CreaseAndAssist

Oh and don't forget RW - Pavel Novak who will be coming off a season lost to cancer. He was looking rather promising in his time with Kelowna, but he might have to be used a bit more sparingly if there are any after affects to his treatment.

(shrugs) I'm not going to worry about the Leafs problems. There is enough Wild issues to be too concerned with that. Besides, next year could be a rough one for Leafs nation with so many big names as UFA's.

Sometimes interventions happen on their own. If this is how we get there, I won't feel bad about it.

According to MNWild prospects, Cajakovic was booted off the Slovakian national team for being a bad teammate. It didn't specify what he did, but according to him he's accepted their judgement and has tried to be better in that regard but interesting tidbit. I just hope Tampa was jettisoning him now for this same reason even though the original incident happened back in 2018-19.

(shrugs) I think for 1-year it probably doesn't seem like the worst place to go. He'll probably get along with the team just fine. But that does add a different layer to it as well.

A lot of teams have shed younger, mid-20's players this season even if they were RFA's. While Guerin has said Lettieri will be in competition for the bottom spot you know the younger players will probably have to schitt the bed in order to be supplanted by Lettieri or Lucchini. Now toss in Pat Maroon who is going to be on your 3rd or 4th line.

He's mostly an ECHL'er. He's only had a some limited time at the AHL'er. But the Heartlanders need all of the help they can get. Maroon only has one year left on his deal and if the Wild aren't anywhere near the playoffs he probably becomes an asset you can trade at the deadline as teams always look to toughen up for the post-season and with his extensive playoff experience he'd probably be in demand unless his game has gone to complete crap. IMO, a no lose move for the Wild unless you are of the mindset it blocks a young player out of the lineup.

Tampa Bay is paying a portion of his salary, and while some roll their eyes at the 'toughness' adds this addresses that concern if there is any to have. Whether people want to scoff or not, he has a ton of playoff experience and its tough to get annoyed at the cost of a 7th round pick. Iowa Wild and / or Iowa Heartlanders get a little help too. Although I wonder if that means maybe they're going to move on from Brandon Duhaime?!?!

Episode #18: Feeling Minnesota (2023 Wild draft review) Kalisha, @MNSOTA and myself discuss all six of the Minnesota Wild's selections. We analyze all of the picks and discuss fan reaction too. Its a longer podcast, but we hope the detail we've provided is insightful.

Edina-native, Casey Dornbach is a Invitee at this upcoming Wild prospect camp. He didn't get much of a look late in the season for Iowa last year after he turned pro. Boudon impressed with his play late in the season after signing as a free agent. Since I'm guessing the team is going to go with the kids; especially on defense this season they will need someone to make up for the points they got from Joe Hicketts they've had the last two years. Joe Hicketts was a great leader / teammate for Iowa too.

We shall see. I would still guess the team is on he hook for his rehab of his knee.

Nope. And it doesn't sound like either side is very close to a deal either according to Russo's latest Worst Seats from the House. He thinks it may come to a point where the team just cuts bait and trades him and looks for another goaltender. Unfortunately, a lot of the cheaper goaltenders were picked up today. There can't be a lot of cheaper goaltenders available. I noticed a lot of teams jettisoned players in their early to mid-20's instead of re-signing them even though they were RFA's.

Add F - Casey Dornbach D - Louie Boudon D - Landon Koisior Both are 5'11" offensive defenseman...

Add Jake Lucchini to the Iowa Wild roster, another center. I would agree. Everyone has been patting Judd Brackett on the back for a while, but so far...we haven't seen a single player that he's drafted make a difference for the Minnesota Wild. This is a big year for his reputation here in Minnesota and for the players he drafted.

So here's whose potentially in Iowa next year as I see it. C / LW - Caeden Bankier LW - Mikey Milne C - Sam Hentges RW/LW - Sammy Walker RW - Nick Swaney C / LW - Steven Fogarty C / LW / RW - Nic Petan C / RW - Vinni Lettieri D - Kyle Masters D - Carson Lambos D - Daemon Hunt D - Ryan O'Rourke D - Dakota Mermis D - Simon Johansson D - David Spacek G - Jesper Wallstedt G - Zane McIntyre G - Hunter Jones

Wild re-signed Zane McIntyre, Dakota Mermis and Nick Swaney and added Vinni Letteri. Hunter Jones probably just said FML when he saw that news because it likely means he's going back to the Iowa Heartlanders who probably have one more season left until they fold. Mermis is going to be the veteran and leadership voice for Iowa after being a good soldier the last two seasons. Swaney has been good when he's been healthy and is a lot like he was in college where he's a streaky scorer.

Zane McIntyre being signed to another deal is very interesting. Because then its a 3-goalie competition in Iowa again. That would mean Hunter Jones would likely be back as the starter for the Heartlanders who by all accounts have been a complete tire fire. One would think this would be the year where Wallstedt's the starter and McIntyre / Jones is his back up.

Blake Wheeler signs with the New York Rangers for $800k. Sounds like the Wild is signing Vinni Letteri to a two-year, two-way deal. Yea, the Shaw one had to be tough unless they have some other way to come back to it. If not, then that's sad after doing all that he did only to blow his knee out a 4th time.

I agree, it certainly doesn't. Especially for your 1st round selection. The interesting thing to see was how one of the 'experts' Byron Bader, the same guy who first said the Wild had the #1 prospect pool in the NHL, whom the Billy Goats all fell over themselves parading this around; he ripped the Charlie Stramel pick. Then watching the same Billy Goats suddenly fall over themselves say that it was just one bad season at Wisconsin and he shouldn't be judged on that, the experts are wrong, in Billy G they trust and all of that crap. So the analytics folks love analytics until it says the Wild were wrong...and then suddenly analytics has somehow got it all wrong.

Its interesting to see how different their description of Riley Heidt is compared to HockeyProspect.com's viewing of him. They certainly see some similar things but while one make him sound like a hitting machine the other makes him sound a lot different. If you're only going to consult one source, you're likely going to get deceived.

Heidt was a very polarizing player among scouts. I will share a lot more when I do my draft recap this Sunday and I'll make sure I post it in the podcast thread.

Minnesota Wild select Rosemount, MN-native; center, Charlie Stramel (Wisconsin, Big 10) with the 21st Overall pick in the 2023 draft. @MNSOTA and I will have a complete draft review that we will record on Sunday. I have LOTS to say about this selection.

(shrugs) Oh well...

@IllaZilla Thanks for listening! Glad you liked it. It is interesting. I've seen Edstrom bantered about a bit at 21, but some other common guys mentioned in mock drafts: LW - Eduard Sale (Brno, Czech) - 6'2", 174lbs - Shoots Left LW - Samuel Honzek (Vancouver, WHL) - 6'3 1/2", 186lbs - Shoots Left D - Tom Willander (Rogle Jr., Swe. Jr) - 6'1", 180lbs - Shoots Right C - Oliver Moore (USNDT, USHL) - 5'11", 188lbs - Shoots Left C - Calum Ritchie (Oshawa, OHL) - 6'2", 185lbs - Shoots Right C - Brayden Yager (Moose Jaw, WHL) - 5'11", 166lbs - Shoots Right