Wilderness Walk: Bullet dodged

Let’s go over some news and notes:

- The Wild are suddenly playing some very good hockey, and we honestly don’t know what to do with our hands. How did they turn things around so quickly? [Hockey Wilderness]

- Zach Parise has been quite good over the last month. What has him firing on all cylinders right now? [The Athletic]

- Jared Spurgeon has officially been placed on injured reserve. Luckily, his injury isn’t as bad as initially feared. And Mikko Koivu’s injury doesn’t seem too bad either.

Off the trail...

- If you need to get caught up on the top prospects available in the draft, here’s a good primer. [NHL]

- With all the allegations that have come out over the last few weeks, will Mike Babcock ever coach an NHL team ever again? [The Hockey News]

- Speaking of which, John Tortorella is one of the most fiery coaches in hockey. But to this day, even his former players are pretty forthright about his nature as a motivator. He can be tough on his guys, bet he is very different from Babcock and Bill Peters. [The Athletic]

- Word around the street is Kevin Hayes used to ref.

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