ClusterChuck Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 Above: Foligno and Soucy. Both are why I keep watching and we need more like these two. Love their game and attitudes. At: Brodin, Parise and even Staal (Only because he's out there trying hard and nobody expects at his age to replicate what he did a couple seasons ago.) Ek, Slowly improving (?) I'll keep him here for now. Fiala seems to be improving also. Take out the trade comparisions and go by who we got from the trades, I think they're all doing alright or 'at' expectations. (Minus Donato) I doubt Nino or Granny would be playing any better. Stalock, He's making the most of his chances and not doing bad at all...Wouldn't it be something if the Wild keep him and expose Dubnyk to Seattle. (If even possible) I'm probably missing a few for the 'At' catagory but the rest have a notch or two they could move up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllaZilla Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 I’m probably going to get flamed, but I’d put Rask at “at. Don’t look at his cap hit, and he’s Ok. Not great, but Ok. But if you look at these lists, a good chunk of the players aren’t here: Suter Hunt Dumba Pateryn Spurgeon Koivu Greenway Dubnyk Kunin Zucker Zucarello Hartman Thats the problem with the Wild. They have a bunch of Ok players, but none of them will carry the team. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 (edited) @IllaZilla I don't see why you would get "flamed" over putting Rask in a category where he actually is useful....because he HAS been useful! I am NO Victor Rask fan (and it has nothing to do with his cap hit, although that certainly is ugly), but now that he, or anybody else on the Wild, no longer think he is a top six forward and has seemingly embraced his bottom six role, he is doing down there what many deeper teams enjoy in their lineups: Have skilled guys in traditionally grinder roles.....and enjoying a bit of success at it. He still is no game changer in the bottom six (I nominate Foligno there, and I am sure won't get any arguments on that), and NO ONE in their right mind carries a 4M cap hit for a bottom sixer, but it is what it is, and given the situation, he isn't complaining about anything, just going out there and do what is asked of him to the best of his ability. And hey, if he raises his value enough to where some team shows interest at the trading deadline, and the Wild actually get a decent younger player for him, then he can be put in the "performed above and beyond" category, as I don't think Wild fans believed he had trade value before the season began. Edited January 18, 2020 by TropicalFruitGirl26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 Just a thought hodge podge on some random players... Soucy above expectations... Donato below.... Dumba WELL below.... Zucker below.... Foligno above... EEK right about "at"... Dubnyk below... Stalock "at".... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynxrattle Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 Soucy, and Soucy, and then Soucy. Did I mention Soucy already? After Soucy, probably Soucy. Apart from those first mentioned, my expectations for Fiala, Rask, Parise and Staal were lower. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClusterChuck Posted January 18, 2020 Author Share Posted January 18, 2020 (edited) Btw, I should have said Don't include contract $$ amounts in your opinions. Just their play. Most surprising let downs for me have been Kunin and Spurgeon. Kunin shows flashes of his talent but no hot streak or even improvement. Spurgeon looks disinterested. No fire in his game. Seems far from last season's form. .....Oh wait, Didn't he just do " A little paperwork" ? Not the $$ amount but the word maybe is "Comfortable " now. We have a lot of "Comfortable" players on this team. Edited January 18, 2020 by ClusterChuck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomdog Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 (edited) Above expectations, definitely soucy, if you didn’t know better you wouldn’t think he is a rookie. Brodin, when he decides to skate the puck out he really looks good. Foligno looks like our next captain, does what he needs to do and does it well, always positive, always supporting his teammates. Below, definitely dumba, spurgeon,zuccerelo, donato I really expected more out these guys and while they show flashes of what we expect there is no consistentsy. everyone else is really pretty much what they are, aging vet, mediocre journeyman, or young not ready for prime time. Edited January 18, 2020 by Tomdog 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClusterChuck Posted January 18, 2020 Author Share Posted January 18, 2020 4 minutes ago, Tomdog said: Foligno looks like our next captain, does what he needs to do and does it well, always positive, always supporting his teammates. Fully agree. He's the true heart of the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllaZilla Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 11 minutes ago, ClusterChuck said: Btw, I should have said Don't include contract $$ amounts in your opinions. Just their play. Most surprising let downs for me have been Kunin and Spurgeon. Kunin shows flashes of his talent but no hot streak or even improvement. Spurgeon looks disinterested. No fire in his game. Seems far from last season's form. .....Oh wait, Didn't he just do " A little paperwork" ? Not the $$ amount but the word maybe is "Comfortable " now. We have a lot of "Comfortable" players on this team. Not sure what Kunin's deal is. They made a big damn deal over signing "Captain America II" and he's been nothing but mediocre. I'd add Greenway in there too. Reminds me of Charlie Coyle. Big frame, plays like a PeeWee. Will be lights out one game and then disappear for games at a time. Personally I think Spurgeon is suffering from contract hangover... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 37 minutes ago, ClusterChuck said: Most surprising let downs for me have been Kunin and Spurgeon. Kunin shows flashes of his talent but no hot streak or even improvement. Spurgeon looks disinterested. No fire in his game. Seems far from last season's form. Spurgeon probably should have been in my "below expectations" category, but then again, we've all seen this song n dance before with players: play lights out in a contract year, first year on new contract, very ordinary to mediocre, so I a way, I guess his play was sorta expected? Definitely would like to see more out of him. As for Kunin, not sure what whether he is doing "ok", or I should be expecting more. Yes, Wild management has made a big deal about him, some fans certainly have. To me though, I always looked at him as a good young player who SHOULD be in more of a support role to start off, then slowly have the main responsibilities of offense handed off to him. Problem is, the Wild aren't a deep enough team for that to happen right now, and he is basically thrust into the forefront, sink or swim if you would, and the expectations for him, IMO, are a bit much. But its not like he is even playing "badly"....his season has gone "ok", actually. 10G, 22pts in 46 games? Doesn't turn the puck over as much as a typical 22 yr old playing at the NHL might, and seems to play a more balanced type game with the big club as opposed to being "just a trigger man" like he may have been in the minors or as a college player.....hey, I will take that from him! Then again, goals against do seem to happen quite a bit when he is on the ice (as evidenced by his poor +/-), and lots of shots against tend to be yielded when he is on as well, which probably accounts for his poor Corsi and Fenwick numbers...both at 45% or less! So maybe while his offense is ok, and his physical game is acceptable, perhaps he can do a better job at clogging shooting lanes, or become better at lifting sticks, or picking BETTER times to make big hits so he isn't out of position to do other things on the ice? See, that's where I am not sure what to make of him. Does a few things well, does others where you'd want to see more, lots more, but again, he is just 22 playing against the best in the world, with no real solid vet support system in place, and given that, I think he is doing alright, but fan expectations and his needed improvements in other areas make it seem like he is doing worse than he is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomdog Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 I think soucy’s play really shows the importance of spending a year in the minors playing a really important major role. Being thrust into critical situations where you are not in over your head really gives a player a better chance to improve his game. I think guys like Eek, greenway, kunin, donato, fiala would benifit from playing a major role in the minors for a month or two. Unfortunately that won’t happen anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4Check Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 ABOVE Foligno Soucy Brodin Hunt (but fading) Parise (barely) AT Staal JEE (but rising) Rask Suter Stalock (At plus) Fiala AT MINUS Kunin Hartman Zucker (injury a factor) Zucc BELOW Dubnyk Spurg Greenway Koivu Donato Dumba 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 (edited) On 1/17/2020 at 7:59 PM, IllaZilla said: I’m probably going to get flamed, but I’d put Rask at “at. Don’t look at his cap hit, and he’s Ok. Not great, but Ok. But if you look at these lists, a good chunk of the players aren’t here: Suter Hunt Dumba Pateryn Spurgeon Koivu Greenway Dubnyk Kunin Zucker Zucarello Hartman Thats the problem with the Wild. They have a bunch of Ok players, but none of them will carry the team. I agree with @IllaZilla about Rask. I'm pretty pleased with how he's playing. As far as my list... Above... Soucy Fiala Brodin Stalock Suter At Spurgeon Rask Greenway Kunin Parise Staal Eriksson Ek Donato Zuccarello Hunt Pateryn Hartman Below Dumba Dubnyk Koivu Zucker Seeler Edited January 20, 2020 by CreaseAndAssist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClusterChuck Posted January 20, 2020 Author Share Posted January 20, 2020 On 1/19/2020 at 10:21 AM, CreaseAndAssist said: I agree with @IllaZilla about Rask. I'm pretty pleased with how he's playing. As far as my list... Above... Soucy Fiala Brodin Stalock Suter <--- I'm amazed anyone had Suter Above, Given the general comments last few seasons. I don't think he's doing bad at all this year given his age and slowness compared to a younger group around him. He is what he is and gets the 'At' from me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 I hate to say it but Suter overall has been pretty good this season. Offensively, he's been more involved which is needed especially in a season where Dumba's offensive game has fallen off of a cliff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmptyShelf Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 13 hours ago, CreaseAndAssist said: I hate to say it but Suter overall has been pretty good this season. Offensively, he's been more involved which is needed especially in a season where Dumba's offensive game has fallen off of a cliff. His offense has been decent but his 1:1 defense looks very uninspired to me. I see a lot of oles and feeble poke check attempts. At least he has pulled out the slapped a few times vs that effeminate wrister 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomdog Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 How much of Suter’s play is above expectations or is it that he was so bad last year. To me he is playing about as expected. I do think when his toi was down he had a little more pep in his step. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllaZilla Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 Hockey Wilderness did something similar to this... https://www.hockeywilderness.com/2020/1/10/21054840/minnesota-wild-midseason-report-cards-player-grades-analysis-stats Not sure if I agree with a majority of the players getting "B's"...to me if they were "B" players the team shouldn't be dead last in the Central... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 16 hours ago, IllaZilla said: Hockey Wilderness did something similar to this... https://www.hockeywilderness.com/2020/1/10/21054840/minnesota-wild-midseason-report-cards-player-grades-analysis-stats Not sure if I agree with a majority of the players getting "B's"...to me if they were "B" players the team shouldn't be dead last in the Central... I agree, you shouldn't have many B's if you're last in the division. More like lots of C's and D's. You might have 2-3 B's at the most with at least 4 F's. @IllaZilla if you want, you could produce a similar article for our site if you feel so inspired. It may not be a bad thing to have to publish during the All Star break without the normal game-to-game grind pushing it off the radar faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomdog Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 17 hours ago, IllaZilla said: Hockey Wilderness did something similar to this... https://www.hockeywilderness.com/2020/1/10/21054840/minnesota-wild-midseason-report-cards-player-grades-analysis-stats Not sure if I agree with a majority of the players getting "B's"...to me if they were "B" players the team shouldn't be dead last in the Central... It makes sense when you consider the only A's are a 3rd line winter and a rookie defenseman. All the B's are second line players on top team. If they were going to go anywhere they would need a lot of A's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJ0226 Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 On 1/17/2020 at 7:59 PM, IllaZilla said: I’m probably going to get flamed, but I’d put Rask at “at. Don’t look at his cap hit, and he’s Ok. Not great, but Ok. But if you look at these lists, a good chunk of the players aren’t here: Suter Hunt Dumba Pateryn Spurgeon Koivu Greenway Dubnyk Kunin Zucker Zucarello Hartman Thats the problem with the Wild. They have a bunch of Ok players, but none of them will carry the team. Agree with this pretty much. Soucy- Above what I expected. A B Fiala- Above for sure. A B Brodin=Above. A B- Stalock- Above big time. A B+ almost A- Suter- I swear he just goes out there to show people he gets paid even if he literally takes a dump on the ice in front of everybody. By far the worst on the ice for the Wild. A fat F. Spurgeon- He is way below expectations. It's really bad and concerning in my books. A F for me. Rask- Has surprised me and be at or even above expectations. I give him a C+ Greenway- Below almost at. I say a D+ Kunin- I think he's hovering right around the at expectations. A solid B Parise- I would say At. I give him a B- Staal- I believe Staal is also a At. I give him a C Eriksson Ek- I would say at. I would say a C Donato- I honestly think he is hovering at the Above right now. For sure not getting his fair share to play though. I say about a B Zuccarello- I say below. Big F for me Hunt- Below for sure. A D Pateryn- Below. A D Hartman- Below. A D Dumba- Below big time. I give him a F Dubnyk- Honestly he is below what should be expected. I expected this from him. A D+ Koivu- Skills diminishing. One trick pony in the face offs. Even his defense is declining. Below expectations. A D+ from me. Zucker- Have no idea what is going on with him. Did he pull a Suter? Sign a fat contract and then see how little effort you can put in before you get yelled at to pick it up some. A F from me. Well below expectations for me. Seeler- I guess below expectations but for me I honestly didn't expect much more. A D for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJ0226 Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 8 hours ago, CreaseAndAssist said: I agree, you shouldn't have many B's if you're last in the division. More like lots of C's and D's. You might have 2-3 B's at the most with at least 4 F's. @IllaZilla if you want, you could produce a similar article for our site if you feel so inspired. It may not be a bad thing to have to publish during the All Star break without the normal game-to-game grind pushing it off the radar faster. Looks like the fanboys with blinders on took over the voting. They should give that same survey to people outside of Minnesota that are not a Wild fan and you would see eye opening difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EL_CAPITAN_#9 Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 Koivus effort for the team is outstanding. I give him european 10! Great job! Year after year best Wild player. The rest of the players seems to be more interested of summer games.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 We see such a different fans opinions which player is above; at; or below expectations. What is that mean? Our players are still not very consistent in their production and this is why we are at the current position standings. I still do not see a real consistent step up player who can change for us the result of the game when is extremely necessary. Fresh examples of our inconsistency is a recent game against Panthers , as well as 4 games in a row right after the New Year time, which we lost. In general, we should be very careful/picky , especially, to give to player above the expectation grade. Koivu is not having an European grade 10, but, maybe, only 6-7. He had probably European grade 10 about 10 years ago. Effort is effort and it does not mean an excellence in play; his speed and reaction are not the same as they were before; his power play and overtime play are not superb too.This season he is having in 36 played games 2 goals; 11 assists; +/- +1 . I am still waiting for the next Mayhew tryout here(previously he had 2 goals in 7 games). IMO, he could be very helpful for the big club in scoring. And I am still waiting for the first tryout for Sokolov to get more of professional experience in the big club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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