CreaseAndAssist

I agree, dumping Hextall was stupid IMO. I'd love to see him join the Wild organization. Hart does seem to be their future.

The Flyers have a ton of goalie prospects. They have lots of prospect depth in general. Kahkonen needs to stay in the minors, zero reason to rush him. I know you didn't say that...

I wrote this a few years back...after Kleinendorst shared his views on the state of the team after he was fired... Kleinendorst's 2 cents on the Iowa Wild (2015)

Lack of scoring depth was a major reason for the first few seasons. There wasn't many prospects that had a scoring pedigree, mostly character guys and playmakers than finishers. Iowa was so bad offensively the for the first 3 seasons, just getting to two goals was an accomplishment. The 'ringers' the Wild brought there often got hurt (Bartley and Dalpe) or simply didn't contribute as they hoped they would. At times in the first few years, the injuries in Iowa and Minnesota forced Iowa to use a lot of ECHL'ers to fill out their roster. I think it also compelled Iowa to soldier on with lower quality prospects just to fill out their roster so they were exposed for that lack of quality. And if they did have a prospect playing well Minnesota would call them up...like Haula and Zucker. The team has finally signed some college free agents and a few out of major junior that have really helped the depth. Fitzgerald, Mayhew, McLain, Kloos and Menell, Mitchell are good examples of that. "Failed Ringers" Brett Sutter Zac Dalpe Jake Dowell Pat Cannone Victor Bartley Ruslan Fedotenko Teemu Pulkkinen Michael Keranen Maxime Fortunus Failed Prospects Zack Phillips Mario Lucia Christoph Berschy Raphael Bussieres Tyler Graovac Brett Bulmer Chase Lang Adam Gilmour Some of it had to do with attitudes as Kurt Kleinendorst, John Torchetti hinted at. Players unwilling to work, vets coasting at times and poor attitudes. Lalonde got more out of them, until the goaltending fell apart in March last year causing them to miss the playoffs. I've heard from people closer to what's going on in Iowa and that at times its been a shitshow environment. I think Army and Kurvers as well as the group that's there have infused a more demanding / higher expectations. Cal O'Reilly, Kyle Rau, Matt Bartkowski and Andrew Hammond have been good examples for the younger players so far. (knock on wood)

Yes, I'd agree...to see them develop in a winning environment would be great. Its tough to develop winning habits when your team is a doormat each season.

With Hammond injured they probably felt they had to ride Kahkonen more. Last night they used C.J. Motte, their ECHL call up and they played better and got a big win against Grand Rapids. Motte has been solid as a call up this year for Iowa. On another note, Luke Kunin and Dmitry Sokolov have been heating up offensively. And Gerald Mayhew and Gerry Fitzgerald are both underrated. Louie Belpedio has had a solid rookie season, even if the offensive production he had in college hasn't translated yet.

I agree 100%. Keeping him there is only helping him develop.

I don't care, blowing a 3-0 lead is bad no matter how you slice it. That was a game Iowa has to win.

Dubnyk has been pretty suspect. But I agree with the premise to keep Kahkonen in Iowa. He's playing really well there, and that's great to see...but it doesn't mean he'd thrive playing for the big club. I'm just happy it appears (knock on wood) we have a viable goaltending prospect.

Yet consider the fact ownership has never been willing to be really bad. Tough to draft blue chippers when you are rarely ever in the Top 15. I think he could be ok, maybe he learned something in his time with Shero. Besides you don't have a Suter whose BFF's with the owner to undercut him.

He's competent...he just hasn't won a Stanley Cup as GM. Trust me, Fletcher was far better than Risebrough.

More like angel dust but then you'll find out it was just cane sugar instead, he'll hype the crap out of your young players...then give away 2nd round picks like candy as well as no movement clauses.

However as a draft guy...he often opts for safe picks than the home run ones. Dumba was the closest high risk player he ever drafted. Otherwise we had lots of safe ones; many of which turned out to be as exciting as North Dakota is to drive through.

You can blame the Minnesota Wild for my name actually. DM me and I'll tell you the story.

Oh, I saw a comment about trading for Bryzgalov. That actually was a pretty necessary move. Especially with our goaltending issue the way it was with Harding's Multiple Sclerosis, Kuemper's mental fragility, and Backstrom's phantom wrist injury to force the club to have keep him another season. He didn't stay much longer, but all in all...he was fun add for us.

A few things...and what I'm about to say might surprise you. I don't hate Chuck Fletcher. But here are a few things you should know and what should concern you. Obviously the decision from Flyers' higher ups to cut loose Ron Hextall was the thought his ideas were not enough about winning now. Chuck Fletcher was given the same 'win now' mantra too; especially after we signed Ryan Suter and Zach Parise to their big, super long term contracts which are looking more and more like an albatross by the game. But I won't blame Fletcher too much on that one, as that mandate to bring those two in came from the owner hoping to net the Winter Classic...instead we got a Stadium Series game. But I digress.. Fletcher sold off picks and prospects looking for players that would help push the Wild from playoff contender to Stanley Cup contender. Ultimately we never reached that true Stanley Cup contender status because this team was too old by the time he started making such moves. Also, the big salaries diminished what was left in cap space and even though we spent to the roof the younger promising core didn't quite all turn out as awesome as some in our management expected them to. So, one big advantage for your Flyers have, for the moment is that Chuck Fletcher did not draft these crop of prospects you have in your system and in development. That is a good thing. However, the bad thing is...don't get too attached because they might be shipped for 2nd tier players in the quest to add depth to your club. See Martin Hanzal, see Matt Moulson, see Jason Pominville for how that all turned out. He also might ship a star player with the hope of getting a slightly cheaper almost good guy like he did with the Brent Burns trade here. We got Devin Setoguchi, prospect Charlie Coyle (who we're still waiting to see realize his potential) and a 1st round pick that was a total bust. Not that great of a return for trading away a Norris trophy defenseman. Fletcher also dealt Nick Leddy and at the time our best veteran defenseman (former Flyer Kim Johnsson) to Chicago for Cam Barker. But he had some fairly good moves too; the trade of Cal Clutterbuck for Nino Niederreiter was pretty good from a points perspective. Dealing a 4th round pick for Devan Dubnyk also seems like a pretty nice steal. Signing Eric Staal for a 3-year deal at $3.5 million has certainly been a savvy move. Yet, on the positive. Chuck Fletcher wasn't afraid to pull the trigger. He wasn't afraid to try to swing a deal, and his moves were far more bold and risky than the moves of his predecessor Doug Risebrough. Risebrough's favorite move was the waiver wire. While we drafted some tougher character guys at times in Fletcher's tenure, many of them failed to be an impact. Fletcher may swing and miss, but rarely is he going to stand by and watch the pitch. One other thing I'd point out is, get used to rushing young players. Especially if its win-now. The Wild burned a year of Dumba's entry level deal, giving him too many games before sending him back to junior anyway. Prospects seasoning in the minors will get called up instead of letting them develop at their own, natural pace. I think this is another area the Flyers would be wise to be wary of Fletcher's record because while it may seem to help fill holes in the short term in more or less guts your farm team. Since the Wild moved their AHL affiliate to Iowa, they've never been in the playoffs. Fletcher gets canned...prospects stay put and suddenly they're a winner and that means your prospects get meaningful time to develop in the AHL playoffs. The AHL playoffs is a great place to let the prospects get tons of meaningful ice time, in high pressure situations. Fletcher didn't seem to care as much about that and felt that a youngster could just get better through osmosis even if he was a regular healthy scratch with the big club. IMO, that's not a good plan. The Wild tried to win now, and ultimately it was probably 2-3 years too old to make it happen. But how much pain will the Wild be in...saddled by those big contracts. Fletcher's decision to grant them No Movement Clauses which further ties up your flexibility under the cap. I know the agents wanted those, but they didn't have to give those out. Great and painful example. We extended then 35-year old center Mikko Koivu (a player who has never had 22 goals in an NHL season even though he's been our #1 center most of the time) to two more years AND gave him a no movement clause. Sorry...but that's just awful. And now Fletcher's yours...good luck!

Hammond is hurt, they called up C.J. Motte from Allen (ECHL). Mitch McLain is playing really well as of late. The team doesn't have a stud, but good team speed and four lines that can score. Shaw's playing really well, IMO the best of the young guys (including Kunin).

Kahkonen got another win on Saturday making 32 saves in the victory. He's certainly playing with a lot of confidence. Sokolov had a goal and Mason Shaw continues to find his way onto the score sheet. Iowa currently sits in 2nd place; and they have a tough game tomorrow against Grand Rapids.

No problem. It was one maybe 2-3 Winter Classic games I've watched, partly because it was first one. Glad you enjoyed it!

I agree. He did score last night though. Mason Shaw has looked good. Rau still has consistently been one of Iowa's best players each night. He and Cal O'Reilly.

Did you ever hear Bob Costas' anecdote about Goldie Goldthorpe?

My sources tell me Sokolov still has a LOT to learn. He hasn't done much since those first few games. On the bright side... Sam Hentges netted a hat trick against Boston College last night as St. Cloud State DESTROYED Boston College 7-0 IN Boston. Meanwhile Jack McBain played in his first game and was a -2 with no shots on goal.

And just to add an update to Alexandron's report. Iowa dropped both games to the Texas Stars this weekend in Austin, TX. Kaapo Kahkonen got his first start and by most accounts did a reasonable job. On another note...Connor Dewar is off to a great start for Everett #WHL, and Damien Giroux is playing really well for Saginaw #OHL. Shawn Boudrias in Gatineau #QMJHL has cooled off from his hot start. Nick Swaney (Minnesota-Duluth, NCHC) keeps piling up shots, but not points. Alexander Khovanov in Moncton #QMJHL is doing ok, but he still is lousy on his draws.

I don't really feel bad for him. Its a lot like Tyler Cuma, lots of woulda coulda shoulda and terribly injury prone. With Cuma it was his knees and with Olofsson his shoulder is the weakest part of his frail body. He may have some talent, albeit the bland Jonas Brodin variety but you can't rely on him to stay healthy. IMO, he's probably done with the Wild because who really would want an injury prone, finesse defender with limited offensive skills? Considering his injury history, it was totally moronic to give him a 1-way deal. Seeler is STILL the most physical Wild defender, even with Pateryn in the lineup. IMO Seeler is a lock to make the team; Boudreau loves his combative style.

I can't say such an assessment is unfair at all...