*** Wild Prospects 2023-'24: IOWA, NCAA, EUROPEAN LEAGUES, MINOR LEAGUES ***

[CreaseAndAssist]

Iowa sweeps Chicago this weekend in a two-game series at home keeping their barely alive playoff hopes going.  

 

Luke Toporowsky has 3 goals, 6 points in 7 games since we traded for him.  It may have been seen as a bit of homer pick by trading for the Iowa-native, but he's been productive so far.  

 

Firstov still hasn't had any points, but he had another bad penalty and luckily for him and Iowa it didn't cost them.  

 

Turner Elson isn't the scoring threat Nic Petan was, but he does the little things right and kind of reminds me of Don Bebee from Mystery, Alaska...a veteran leader who does the ugly, little things to make plays that help you win games.  It will be interesting if they decide to keep him around on an AHL deal for next season.  

 

Simon Johansson is on a bit of a heater, scoring his 8th goal of the season this weekend.  

[CreaseAndAssist]

 

 

Oh and one last thing.  Minnesota signed Riley Heidt to a 3-year entry level contract yesterday.  And last night he had a hat-trick in his last regular season WHL game; finishing the 2023-24 reg season with 37 goals and 117 points in 66 games.  

Edited March 24 by CreaseAndAssist

[IllaZilla]

Sounds like there is a possibility Charlie Stramel might enter the Portal after this season. 
 

And it also sounds like there are quite a few NHL teams that are unhappy with the way Mike Hastings is “developing” their prospects at Wisconsin. 

[CreaseAndAssist]

11 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

Sounds like there is a possibility Charlie Stramel might enter the Portal after this season. 
 

And it also sounds like there are quite a few NHL teams that are unhappy with the way Mike Hastings is “developing” their prospects at Wisconsin. 

 

(shrugs)  Hard for me to point to Hastings as the problem as Stramel was underwhelming with Tony Granato too.  

 

Don Lucia got the same rap over time; especially when he doesn't just give the drafted kids unlimited ice time & opportunity.  

 

It will be interesting to see where Stramel goes but anyone really expecting him to just become a college stud after two pretty mundane college seasons under his belt?  

[IllaZilla]

Looks like Stramel did enter the portal.
 

Early money is on him going to Michigan State to reunite with Adam Nightingale. 

 

Who knows. Boldy looked terrible in his first season at BC. He got much when he moved to wing from center. 
 

I’m not saying Stramel is going to be a Hall of Famer. The Wild are never going to get a Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid drafting in the late teens-early twenties. But maybe he turns into another Joel Ericksson-Ek. 

[CreaseAndAssist]

18 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

Looks like Stramel did enter the portal.
 

Early money is on him going to Michigan State to reunite with Adam Nightingale. 

 

Who knows. Boldy looked terrible in his first season at BC. He got much when he moved to wing from center. 
 

I’m not saying Stramel is going to be a Hall of Famer. The Wild are never going to get a Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid drafting in the late teens-early twenties. But maybe he turns into another Joel Ericksson-Ek. 

 

Maybe.  Michigan State would make a lot of sense as a destination given the past history / relationship.  Boldy had a bit of a struggling freshman season, but this is really Stramel's 3rd season of struggle in a row.  

 

His bigger frame probably has made people want to wait and see but as a junior he'll have to start showing some potential or if he is slow out of the gate you really have to wonder what's there.  

 

I agree, which is why this team's unwillingness to just bottom out places it in the eternal purgatory of selections in the mid-to-late teens.  

[IllaZilla]

17 hours ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

 

Maybe.  Michigan State would make a lot of sense as a destination given the past history / relationship.  Boldy had a bit of a struggling freshman season, but this is really Stramel's 3rd season of struggle in a row.  

 

His bigger frame probably has made people want to wait and see but as a junior he'll have to start showing some potential or if he is slow out of the gate you really have to wonder what's there.  

 

I agree, which is why this team's unwillingness to just bottom out places it in the eternal purgatory of selections in the mid-to-late teens.  

 

I kind of wonder if Stramel's early success was from the fact that he was so big, and he could physically dominate at lower levels. Now that players in his age bucket have caught up to him physically, he is not such the dominant force.

 

Even looking at his stats from the USNTDP, they aren't all that impressive. Of course, Eriksson-Eks stats were never that impressive either. But once Koivu retired and stopped blocking him, he started putting up decent numbers. But it took him five seasons to hit the 30 point mark and then another two to hit the 60 point mark.

 

It is just frustrating watching this team do the same thing over and over and over and yet they expect a different outcome. 

Edited April 5 by IllaZilla

[CreaseAndAssist]

On 4/5/2024 at 8:24 AM, IllaZilla said:

 

I kind of wonder if Stramel's early success was from the fact that he was so big, and he could physically dominate at lower levels. Now that players in his age bucket have caught up to him physically, he is not such the dominant force.

 

Even looking at his stats from the USNTDP, they aren't all that impressive. Of course, Eriksson-Eks stats were never that impressive either. But once Koivu retired and stopped blocking him, he started putting up decent numbers. But it took him five seasons to hit the 30 point mark and then another two to hit the 60 point mark.

 

It is just frustrating watching this team do the same thing over and over and over and yet they expect a different outcome. 

 

Eriksson Ek's Swedish Jr. League stats weren't bad.  Still, I agree with what you say.  He was fine as a man among boys at lower levels and now his size and strength and even his mobility isn't to a level where he can dominate.  

 

It's interesting how you mention Mikko blocking him, you are 100% right.  As long as Kaptain Klydesdale was there he was going to be relegated to a lesser role.  Same was true with a lot of those kids when Suter and Parise were around.  And...as Russo writes an article saying the Wild need to give Parise a tribute it's just sad to see people not recognize how the team blocked the kids from playing with veterans holding on to the last gasps of their career.  

 

And even worse, they seem to be doing some of that again...maybe not with the same level of entitlement / ego but we have to play the vets while the kids sit and watch.  It's maddening.  Even if this team struggles, I'd rather see the kids get a chance than seeing the same folks that have led this club to nowhere continue to hold those spots.  

[Tomdog]

Especially when some of those vets are playing like sandbags. 

Insane that on the days where the 4th line is pulling more than their weight,  they still don't get playing time.

Does Gaudreau and Johansson have something in their contracts about getting a minimum amount of ice time?

[CreaseAndAssist]

5 hours ago, Tomdog said:

Especially when some of those vets are playing like sandbags. 

Insane that on the days where the 4th line is pulling more than their weight,  they still don't get playing time.

Does Gaudreau and Johansson have something in their contracts about getting a minimum amount of ice time?

 

Not sure, my only guess is they're paying them a lot more money...and the owner likes to see his investment playing on the ice.  Same as it was during the 11/20 days.  

[Tomdog]

If they're playing guys because the owner wants, we can give up hope on ever seeing them win a Cup.

[CreaseAndAssist]

On 4/6/2024 at 7:35 PM, Tomdog said:

If they're playing guys because the owner wants, we can give up hope on ever seeing them win a Cup.

 

I would agree.  But its the same formula as it was back when we still had Pominville and he was stone cold.  We just kept putting him out there because he makes $5.9 million a season or kept using Ryan Suter just because...the cap hit.  

[Alexandron]

Here is some talk about our goalies future:

https://hockeywilderness.com/news-rumors/minnesota-wild/jesper-wallstedt-needs-better-support-in-iowa-if-the-wild-extend-fleury-r30002/

[CreaseAndAssist]

17 hours ago, Alexandron said:

Here is some talk about our goalies future:

https://hockeywilderness.com/news-rumors/minnesota-wild/jesper-wallstedt-needs-better-support-in-iowa-if-the-wild-extend-fleury-r30002/

 

He should have some better support next season if this is the route they go.  Although broadcasts are hinting more and more that they feel Fleury will hang them up.  If that happens I can't imagine Wallstedt stays in Iowa.  

 

So far Khusnutdinov, Ohgren look fairly capable...and the cheap contracts should be helpful for this team too.  

[CreaseAndAssist]

Just now, CreaseAndAssist said:

 

He should have some better support next season if this is the route they go.  Although broadcasts are hinting more and more that they feel Fleury will hang them up.  If that happens I can't imagine Wallstedt stays in Iowa.  

 

So far Khusnutdinov, Ohgren look fairly capable...and the cheap contracts should be helpful for this team too.  

 

Not sure why I quoted myself.  Anyways...

 

Iowa are officially eliminated from AHL playoff contention with a loss to Manitoba this last weekend.  

 

Mikey Milne continues to be the hot hand as does Luke Toporowski who has been a pretty decent pick up for Iowa.  With how little Minnesota used Adam Beckman it seems like a bit of a waste keep him in the NHL press box instead of letting him provide offense for Iowa so they may have had a chance to make the post-season.  But what do I know?  

[IllaZilla]

This is neither here nor there, but BG exchanged Duhaime for a slightly higher draft pick (low 3 vs mid 4) and Dewar for a lower draft pick (3 for a 2) and everyone is wetting their pants like he’s a genius…

Edited April 17 by IllaZilla

[CreaseAndAssist]

9 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

This is neither here nor there, but BG exchanged Duhaime for a slightly higher draft pick (low 3 vs mid 4) and Dewar for a lower draft pick (3 for a 2) and everyone is wetting their pants like he’s a genius…

 

Where do you see that?  Although it probably is better value than I think many of us expected.  Still, it's a shame they couldn't shop #17, #38, and #36.  

[IllaZilla]

3 hours ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

 

Where do you see that?  Although it probably is better value than I think many of us expected.  Still, it's a shame they couldn't shop #17, #38, and #36.  

There was a "What Went Wrong for The Wild?" article in the Athletic and all the homers in the comment section were signing the praises of Guerin and how clever he was for getting the draft picks he did for Dewar and Duhaime and how the Foligno, Zucarello, et al. extensions were a steal because by the time the cap recapture penalties come off the books, those guys will be playing on the third and fourth lines and paying $2M for a fourth liner isn't a bad deal...

Edited April 17 by IllaZilla

[CreaseAndAssist]

22 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

There was a "What Went Wrong for The Wild?" article in the Athletic and all the homers in the comment section were signing the praises of Guerin and how clever he was for getting the draft picks he did for Dewar and Duhaime and how the Foligno, Zucarello, et al. extensions were a steal because by the time the cap recapture penalties come off the books, those guys will be playing on the third and fourth lines and paying $2M for a fourth liner isn't a bad deal...

 

I will have to look for that, although it hardly surprises me to see them kiss Guerin's ass.  

[Alexandron]

At least the Iowa Wild team finished their season on a winning note. They had a win over Grand Rapids Griffins (score 4:1; Wallstedt was a star #1 for that game by stopping  31 shots out of 32) and they also won over Chicago Wolves the last game of the season (score 3:2; Jack Peart was a star #1 of the game with his 1st AHL goal; Beckman was a star#2 of the game with his 19th goal of the season and Firstov had primary assist to that goal). What do I like about Beckman? Good size player and his consistency in production. For 3 seasons in a row he had 33-36-34 points with the Iowa Wild team. Same I would like to say for Firstov. He is a good size player and has a good culture of consistent production in his career when played and for the Waterloo Black Hawks; and for the University of Connecticut; and for the Torpedo; and for the Iowa Wild team. In the last 10 games with the Iowa team he had 4 points (2 goals(one of them was shorthanded); 2 assists;+/- +1).

Edited April 22 by Alexandron

[CreaseAndAssist]

On 4/21/2024 at 9:02 PM, Alexandron said:

At least the Iowa Wild team finished their season on a winning note. They had a win over Grand Rapids Griffins (score 4:1; Wallstedt was a star #1 for that game by stopping  31 shots out of 32) and they also won over Chicago Wolves the last game of the season (score 3:2; Jack Peart was a star #1 of the game with his 1st AHL goal; Beckman was a star#2 of the game with his 19th goal of the season and Firstov had primary assist to that goal). What do I like about Beckman? Good size player and his consistency in production. For 3 seasons in a row he had 33-36-34 points with the Iowa Wild team. Same I would like to say for Firstov. He is a good size player and has a good culture of consistent production in his career when played and for the Waterloo Black Hawks; and for the University of Connecticut; and for the Torpedo; and for the Iowa Wild team. In the last 10 games with the Iowa team he had 4 points (2 goals(one of them was shorthanded); 2 assists;+/- +1).

 

Firstov was rather noticeable the last 3-4 games.  Looking comfortable, showing off his on-ice vision.  I wish he'd take the opportunity to shoot more than he did.  But he looks very skilled and fast enough to be a possibility next season if he had a good training camp.  

 

Beckman had 3 goals (1 each) in the last 3 games of the season.  Even though by the time he got back the team was out of the playoffs and was probably disappointed by being given much of an opportunity he still came back, played hard and made an impact at the end.  

[Alexandron]

13 hours ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

 

Firstov was rather noticeable the last 3-4 games.  Looking comfortable, showing off his on-ice vision.  I wish he'd take the opportunity to shoot more than he did.  But he looks very skilled and fast enough to be a possibility next season if he had a good training camp.  

 

Beckman had 3 goals (1 each) in the last 3 games of the season.  Even though by the time he got back the team was out of the playoffs and was probably disappointed by being given much of an opportunity he still came back, played hard and made an impact at the end.  

I agree. I like both players. They are merit to play in NHL. Like I said before, because they play hard, skilled and they are persistent in their production. If they can produce at least a half of point per each game then they will have a solid value for the overall Wild team's stats which we need a lot. Hope they will have a nice individual training in the Wild club during entire summer like Rossi did last year. Or maybe they will be able to develop some chemistry during that time too.  Rossi's progress was evident in 2 seasons , in my opinion and in the opinion of my co-workers , just because of additional personal training with coaches during off season. And maybe Kaprizov will find some time to be involved during their training too? I am sure he is not planning to go in Russia during the summer and will spend a good portion of time in Minnesota. And he likes practicing a lot during off season.

Edited Wednesday at 12:54 AM by Alexandron

[CreaseAndAssist]

Danila Yurov won the Gagarin Cup with Metallurg Magnitogorsk.  Although according to Russo, it sounds like the Wild are not planning on having him come over until AFTER next season.  

[IllaZilla]

2 hours ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

Danila Yurov won the Gagarin Cup with Metallurg Magnitogorsk.  Although according to Russo, it sounds like the Wild are not planning on having him come over until AFTER next season.  

No room for him with all the extensions...

[CreaseAndAssist]

3 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

No room for him with all the extensions...

 

And Yurov basically wants a bunch of bonuses, most of which Russo feels he has no chance of achieving but the team has to be able to pay for those bonuses which makes him perhaps too costly next season with its cap constraints.