wild.source Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 Mitchell was called up from Iowa today......Kunin and Ericksson Ek have been reassigned to Iowa.......Mitchell has been hot in the AHL Here is the link to the article. https://www.nhl.com/wild/news/mitchell-recalled-112117/c-293212148 He leads Iowa with 16 points in 11 games. He has played 16 NHL games in his career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 Well, why not? I mean, the Wild are struggling a bit in the offensive department, sometimes in the defensive department....only saving grace right now seems to be that Devan Dubnyk seems to be coming around to his old self. But as far as young players getting their shot in the NHL, sure, I'd be more than happy to see Mitchell get his. Eriksson Ek has struggled a bit, more than the Wild likely anticipated, and only playing 12 minutes a game on the bottom lines probably won't help his offense.....so in Iowa, I am betting he gets top six minutes, build his confidence again, and I am sure he will see a return to the NHL soon enough. Same goes for Kunin, who got his call due to injuries and stuck around because of his fine play. Still though, at 19, he has some things he could work on, maybe put on a few more pounds, get stronger, and come back to the NHL a BETTER power forward. A stint with the Iowa Wild should help bridge that gap for him, he can take his NHL experience down with him, and he too should see a return to the big club this season. I really don't know what to expect from Zack Mitchell (he did well in a small sample size earlier this season), but if he can parlay his fantastic AHL numbers to at least GOOD numbers in the NHL, he may be able to help jump start the Wild offensive consistency while guys like Nino Niedderreiter, Charlie Coyle, and Mikael Granlund continue to find their grooves with regularity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 Saw that, I watched him play the Monsters in Cleveland last year and he looked solid and confident, I see him as a tweener, not quite an NHL player because I don't believe the offense will be good enough and the other holes in his game will hold him back from a grind line role, but simply too good for the AHL. A guy like that can catch a break sometimes and have a career but the odds are that he will be back in Des Moines by Christmas. The type of guy who is always on the road either to the NHL or back to the AHL. From what I remember from watching him live twice he has a nice pass but was really really slow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wild.source Posted November 27, 2017 Author Share Posted November 27, 2017 I have no idea what happened to Eriksson Ek over the offseason..........he did good last year. He hasn't scored a goal in the NHL for awhile now......Kunin did do good in the NHL though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 1 hour ago, Devin Wieser said: I have no idea what happened to Eriksson Ek over the offseason..........he did good last year. He hasn't scored a goal in the NHL for awhile now......Kunin did do good in the NHL though. Eriksson Ek is just 20 yrs old and spent more time playing in the Swedish League than he has in North America in his very young pro career. Despite the fact that he was a 1st round pick, I think he hasn't fully made the transition to the North American game. Mikael Granlund went through similar transitional difficulties playing most of his pro games in the Finnish League before coming over. What helped Granlund was some extended time in the AHL to acclimate himself to the tighter quarters and faster speed of the game here as opposed to the more wide open European rinks. Ek played just 15 games at the NHL level last season (at 19 yrs of age), did reasonably well, but in the grand scheme of things, that is a VERY small sample size. Who knows how he would have fared with more games played. Oh wait, maybe we saw how THIS season, when Ek suddenly doesn't look as good as he did last year. But really, I don't blame him. He NEEDS that development and acclimation time. He should be in the AHL for the year then maybe get a another look at the NHL next season depending on how he has handled AHL competition over the course of this season. The Wild would be better served not trying to rush Ek, let him pay his dues in the minors, then give him another look later on. Mikael Granlund is proof that way works. In the meantime, if Minnesota needs help from the minors, they can give guys like Mitchell and some others a go at the NHL level. Chances are the playoffs are not in the cards for the Wild this year, and even if they manage to sneak in, they likely are an early round exit as currently constructed. It is just not worth wrecking the development of a guy like Ek who COULD be a big part of the team moving forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wild.source Posted November 27, 2017 Author Share Posted November 27, 2017 2 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said: Eriksson Ek is just 20 yrs old and spent more time playing in the Swedish League than he has in North America in his very young pro career. Despite the fact that he was a 1st round pick, I think he hasn't fully made the transition to the North American game. Mikael Granlund went through similar transitional difficulties playing most of his pro games in the Finnish League before coming over. What helped Granlund was some extended time in the AHL to acclimate himself to the tighter quarters and faster speed of the game here as opposed to the more wide open European rinks. Ek played just 15 games at the NHL level last season (at 19 yrs of age), did reasonably well, but in the grand scheme of things, that is a VERY small sample size. Who knows how he would have fared with more games played. Oh wait, maybe we saw how THIS season, when Ek suddenly doesn't look as good as he did last year. But really, I don't blame him. He NEEDS that development and acclimation time. He should be in the AHL for the year then maybe get a another look at the NHL next season depending on how he has handled AHL competition over the course of this season. The Wild would be better served not trying to rush Ek, let him pay his dues in the minors, then give him another look later on. Mikael Granlund is proof that way works. In the meantime, if Minnesota needs help from the minors, they can give guys like Mitchell and some others a go at the NHL level. Chances are the playoffs are not in the cards for the Wild this year, and even if they manage to sneak in, they likely are an early round exit as currently constructed. It is just not worth wrecking the development of a guy like Ek who COULD be a big part of the team moving forward. True, it could be an improvement to the team moving forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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