New Wild Podcast...

[CreaseAndAssist]

Episode #16: Mock Draft-a-palooza

 

@MNSOTA, Kalisha and myself discuss the team's possible moves at the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, then do a full mock draft for all of the Wild's six selections.  In addition, Theresa does a Minnesota Wild Mockery Mock Draft that you won't want to miss!  

[CreaseAndAssist]

Episode #17: Hockey Parents Gone Wild

 

@MNSOTA and myself discuss the resignation of Larry Olimb as Orono HS girls hockey coach, we discuss the reality of coaching today and the myths of college recruiting.  Enjoy!  

[IllaZilla]

On 6/18/2023 at 6:42 PM, CreaseAndAssist said:

Episode #16: Mock Draft-a-palooza

 

@MNSOTA, Kalisha and myself discuss the team's possible moves at the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, then do a full mock draft for all of the Wild's six selections.  In addition, Theresa does a Minnesota Wild Mockery Mock Draft that you won't want to miss!  

Great podcast!

 

I think it will be interesting to see if any of your predictions turn out...

[CreaseAndAssist]

6 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

Great podcast!

 

I think it will be interesting to see if any of your predictions turn out...

 

@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

 

[CreaseAndAssist]

[CreaseAndAssist]

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.  

[IllaZilla]

On 7/2/2023 at 5:42 PM, CreaseAndAssist said:

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.  

Haven’t made it through all six picks yet, but I’m working on it. 
I’m having visions of Colton Gillies with Charlie Stramel. Or maybe Charlie Coyle. I don’t buy for an instant he was always “their guy”. Unless their draft strategy was to draft the first slab of meat available to us because they were concerned about being pushed around in the playoffs. I think it’s kind of ridiculous too to shoot for an at best third line center with your first round draft pick, when there were more talented players on the board, but…

The Finlander got me about as excited as a piece of dry, white toast. Maybe another third-fourth liner. I get the team needs those too, but couldn’t you find those types in the later rounds?

I also thought the love/hate reviews of Riley Haight were interesting, and not in a Minnesotan way. Were these scouts watching the same player on the same night? Or is he a schizophrenic as the reviews are? Makes me wonder why a player that most had going top 20 drops to the late second round. 

I don’t know. I just don’t think the Wild can keep up their current game plan of always striving for the playoffs, getting a low first round draft picks, and then expect to build a Stanley Cup roster this way. I don’t blame Pat Maroon for being less than excited to be traded to the Wild. The Wild are going nowhere. 
 

I’ve gotten apathetic about this team. Their drafts aren’t exciting, the team isn’t exciting. There is nothing to look forward to other than a pretty good team having a pretty good season and then getting eliminated in the playoffs. How very Minnesotan. 

[CreaseAndAssist]

18 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

Haven’t made it through all six picks yet, but I’m working on it. 
I’m having visions of Colton Gillies with Charlie Stramel. Or maybe Charlie Coyle. I don’t buy for an instant he was always “their guy”. Unless their draft strategy was to draft the first slab of meat available to us because they were concerned about being pushed around in the playoffs. I think it’s kind of ridiculous too to shoot for an at best third line center with your first round draft pick, when there were more talented players on the board, but…

The Finlander got me about as excited as a piece of dry, white toast. Maybe another third-fourth liner. I get the team needs those too, but couldn’t you find those types in the later rounds?

I also thought the love/hate reviews of Riley Haight were interesting, and not in a Minnesotan way. Were these scouts watching the same player on the same night? Or is he a schizophrenic as the reviews are? Makes me wonder why a player that most had going top 20 drops to the late second round. 

I don’t know. I just don’t think the Wild can keep up their current game plan of always striving for the playoffs, getting a low first round draft picks, and then expect to build a Stanley Cup roster this way. I don’t blame Pat Maroon for being less than excited to be traded to the Wild. The Wild are going nowhere. 
 

I’ve gotten apathetic about this team. Their drafts aren’t exciting, the team isn’t exciting. There is nothing to look forward to other than a pretty good team having a pretty good season and then getting eliminated in the playoffs. How very Minnesotan. 

 

@IllaZilla You know as well as I do that almost all GM's say one of two things at the draft; "That was our guy" or "I can't believe he fell to us, but we're really happy he did."  I think they wanted toughness and I could see Bill Guerin and Leipold fixating on Stramel.  I kind of felt the same way when the Wild picked Luke Kunin and even Judd Brackett said those were orders from above.  I'm not real thrilled about it as he just doesn't seem to do enough things well where you feel confident he'll stick.  

 

I think on Heidt, it may simply come down to what people consider physicality.  I guess the best way I can differentiate it is how some people see a player who makes hits during the play that stop an opponent in their tracks versus a kid who might skate around and then finish checks after the puck is gone.  Eliteprospects, just looking at who their talent evaluators are are mostly in the the early to mid-20's.  HockeyProspect.com are people late 30's to being people our age.  So maybe that's part of it.  But one was clearly sold on Heidt and super impressed and other seemed to be very turned off and skeptical.  

 

However, you caught the other $64 question on Heidt in regards to so many teams passing up on Heidt allowing him to be taken at the very end of the 2nd round.  So that would seem that plenty of other teams that had their doubts too.  

 

Here is some more quotable stuff for Riley Heidt, this time from Eliteprospects.com.  

 

“Whether Heidt is initiating early contact to sweep in and behind a puck-retrieving defender, layering a west-to-east pass to stretch defensive schemes, or even processing the upcoming play to float a pass into space, he is a dominant presence on the cycle,” Crossover scout Daniel Gee wrote in an October Scout’s Notebook on EP Rinkside.

 

“Nasty physically, despite his 5-foot-11 frame, Heidt has the handling, shooting, and vision to inflict major damage on opponents.” This feels like a good time to get into Heidt’s physical dimension. In a word, he’s nasty. Even standing at a modest 5-foot-11 with a frame that isn’t all that developed, this guy packs a serious punch. He takes the extra stride to play the body, never passes up an opportunity to sneak in a shot behind the play, and is an enthusiastic combatant in scrums.

 

On retrievals, Heidt establishes inside positioning early, drives through opponents’ hands, and separates them from the puck. And the use of contact to create space in the small area game allows him to spin off of defensive pressure and attack the inside. The problem is that Heidt’s profile aligns with that of a lot of really good junior players in the past who struggled to translate their game to the next level. Whether it’s the disproportionate amount of power play offence, the lack of more explosive outside edge skating manoeuvres, wildly inconsistent play, and virtually no concern with playing defensive – the red flags are numerous. Granted, the potential is sky-high for Heidt, too. That’s why we’ve ranked him well inside of our first round. He can be a middle-six scoring winger with power play utility, and that sort of value is hard to find once you get out of the teens.

 

I agree with you when saying you're apathetic on the team.  I am too.  Unless they put themselves in position to draft a game changer they will probably continue to be slightly above average at best.  But to me the annoying part is seeing how many Wild fans out there that are 100% satisfied with that.  Its insane to me.  

 

I probably should've said this in the podcast, but the two defenseman are more of what they already have in abundance.  6'0"-ish puck moving defenseman.  I know Andrew Gibson, a physical stay-at-home defender got picked before we took Kumpulainen, but for their attempt to address their lack of size up front one would think they would try to do the same on the back end given their experience.  

 

Either way, thanks for listening to what you have so far.  I hope you enjoy the rest of it, even if maybe if you're not 'Feeling Minnesota' anymore.  

Edited July 5, 2023 by CreaseAndAssist

[CreaseAndAssist]

Also, one last thing and its another thing I feel perhaps I should've brought up on the podcast.  Do you think they drafted Minnesotans to try to create more buzz for a team that knew it wasn't going to be able to do anything substantial in free agency.  Is it an attempt to appeal the provincial homers who fall over themselves because of the "one of us" crap?  

[IllaZilla]

1 hour ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

Also, one last thing and its another thing I feel perhaps I should've brought up on the podcast.  Do you think they drafted Minnesotans to try to create more buzz for a team that knew it wasn't going to be able to do anything substantial in free agency.  Is it an attempt to appeal the provincial homers who fall over themselves because of the "one of us" crap?  

 

Maybe it was just coincidence that these Minnesota-born players were available when the Wild drafted. Minnesota born players made up 15 out of 49 US players drafted. So you are looking at about just shy of one third of the US born players coming from Minnesota. Next closest? New York with six. So there were far more Minnesota born players to pick from than any other state. Ultimately Minnesota drafted three Minnesotans, Arizona and Tampa Bay drafted two, and eight other teams drafted one.

 

I certainly hope they didn't pick a player based on where he is from. That's just plain dumb. I would hope the Wild brain trust has more sense than that. But who knows. They certainly didn't subscribe to taking the best player available. They drafted based on need, which never seems to work out. 

 

I'm not sure why people here get all hung up over the "one of us" thing. I don't think the Bruins go out of their way to draft Massachusetts kids, or the Red Wings go out of there way to draft Michigan kids. It's like Minnesotans have this inferiority complex or something. And if the FO drafted kids to appease the "homers" they should all be fired.

[CreaseAndAssist]

1 hour ago, IllaZilla said:

 

Maybe it was just coincidence that these Minnesota-born players were available when the Wild drafted. Minnesota born players made up 15 out of 49 US players drafted. So you are looking at about just shy of one third of the US born players coming from Minnesota. Next closest? New York with six. So there were far more Minnesota born players to pick from than any other state. Ultimately Minnesota drafted three Minnesotans, Arizona and Tampa Bay drafted two, and eight other teams drafted one.

 

I certainly hope they didn't pick a player based on where he is from. That's just plain dumb. I would hope the Wild brain trust has more sense than that. But who knows. They certainly didn't subscribe to taking the best player available. They drafted based on need, which never seems to work out. 

 

I'm not sure why people here get all hung up over the "one of us" thing. I don't think the Bruins go out of their way to draft Massachusetts kids, or the Red Wings go out of there way to draft Michigan kids. It's like Minnesotans have this inferiority complex or something. And if the FO drafted kids to appease the "homers" they should all be fired.

 

No argument with you here.  I don't care where they are from, but proportionately this was a fairly good year for Minnesota-born prospects when you think about American-born kids as a group.  

 

I don't have an issue with going for need at this point, because how many more years are you going to kick the can down the road on centers?  However, was Stramel the best one available at #21?  I think that seems to be a fairly big reach.  

 

David Edstrom taken at #32 by Vegas may not be 223lbs, but he's 6'3" and doesn't mind being a net front-presence and I think he had a better chance to being an NHL'er than Stramel.  

[IllaZilla]

Maybe Stramel will show something during his sophomore year at Wisconsin. One can hope.

 

I remember Boldy's first year at BC was less than stellar and a lot of us were concerned about that. But he turned out Ok. However,  Boldy was also expected to go Top 5 or thereabouts and fell to the Wild at 12. Which is a big difference from being expected to go in the second round and being picked in the first round.

 

I don't know. Time will tell I guess.

[CreaseAndAssist]

True and he improved markedly by shifting from center to wing.  But of course...that means you missed on addressing that need for a center.  Stramel is at least supposed to be good at draws.  The rest is what he needs to improve and work on.  

[Confrontational]

Interesting listening and reading from you guys - you guys know so much more than many of us that just don't have the time, for whatever reason, so thanks...  

 

Down here in Texas from MN for 17 years now (born Brainerd, St Cloud for 25 years, Burnsville for several) - (no stars fan btw) - but come on here to understand what's happening with the team...  It's frustrating to keep hearing what frustrated me to kind of give up on the team and see it's still happening...  Parents still in MN - played up until 5 years ago (53) - and my father (81) still tries to keep me updated on Wild things when we talk - I think he shares my frustrations - and wonders how fans don't hold some people's feet to the fire - especially on the PP and PK - especially special teams...  There's just so many moving parts all the time with coaching/players/management...  Seems like those things are always in flux and as soon as one takes a step forward - other take two steps back...  

 

He also noticed a completely different personality in Suter during a couple of those games - and how aggressive/cheap he was - especially on Krill. He commented that he never did that during the MN years...

 

Anyways, a MN fan, have moved on after too many years of the above and Mikko - but still keep an eye on 'em and maybe looking for an excuse to reengage a little...  But, I find them so frustrating...

 

Ok, babbled enough...  I'll blame the beers...

[CreaseAndAssist]

11 hours ago, Confrontational said:

Interesting listening and reading from you guys - you guys know so much more than many of us that just don't have the time, for whatever reason, so thanks...  

 

Down here in Texas from MN for 17 years now (born Brainerd, St Cloud for 25 years, Burnsville for several) - (no stars fan btw) - but come on here to understand what's happening with the team...  It's frustrating to keep hearing what frustrated me to kind of give up on the team and see it's still happening...  Parents still in MN - played up until 5 years ago (53) - and my father (81) still tries to keep me updated on Wild things when we talk - I think he shares my frustrations - and wonders how fans don't hold some people's feet to the fire - especially on the PP and PK - especially special teams...  There's just so many moving parts all the time with coaching/players/management...  Seems like those things are always in flux and as soon as one takes a step forward - other take two steps back...  

 

He also noticed a completely different personality in Suter during a couple of those games - and how aggressive/cheap he was - especially on Krill. He commented that he never did that during the MN years...

 

Anyways, a MN fan, have moved on after too many years of the above and Mikko - but still keep an eye on 'em and maybe looking for an excuse to reengage a little...  But, I find them so frustrating...

 

Ok, babbled enough...  I'll blame the beers...

 

First of all, thanks for listening and reading, we greatly appreciate it.  

 

IMO, I've had that same conversation with myself many times.  In fact, when Seattle joined the league I thought about starting over with them.  Yes, they didn't have it as tough as Minnesota / Columbus / Atlanta / Nashville did in those late 1990's early 2000's expansion but GM's learned their mistakes after Vegas' addition and so Seattle didn't have it quite as easy.  Still, it was a new organization and I've liked their hard-working style.  

 

The Minnesota Wild feel like they are in a never ending loop of mediocrity.  Half of the league qualifies for the playoffs and throughout most of it...the Wild don't do anything once they get there.  They are unwilling to be bad to get the players that could push this team out of that cycle and it just continues to repeat itself.  

 

And because of that; timing has often seemed to work against them.  We finally get lucky enough to draft a superstar, but then his prime years are likely going to be squandered by the cap hell for Suter and Parise.  I know people said those moves were necessary but maybe that was the biggest mistake in franchise history.  They never led the team on a long playoff run and now we're in a holding pattern as our superstar ponders whether to stick around or seek greener pastures.  

 

As far as the fanbase goes, the Billy Goat homers are just crazy.  They will accept anything this Wild organization puts in front of them.  But those people have always been around.  @IllaZilla & @MNSOTA can certainly attest to the early days when the team was cheap by choice of how many folks would trot out "we're just glad hockey is back" and accept the fact it wouldn't spent another $200k to keep Cliff Ronning around after their deepest playoff run (ever)?  

 

I don't blame anyone for stepping away from it and feeling its better for their own sanity / mental health or just not wanting to be as angry about things you can't control.  

 

My dad (76 I think) is a more casual Minnesota sports fan even though he reads a lot and watches a fair amount but he doesn't get into the details as much; and at times I ask myself if its worse that I do because it often leaves me more frustrated.   

 

 

[Confrontational]

^^ Yea, felt a lot of that 6 years ago with Vegas - and when Tuch and Haula went there - I thought: "well, this is the time."  Prior to that - having watch MN down here for 9 year after moving - I really tried to watch more Dallas games - and just couldn't - there was really no attachment to me - so gave up on them...  Then Vegas - and I get all the benefits, etc - but I liked their fast team with our MN guys on it - and switched over - I think I was just so exhausted by #20, #9, and #11 - and the PP and PK - I found myself wondering too much when I saw it happen over and over - I didn't want to leave MN - and I hung on for 9 years after I left - but...  

 

I still pay attention to the Wild - now more out of curiosity to see if they're continuing to do what frustrated me so much...

 

Working out this morning - ESPN or some channel had Dallas/MN playoff highlights on - and they showed all the cheap shots Krill was taking. He's not going to last long by getting constantly run like that - I like that he fights back - but man o man - he took a pretty good pounding...  For longevity sake - he's going to have to figure some things out - along with the coaches...  What's interesting is it wasn't really that bad in the regular season - but when playoffs arrived - that was a whole different animal with him and others - everyone was off their game - probably injured, etc...  And then with Eek out - crappy timing - but staying healthy is a massive hurdle when playoffs come around...

 

You would have also thought that with someone like Krill with Reeves in the neighborhood - maybe that'd help - but, didn't look that way at all...  Maybe the enforcers aren't a huge deal anymore since they have such limited time in the playoffs - but, if someone like Reeves on the team didn't help - kind of makes you wonder how Krill can be protected without someone like that - and if next year it's going to be even a larger issue of him getting run...

 

Ok, enough babbling for one day...

[Alexandron]

2 hours ago, Confrontational said:

^^ Yea, felt a lot of that 6 years ago with Vegas - and when Tuch and Haula went there - I thought: "well, this is the time."  Prior to that - having watch MN down here for 9 year after moving - I really tried to watch more Dallas games - and just couldn't - there was really no attachment to me - so gave up on them...  Then Vegas - and I get all the benefits, etc - but I liked their fast team with our MN guys on it - and switched over - I think I was just so exhausted by #20, #9, and #11 - and the PP and PK - I found myself wondering too much when I saw it happen over and over - I didn't want to leave MN - and I hung on for 9 years after I left - but...  

 

I still pay attention to the Wild - now more out of curiosity to see if they're continuing to do what frustrated me so much...

 

Working out this morning - ESPN or some channel had Dallas/MN playoff highlights on - and they showed all the cheap shots Krill was taking. He's not going to last long by getting constantly run like that - I like that he fights back - but man o man - he took a pretty good pounding...  For longevity sake - he's going to have to figure some things out - along with the coaches...  What's interesting is it wasn't really that bad in the regular season - but when playoffs arrived - that was a whole different animal with him and others - everyone was off their game - probably injured, etc...  And then with Eek out - crappy timing - but staying healthy is a massive hurdle when playoffs come around...

 

You would have also thought that with someone like Krill with Reeves in the neighborhood - maybe that'd help - but, didn't look that way at all...  Maybe the enforcers aren't a huge deal anymore since they have such limited time in the playoffs - but, if someone like Reeves on the team didn't help - kind of makes you wonder how Krill can be protected without someone like that - and if next year it's going to be even a larger issue of him getting run...

 

Ok, enough babbling for one day...

Hope, Pat Maroon will be better than Reaves for that role.

[CreaseAndAssist]

Episode #19: Dan Whenesota

 

In this episode, @MNSOTA and I are joined by Minnesota sports author Dan Whenesota.  We discuss Dan's journey into writing / making documentaries about Minnesota sports as well as the Minnesota Fighting Saints, the Minnesota North Stars and which current (male) pro sports team in Minnesota is closest to a championship.  Check it out!  

[Jimtown guy]

On 7/14/2023 at 7:11 PM, CreaseAndAssist said:

Episode #19: Dan Whenesota

 

In this episode, @MNSOTA and I are joined by Minnesota sports author Dan Whenesota.  We discuss Dan's journey into writing / making documentaries about Minnesota sports as well as the Minnesota Fighting Saints, the Minnesota North Stars and which current (male) pro sports team in Minnesota is closest to a championship.  Check it out!  

Really enjoyed the conversation with Dan. Just ordered his book. Great job 

Edited July 16, 2023 by Jimtown guy

[CreaseAndAssist]

1 hour ago, Jimtown guy said:

Really enjoyed the conversation with Dan. Just ordered his book. Great job 

 

Thanks a lot, I'm glad you enjoyed the interview.  It was certainly a fun conversation to have!  He's a great guy!    

[CreaseAndAssist]

Episode #20: Hail to the Chief

 

In this episode, @MNSOTA and I are joined by Justin Caesar as we discuss the promotion of Wild GM Bill Guerin to President of Hockey Operations.  We also discuss Gustavsson's new deal and discuss what to do about the large class of Wild UFA's next season.  @Jimtown guy, you got a mention on the show.  Check it out!  

Edited August 6, 2023 by CreaseAndAssist

[Jimtown guy]

On 8/6/2023 at 6:07 PM, CreaseAndAssist said:

Episode #20: Hail to the Chief

 

In this episode, @MNSOTA and I are joined by Justin Caesar as we discuss the promotion of Wild GM Bill Guerin to President of Hockey Operations.  We also discuss Gustavsson's new deal and discuss what to do about the large class of Wild UFA's next season.  @Jimtown guy, you got a mention on the show.  Check it out!  

Thanks for the mention. As always I enjoyed the podcast

[CreaseAndAssist]

3 hours ago, Jimtown guy said:

Thanks for the mention. As always I enjoyed the podcast

 

Thanks again for listening!  We really appreciate it.  It was interesting to see the relative consensus on the Gustavsson deal; most people see it as a sensible contract.  

[CreaseAndAssist]

Episode #21: Will They, or Won't They?

 

In this episode, @MNSOTA and Kalisha and I discuss the sad saga that is the Arizona Coyotes, a (lame) Wild rumor and prognosticate what Calen Addison's future with the team looks like at this point (still unsigned, etc).  We also answer a bunch of listener questions too.  Check it out!  

[CreaseAndAssist]

Episode #22: Something To Prove

 

In this episode, @MNSOTA and Kalisha and I discuss which players have the most to prove this season, we also talk about Calen Addison's new deal and what will be expected of him moving forward as well as answering listener questions too!  Check it out!  If you would like to participate you can ask a question here or Tweet / Post at us on X and we'll answer.