CreaseAndAssist Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 I've watched 3 out of first 4 Iowa Wild games this season. A few observations... They are a team that lacks speed. Beyond Sammy Walker and Joey Cramarossa they don't have any players with great wheels. Adam Beckman looks slower than last year. Because they lack speed, they struggle to generate scoring chances and get open looks. Mitchell Chaffee looks frustrated and has been really fighting the puck. He looks like a player who was really hoping to make the big club but didn't get much of a chance and is battling it mentally. Wallstedt looks good. Not great, but decent enough. McIntyre is an adequate AHL goaltender. But their young defense is a bit suspect. Daemon Hunt turns pucks over a lot, fanned or weak passes. Simon Johansson is poised, but he really needs to add some muscle. Beyond Joe Hicketts they don't have a true point threat. Ondrej Sustr is big, moves well but isn't that physical. Steven Fogarty looks more engaged than Dominic Turgeon did last year, but I wish he'd shoot the puck more. They miss a Kyle Rau-type of assertive veteran. Nic Petan is already banged up and wasn't in the lineup the last game. They are 0-for-17 on the power play through 4 games. They are also winless with an OT and a shootout loss already. Oh did I mention those were all home games? Brandon Baddock is a hitting machine but he isn't the physical presence that Cody McLeod was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllaZilla Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 So you're saying the teams walk-on (skate on?) music should be the Benny Hill Theme (Boots Randolph's Yakety Sax)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 Kind of. They play Manitoba today. They will really miss Mason Shaw, who was by far their hardest working player and one of their more dialed in offensive threats. But I am glad to see him working hard with the big club; but for Iowa...its going to leave a void. They need younger guys like Sam Hentges, Vladislav Firstov to step up and become a factor. This is also an opportunity for a more experienced younger player like Damien Giroux to step up. Cliff Ronning's kid (Ty) is tiny but he looks like he might be a bit of a power play specialist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 Iowa registered its first win of the season in a 5-2 victory over Manitoba in Winnipeg on Saturday. Sammy Walker had two goals for Iowa. Zane McIntyre made 33 saves in the victory. Also, they had two power play goals; their first on the man advantage this season. Interesting little tidbit, was Hunter Jones was the backup for that game and not Jesper Wallstedt. I don't think there is anything wrong with Wallstedt, he looked competent in the games I've seen him play, but it was interesting to see Jones on the Iowa bench and not him. Kyle Masters is really starting to blossom now that he's playing for the high-powered Kamloops Blazers instead of Red Deer. He is getting more opportunities to use his offensive talents, on top of being a mobile defenseman who plays a smart game. He's among the top WHL defenseman in points which was a bit unexpected. Caeden Bankier is also having a good season for the Blazers too. Hunter Haight, despite looking great at the prospect camp has struggled to find his name onto the scoresheet but he is winning a lot of draws as Barrie's 2nd line center. Servac Petrovsky is off to a good start with Owen Sound. Ryan Healey had two helpers in Harvard's latest game. Brock Faber continues to play great for the Gophers. Marat Khustnutdinov isn't lighting the world on fire in points but he's getting about 14-16 minutes of ice time per game for SKA St. Petersburg. Danila Yurov is closer to about 10-11 minutes per game with Magnitogorsk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted November 13, 2022 Share Posted November 13, 2022 Iowa with two big road in-division wins against Milwaukee and Chicago! The team is playing really well from top to bottom. Walker, Petan, Fogarty are meshing well. Simon Johansson and Daemon Hunt have looked good. Joe Hicketts is still the most active defenseman they have and Dakota Mermis coming back has made them a lot stronger defensively. Even their lower level guys are chipping in and the team is playing as good as I've seen them dating back to when they had Rossi & Boldy in the lineup. Mikey Milne has looked great the last two games; basically a slightly bigger version of Mason Shaw...just a motor. Jesper Wallstedt got his first win of the season in Chicago, 37 saves and even scored a shorthanded empty net goal! Check it out! Also in case anyone hasn't heard. You can pretty much scratch Vladislav Firstov off the Wild's prospect pool. After being told by Iowa coaches he needed to work harder in order to get playing time, he bolted for Russia and is now playing in the KHL. I can't imagine he'll be back given how the Brennan Menell situation happened. It's a shame but hardly surprising. I won't miss him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted November 13, 2022 Share Posted November 13, 2022 Here are some more highlights, this is from a win where they forced a tie with less than 10 seconds left against Rockford. Yea, I forgot to lump them into this latest streak of in-division victories. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted November 14, 2022 Share Posted November 14, 2022 Ron Hextall is that you?? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted November 15, 2022 Share Posted November 15, 2022 On 11/14/2022 at 9:14 AM, OccamsRazor said: Ron Hextall is that you?? No, No, No, My name is Jesper Wallstedt, a new goaile youngster from Iowa Wild team. That was my 1st win as well as my 1st goal in a Wild uniform. Hope, I can do it on consistent matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted November 19, 2022 Share Posted November 19, 2022 Well as great as Wallstedt performed in Chicago he did not play well against Milwaukee last evening when he gave up 6 goals, 3 of which were Culver's custard soft. Steven Fogarty has been a good veteran signing. He makes things happen and even though he isn't a fast player he's given this team so much more than Dominic Turgeon did before as a seasoned minor-league pro. Although Iowa certainly missed Nic Petan who got called up before last night's game; they just didn't have that set up man; especially missed on the power play. Sammy Walker had a nice helper on Fogarty's goal. Mikey Milne continues to show great effort and he likes to hang around the net with a want to bury the puck. Jack Peart had a beauty of a long pass last night for St. Cloud State to set up a goal. Brock Faber also had an assist in the Gophers' win versus Michigan. Caeden Bankier had his 11th goal of the season last night for Kamloops. Kyle Masters also had an assist with the Blazers and he continues to have a breakout season offensively. Hunter Haight, despite a really good prospect camp really seems to be struggling this season. He isn't scoring and now his faceoffs are starting to fall off the map as he was a -2 and went 5-for-15 on his draws last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted November 20, 2022 Share Posted November 20, 2022 Iowa had a much better effort on the road in Milwaukee but still came up short, 2-1 in overtime. The mistake in OT was painful, they went from a line of Sammy Walker and Damien Giroux and then followed it up with Adam Beckman and Steven Fogarty. Fogarty wasn't the problem, but Beckman was. So you went from speed to sloth and the result was like watching the old Parise / Suter OT days. Their lack of speed gives the Admirals the advantage and then they make a really poor choice to change and effectively give Milwaukee a free breakaway and they score. It was a shame because Hunter Jones played pretty well...only to be left out to dry in OT. Hunter Haight, again no points tonight but he did go 10-for-11 with his draws. David Spacek scored his 4th goal of the season, and he had 3 hits too as he helps Sherbrooke to a 6-3 win over Drummondville. 4 goals, 19 points in 19 games. Kyle Masters with another assist for Kamloops tonight. 16 points (3 goals, 13 assists) in 16 games. Carson Lambos with 2 assists as Winnipeg battled Regina. 2 goals, 18 assists, 20 points in 17 games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted November 23, 2022 Share Posted November 23, 2022 Jesper Wallstedt played pretty well against a Calder Cup winner Chicago Wolves last Sunday. He was able to stop 20 out of 21 shots in his net. Iowa Wild won that game with a score of 5:1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllaZilla Posted November 28, 2022 Share Posted November 28, 2022 Wild Assign Rossi to Iowa Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has assigned forward Marco Rossi to the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League (AHL). Hopefully he can get his game back. He's too high a draft pick to not turn out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 3 points (goal and 2 assists) for Rossi in his 1st game with Iowa last night. Score was 4:3 in our win. Tonight is a 2nd game against Barracuda. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted December 2, 2022 Share Posted December 2, 2022 On 11/30/2022 at 11:33 AM, Alexandron said: 3 points (goal and 2 assists) for Rossi in his 1st game with Iowa last night. Score was 4:3 in our win. Tonight is a 2nd game against Barracuda. We were able to win a 2nd game against Barracuda last night. Rossi had a point in that game. In 2 games 4 points. But the most impressive for me as we predicted of a solid promise prospect - our new rookie Sammy Walker. MNW Young Guns @mnwprospects Sammy Walker is having a great season in Iowa. He leads the team and all AHL rookies in points and goals (tied with 2 others in goals). He's looking like a good signing #mnwild : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimtown guy Posted December 12, 2022 Share Posted December 12, 2022 Prospect Weekly Report (Dec 5-11) Haight (C, OHL): 8 pts (3+5), 4 GP Petrovsky (C, OHL): 4 pts (3+1), 4 GP Masters (D, WHL): 4 pts (1+3), 4 GP Bankier (C, WHL): 3 pts (2+1), 2 GP Spacek (D, QMJHL): 3 assists, 3 GP Nesterenko (C, NCAA): 2 pts (1+1), 1 GP Guskov (C, VHL): 2 goals, 2 GP Khusnutdinov (W/C, KHL): 2 assists, 2 GP Ohgren (LW, Swe2): 2 assists, 2 GP Shaw (LW/C, NHL): 2 pts (1+1), 3 GP Johansson (D, AHL): 2 assists, 3 GP Walker (C, AHL): 1 goal, 1 GP Warren (D, NCAA): 1 assist, 1 GP Addison (D, NHL): 1 assist, 2 GP Peart (D, NCAA): 1 assist, 2 GP O’Rourke (D, AHL): 1 assist, 3 GP Benoit (D, USHL): 1 assist, 3 GP Wallstedt (G, AHL): 1 GP, 1W, 37 svs, 94.9sv% Jones (G, ECHL): 3 GP, 75 svs, 87.2 sv% 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted December 18, 2022 Share Posted December 18, 2022 Here is some info regarding our 2 prospects which presents an interest: NHL PROSPECT REPORT Russia Stock Watch: Marat Khusnutdinov reaching new heights with SKA December 5th, 14:00 Dylan Griffing Contributor - Russian Scout FOLLOW EP RINKSIDE We’re past the halfway marker for the 2022/23 season of all three major Russian hockey leagues and there’s certainly been some diamonds in the rough surfacing. Due to the ongoing events being led by the Russian government, there’s been no major international games for these prospects since the first attempt at last season’s World Junior Championships. This has left it up to the players to make their names purely through club play. Whether it be breaking into the men’s leagues, breaking records, or just putting on a show at the junior level, here’s who is taking advantage of their chances and who is treading water. Stock Rising Marat Khusnutdinov, C, SKA St. Petersburg (Minnesota Wild) Carving out a full-time spot on SKA St. Petersburg as a junior-aged player is no mean feat, but that's exactly what Marat Khusnutdinov did for all of last season as a 19-year-old. Now an established KHLer, the Wild prospect is looking to take that next step and assert himself as a top player in Russia's top men's league. Khusnutdinov has become less reliant on outpacing his opponents, instead beating them with his smarts, using his speed and pace to create more shooting opportunities away from the puck. He remains exceptionally dangerous on the forecheck, revving up his motor to hound puck carriers and force turnovers. The end result is that Khusnutdinov is authoring the most productive KHL season of his young career, hovering well above half a point per game. These are hardly superstar numbers, but it's nonetheless a positive sign he's becoming a more confident player with the puck and a more dangerous shooting threat away from it. Stock Steady Danila Yurov, RW, Metallurg Magnitogorsk (Minnesota Wild) Danila Yurov picked up a point in his third game with Metallurg Magnitogorsk, which was one more point than he got in the entire 2021-22 season. He is still finding his footing in the KHL but is getting so many more chances this year than last. With this extra time to find his identity, he’s proven to be an effective two-way player at this level. Magnitogorsk’s head coach Ilya Vorobyov, was prepared to give Yurov more minutes this season, and the versatility of the Wild first-rounder has made that possible. He’s been more of a forechecking and defensive presence, but having the skill set to also chip in offensively through his playmaking makes him just that much more valuable as a middle-six player on a strong KHL team. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimtown guy Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 How about this artistic goal, but , unfortunately, not from him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimtown guy Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 4 hours ago, Alexandron said: How about this artistic goal, but , unfortunately, not from him. Saw that. To bad he missed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted December 22, 2022 Share Posted December 22, 2022 It's a shootout move...meh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimtown guy Posted December 26, 2022 Share Posted December 26, 2022 The Minnesota Wild will have five prospects participating in the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship in Halifax and Moncton, Canada, Dec 26 - Jan. 5: D Jack Peart - USA F Caedan Bankier - Canada F Liam Ohgren - Sweden F Servac Petrovsky - Slovakia D David Spacek - Czechia https://www.nhl.com/wild/news/five-prospects-world-juniors-rosters-122122/c-339044612 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 On 12/26/2022 at 3:23 PM, Jimtown guy said: The Minnesota Wild will have five prospects participating in the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship in Halifax and Moncton, Canada, Dec 26 - Jan. 5: D Jack Peart - USA F Caedan Bankier - Canada F Liam Ohgren - Sweden F Servac Petrovsky - Slovakia D David Spacek - Czechia https://www.nhl.com/wild/news/five-prospects-world-juniors-rosters-122122/c-339044612 Michael Russo @RussoHockey · 19h #mnwild will have a player on every team in the world junior semis Jack Peart (USA), Liam Ohgren (Sweden), David Spacek (Czechia) and Caedan Bankier (Canada) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 Michael Russo @RussoHockey 1h #mnwild prospect David Spacek, who will turn pro after this season and is expected to play in Iowa next season, assisted on both goals for Czechia in the world junior semifinal - one at 59:21 of regulation and one on Jiri Kulich’s overtime winner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 11 minutes ago, Alexandron said: Michael Russo @RussoHockey 1h #mnwild prospect David Spacek, who will turn pro after this season and is expected to play in Iowa next season, assisted on both goals for Czechia in the world junior semifinal - one at 59:21 of regulation and one on Jiri Kulich’s overtime winner. I just checked Spacek stats before his play at the final game and they are seeming very promising at this tournament. In 6 played games he had 3 goals and 5 assists (+/- +7). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 In that video presented the nice play of the entire forwards line Rossi (#23), Walker (#25) and Beckman (#11). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts