens end up on the top line.
I see what you're saying.
I do think, though, that Scandella would get a shot at #1 powerplay along with Zidlicky. Are you thinking that Butch would play the point along with Zidlicky if Scandella is down with Houston?
I believe that Scandella should get a shot if the minutes are there to be given. I absolutely agree that rushing Scandella isn’t advisable. However, if he succeeds in Houston early in the season like he did all of last year, it behooves the Wild to give him another extended shot with big minutes. The Wild, in a rebuild situation, can give Scandella some solid NHL minutes to further his development without the worry of games lost (if Scandella does poorly). The Wild don’t have that much to gain by giving older guys all the minutes in a rebuild scenario (other than wins, which the Wild obviously want more of).
As for Stoner, there’s really nothing left to develop. He’s a solid bottom pairing defensemen and will probably max out as a 2nd pairing guy. I wouldn’t be upset if he had to be the odd man out so that Scandella gets playing time.
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The only problem I see in having Stoner sit, is he is the only real “physical” defender we have. So I’m not sure how we would look without him in the lineup. Maybe against the less physical teams it would work, but against some of the bigger teams I think we need Stoner in the lineup. But with the depth the Wild have I don’t think I’m going to be too upset with them playing anybody over someone else as long as its working.
I get where you're coming from
I would assume that PMB moves back to the point. He’s the elite playmaker that could either set Zids, Heatley, or Seto (it feels really good saying that). Koviu either down low or parked in front of the net.
As for Scandella, I’m just concerned that if he does poorly, it ruins him as a player. Gillies had his first year scares, and Shep never recovered from premature play. Just playing in the NHL doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to develop properly. Let’s say the team puts Scandella out with Schultz on the top pairing, he plays poorly, and ruins his confidence. He’s only played 42 total games in the AHL. I would really feel more comfortable with him at least having one full season in the AHL before the Wild call him up.
Plus, the problem with dropping Stoner is that the Wild only have 2 real penalty-killing defensman in Zanon and Schultz. Without Burns, the Wild lack that all-around defender. Lundin, for all his size, doesn’t block a whole lot of shots and rarely plays physical hockey. Zidlicky is a huge defensive liability. Spurgeon, while playing well positionally, probably can’t clear the front of the net when a guy like Ryan Smyth parks his ass in front of Backstrom.
Totally didn't think about physicality when I posted that about Stoner
as you and Eamon just mentioned. That does change things quite a bit.
Maybe I’m just a little eager to get Scandella up here and make him into the next Burns. I feel like Scandella would be the best replacement for Burns theoretically, but practically maybe not so much!
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I am excited too...
I think he will fill in nicely as a Burnsie 2.0. I just don’t know if this year is the year he does it. But if he makes his case then more power to him. I don’t think he will be taking Stoner’s spot, probably someone else.
Zanon, Lundin, and Stoner are all UFA next season, so my guess would be that Scandella’s year will be next year. Zanon seems like he’s most likely to not be resigned. If he’s traded to bolster a contender’s blueline, Scandella might see time at the end of the year.
I like that plan. As much as I would hate to see Zuperman leave, if Pizza is ready its his time to shine. I would also think it is dependent on how well Lundin fits onto this team as well. Cause if he doesn’t fit I can see him being replaced next year. They also supposedly like Prosser’s game. So both he and Scandella could be coming up next year. Man it is sooooo nice to actually have respectable options on this team.
Well, let’s not forget Brodin. He’s probably not NHL ready yet, but he could be ready by next season. He’s already playing with men. He just needs a little more seasoning. Plus, if Falk starts playing like the man he is, Ludin could very well be expendable.
Totally agree that it’s nice to see better days around the corner. Stoner and Falk provide the muscle while Scandella, Brodin, Spurgeon, and Prosser give some offensive options.
I don't really have much of an argument other than what I said above.
I think if they have the choice, they stay together. Yeo may have different plans though, and if he does split them up his reasoning is probably very similar to yours in this situation.
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Direct linked to this thread. See it here:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/What-We-Learned-Yashin-8217-s-NHL-return-maybe;ylt=AtmYUMhmhnj7OZTsxxKHXh7vLYF?urn=nhl-wp9655
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