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Today is a great day for you, WIlderness! You get 2 grades posts in the same day! Earlier today, the editors put up their grades for the Wild's right wingers, now it's time to see how us staff writers graded them.
Dan Czarnecki (WIMinnesotaWildFan)
Devin Setoguchi: B
Seto had an ok season with the Wild this year. It really helps when Cullen is there with him on his line, but when he was gone, Seto seemed to disappear too. Finishing as the 5th best player of the season for the team is "B" worthy in my books though.
Cal Clutterbuck: C
Not the best season for Clutterbuck, but it wasn't all that terrible. He simply didn't live up to our expectations this season. Sometimes, I felt like he was trying to get physical and throw some hits on other players, but failed to do so. Other games, he would come out ready to spring into action and just pounce all over the opposition. I thought one of the best moments Clutterbuck had during our regular season was when I got to see him score one of our 2 goals in an aggressive game against the Los Angeles Kings. All players have their good games and bad games, and it was especially evident with Clutterbuck.
Jason Pominville: B+
Pominville's debut with the Wild wasn't as great as expected. Being a former captain for the Buffalo Sabres, we thought he would have done more out on the ice. In my opinion, I think his only best moment during this season was during his debut in our 2nd last game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. We all just need to give him some time, and come next season, he'll be an entirely different animal for the Wild.
Charlie Coyle: A
Sensational start for this kid. He knows what he's doing out on the ice, and best of all, he had Parise and Koivu to help him out along the way. I see a great future for him.
Torrey Mitchell: B
Man, is Mitchell fast! Along with Zucker and Coyle, I think he really knows how to get into the offensive zone, and just be aggressive on our forecheck. He brought a lot of life to our 4th line.
Aaron Holm (The Nooge)
Devin Setoguchi: B
When the Gooch was acquired during the 2011 entry draft along with Charlie Coyle I was pretty pumped. I really want to like this guy, but his streaky behavior gets in the way sometimes. His 27 points this year (13g/14a) ties him with the ageless wonder Matt Cullen at 4th for the Wild's regular season points leaders. His +5 was also 2nd for the Wild behind Cullen as well. His 5 PP goals were 2nd again, behind Zach Parise. He's got a great shot, and he really vamped up his physical play this year. All in all it was a pretty good year for the Gooch, and with next season being a contract year one might hope he finds some consistency.
Cal Clutterbuck: C-
I'm sorry Pascal William Clutterbuck, it was a rough season for you. Your shots seemed to sail high and wide of the net almost instinctively, your physical play seemed to be missing at times, and to top it off you had some über jerk from Edmonton cheap shot you in the waining moments of a game that was decided early. Overall it was an off year, and a contract year to boot. And while you may be a fan favorite around these parts, I get this feeling your time here is up. Your 10 points (4g/6a) was not up to snuff and we certainly cannot blame your missing 6 games this year as the culprit. On the bright side, you will always be my wife's favorite player so for that you don't get a D.
Jason Pominville: B
In just 10 regular season games played you racked up 9 points (4g/5a). While the cost to obtain Pom-Pom may have been larger than most would like, I have reminded a lot of these folks that you are not a 10 game rental and we get to look forward to seeing what you can do with a full season starting this fall. We didn't get much a sample size from Pominville this year in a Wild uniform, but from what we did see I'm a big fan. He's a leader, he has a nose for points and how can you not like calling this guy Pom-Pom?
Charlie Coyle: B-
Another acquisition in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft trade, Coyle showed a lot of potential and Yeo put a lot of stock in him but thrusting him up to the top line with Koivu and Parise. In 37 games Coyle notched 14 points (8g/6a). Coyle is a big body forward which is something the Wild desperately need going into next season. His 2 post season assists are nothing to get overly excited about, but then again nobody's point production in this years brief excursion to the 2nd season was anything to get excited about. Coyle has a lot of time to prove his true worth, and being a rookie thrust into big minutes on the top line I think he did pretty good this year. I look forward to watching this kid grow up on the ice in the coming years.
Torrey Mitchell: B-
Mitchell along with Jason Zucker are probably the 2 fastest skaters the Wild have right now. And while his numbers are not overly impressive (4g/4a 8pts) his ability to get deep into the offensive zone on the forecheck was awesome. He helped the 4th line establish pressure and wear down opposing defense's throughout a game giving the top guys better opportunities. He played his role about as well as anyone could ask of him. I don't have a whole lot of complaints about Mitchell, and his upsides do out-weigh his down. I like the guy and think he will fit in with this group nicely going forward.
Eric Burton
Devin Setoguchi: B
After scoring 20 or more goals in his last three seasons with the San Jose Sharks, Setoguchi’s production dropped slightly in his first season with the Minnesota Wild. This season Setoguchi’s production seemed to pick up a bit placing fifth on the team in scoring and second on the team in goal scoring with 13 goals. I believe that Setoguchi is a talented forward that can do better point wise and expectations will be high for him going into the final year of his contract.
Cal Clutterbuck: C+
After scoring 15 goals and 27 points the season before Cal Clutterbuck’s offensive production dropped off significantly, scoring four goals in 42 games. Clutterbuck is a RFA and the Wild will look to resign him in the offseason. For the Wild to be successful in the future, they need to get secondary scoring for third and fourth line forwards like Clutterbuck. This season the Wild didn’t get the needed secondary scoring from him. On the positive side, Clutterbuck was able to keep the opposition preoccupied with him once again, as he racked up impressive hit totals. A healthy Clutterbuck has the ability to score 20 goals and lead the NHL in hits over an 82 game season. Not Clutterbuck’s best effort.
Jason Pominville: B
Came to Minnesota via trade on April 3, 2013 and played in 10 games for the Minnesota Wild before his regular season was ended prematurely due to a concussion from a dirty elbow by L.A. Kings forward Dustin Brown. Pominville missed the final two games of the regular season as well as the first three games of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. When he was healthy, Pominville was a welcome addition to the offense because he gave the Wild another offensive threat that they didn’t have pre-trade. Pominville didn’t have enough time to develop a chemistry with his new teammates and look for him to take a bigger role in the offense and the power play next season.
Charlie Coyle: B-
Was the Minnesota Wild’s top-scoring rookie this past season, scoring eight goals in 37 games. Coyle is a big bodied forward with good hands that has an amazing upside. The sky is the limit with Coyle, who will only get better as he gets more game experience. The Wild eased Coyle into the lineup and his play made it hard for the Wild to send him back to Houston. I think once Coyle gets it, he’s going to be a great second or third line forward in the NHL.
Torrey Mitchell: D+
If there is a forward on the Wild roster that really doesn’t do much for me, it’s Mitchell. A fourth line forward, his role can be filled a by almost any dime-a-dozen player that’s floating around the NHL. His presence on the Wild really, I can go either way. Unfortunately, the Wild have him under contract for two more seasons, so we might be stuck with him for another season. I don’t have much in the way of expectations for Mitchell and I was unimpressed with his play this past season.
Tony Wiseau
Devin Setoguchi: B
At this point, Seto is who he is. He's not going to be that guy you see in glimpses who can carry a team, not for a whole season, anyway. But you know what? We saw those glimpses from Seto last long enough so that you could call him a good second liner, instead of merely an inconsistent one. It's also nice to note how much more physical he was this year, which should serve him well if he sees himself on the outside of the Top-6. If this is the Seto we see next year, I'll be very satisfied.
Cal Clutterbuck: C
Clutter was OK this season. It's going to get pretty crowded soon, so OK might not be enough for him to stick around once he goes RFA.
Jason Pominville: B+ Pom Pom showed when he played for the Wild why Fletcher put up the package that it took to acquire him. Once moved from the first line, he solidified a third scoring line for the Wild (PMB-Brodz-Pom), which was insanely valuable. Unfortunately, Dustin Brown decided to be a piece of poo and ran his elbow into Pom's head, effectively ruining his season. If Pom is healthy, he'll soften the blow of losing Hackett and Larsson.
Charlie Coyle: B+
Coyle started off overwhelmed, but really came into his own, improving his point production every month. He became what you don't expect a rookie to become- a steady contributor on the first line. Obviously, he needs to work more on imposing his will on his opponents, and getting more comfortable with the highest level of hockey, but these are just nit-picks when we're talking about a 20 year old. B+
Torrey Mitchell: C
I have no strong opinion on Torrey Mitchell.
Andrew Ferraro
Devin Setoguchi: C
Setoguchi finished second on team in hits with 92, a big improvement (per game) over last year’s total of 73. He finished plus-5 this year and scored the playoff-clinching game-winner against Colorado on April 27. His 27 points were good for No. 2 on the team as well. He gets a B, though, mostly because he went 14 games before that without scoring a goal. The team needed more, and he did not deliver.
Cal Clutterbuck: C+
Cal again led the team in hits with 155, but his overall play dropped a bit. That was evident as his usually better scoring production dipped to just 10 points (four goals overall). He missed seven games in the middle of the season with a lower body injury, and he had zero power play or shorthanded goals this season. Seven of his 15 were of that variety last season.
Jason Pominville: B
Really, this should be an incomplete grade. The Wild gave up a ton for Pominville, and he got injured after just 10 games with the team. He did not play the last two games of the regular season because of an "upper body" injury. After his first game, he recorded four goals and five assists in his next seven games before getting hurt. I believe he will help the Wild tremendously next season.
Charlie Coyle: A-
Eight goals, six assists and a plus-3: these numbers aren't flashy, right? But for a rookie that many did not think would contribute to the big club much this year, I think these stats are worthy of the "A." Coyle was permanently called up after the Clutterbuck injury. He scored his first goal and was fairly consistent, with the exception of two poor games against San Jose and Edmonton at the end of the season. Kid has a future, and I am glad I got to see his start in Houston.
Torrey Mitchell: C
After he scored in back-to-back games against Phoenix and Dallas, he got sick and never was the same after that. Zero of his goals came after the March 29 disaster in Dallas. He had just two helpers after that and did not really do anything during the team's slide down to the No. 8 seed. From April 11 though the 26 - just over two weeks - he was minus-4 with just one helper. He did win 50-percent of his face-offs, which was a career-high for the sixth-year player.
Giles Ferrell
Devin Setoguchi: C
Seto had a roller coaster season, having a hot streak in march, sandwiched between two cold streaks. He really clicked with Matt Cullen, but once Cullen went down with injury, Seto never recovered. He can be a goal scorer the team needs, but sometimes you wonder where his head is. He was a much better player than last year, so lets hope he can make similar improvements going into next year.
Cal Clutterbuck: D
In his previous 4 seasons with Minnesota, Cal has been a constant thorn in the opposition's side. He brought the intensity every night, when he went in for a hit. He got into the oppositions head with those hits, and his ability to chirp when skating by the bench. He also was a good secondary scorer on the team. This year, you rarely found those aspects in Cal's game. He had a awful year in terms of production, and you never came away from a game going 'Cal really got inside that team's head". Never really got the feeling Cal was comfortable on any line this year either.
Jason Pominville: A
After being acquired for two top prospects and two draft picks, Pominville was everything the Wild hoped. He put up 9 points in 10 games, and gave the team 3 great scoring lines. But then a Dustin Brown hit wiped out the remainder of his season, and in the 2 playoff games he played, he never looked the same. All in all, Pominville's play before injury was 'A' worthy.
Charlie Coyle: B+
After a demotion early on in the season, Coyle got a second chance with the team, and never looked back. He became a rock on the top line with Koivu and Parise, and had very few bad games this year. His stats do not do justice for how good he played this year, so you would have to watch the team every night to appreciate how good he was, in his rookie season.
Torrey Mitchell: C+
Mitchell didn't have great stats, and his start to the season was quite awful. But, he got better with each passing game, and made up for his bad start. He had a great work ethic, and played hard, despite playing most of the season on the fourth line. Look for next year to be much better from Mitchell.