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2020-21 Minnesota Wild Season Preview


CreaseAndAssist

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3 hours ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

2020-21 Minnesota Wild Season Preview

 

I wrote up my own extended preview of the upcoming season.  I talk about the roster, line combinations and I provide predictions as well.  Enjoy and discuss!  

I agree. It is going to be a transitional year for the experience and chemistry team's establishment. In general, hopes for the New Year are the main part of the Holidays season. Like we always and ever hope in any parts of our life that the next year is going to be better than the previous one . We will see. Regarding our team. Hope to see the most production coming from Fiala, Kaprizov, Parise as well as from our experienced defense lines. Hope, the coach will find the most fitted center for the Fiala-Kaprizov line. Hope, I will not see these 2 offensive players will be divided into 2 different lines. In my opinion, that is a future promising line  and the rest of the team suppose to build around that line.  Hope, also to see more Kahkonen involvement into the  most games. Actually, it is going to be a strange season when all 56 games for our team are going to be performed only between 8 teams of that Division. Of course, it is better than nothing. But hope, I will not see that in 2022 year, because all 31 teams are absolutely different, and have different level of professionalism which provides a better experience for each player. This year their professionalism will be limited mainly around 8 teams. Agree also, it does not sounds right for our team to finish the season with 4 games against a former Stanley Cup winner, toughest team in the league St.Louis team. My prediction, probably, will be same as yours, LIG, for the position of our team at the end of the season. But, we always hope for better.  

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Thank you for this! I have my hopes up that we have a double KK coming out party this season with Kahkonen and Kaprizov being what we hope they are, and Fiala topping the icing on the cake by forming a dynamic duo with Kaprizov. God knows our expectations have often failed but after the miserable year 2020 we really could use a year of fulfilled hopes.

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I just looked for the list of 41 players included into the training camp and  I did not find Dmitry Sokolov. Why? I do not know. Everyone else, even which are not presenting any interest are included, but he is not. I am getting disappointed about that fact.

 

Here is a list:

https://files.constantcontact.com/10f93794401/2b23070a-2dbf-40df-a881-6ded90902ac4.pdf

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On 12/30/2020 at 3:53 PM, lynxrattle said:

Thank you for this! I have my hopes up that we have a double KK coming out party this season with Kahkonen and Kaprizov being what we hope they are, and Fiala topping the icing on the cake by forming a dynamic duo with Kaprizov. God knows our expectations have often failed but after the miserable year 2020 we really could use a year of fulfilled hopes.

Sincerely, I do not know what God knows about our expectations, but my year of hopes will be not fulfilled without a real tryout of Dmitry Sokolov in the main club. He is a really offensively minded player, a real warrior in his production. We need those players to see their performance in NHL. If he is healthy, and not prone to injuries, then I do not care about anything else. This season Sokolov's contract is ending, but he was never tried in the Wild uniform. That way is not allowable. If the club signed a player for a contract, then the player should have a chance to be tried in the main club. Especially, if the player producing 15-16 goals 2 seasons in a row by playing mainly in the 4th line in AHL between 41-60 games per season as well as he was placing 48-50 goals per season 2 seasons in a row in OHL by playing 64 games during the season. Do we have any player who had/or has these stats by playing in the 4th line in the Wild team? Never. Last season Sokolov had 15 goals; 7 assists; +/- +12 in 41 AHL games by playing in the 4th line. He multiple times saved the team by placing goals in a last minutes of regulation and in OT for 2 seasons in a row in Iowa. These are perfect stats to try him here. Iowa fans liked his play a lot and I think, he could be a very valuable player here too.

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17 hours ago, Alexandron said:

I just looked for the list of 41 players included into the training camp and  I did not find Dmitry Sokolov. Why? I do not know. Everyone else, even which are not presenting any interest are included, but he is not. I am getting disappointed about that fact.

 

Here is a list:

https://files.constantcontact.com/10f93794401/2b23070a-2dbf-40df-a881-6ded90902ac4.pdf

 

Suffice it to say, Sokolov's days with the Wild are probably done.  The team just wasn't going to wait any longer for him to get it.  

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13 hours ago, Alexandron said:

Sincerely, I do not know what God knows about our expectations, but my year of hopes will be not fulfilled without a real tryout of Dmitry Sokolov in the main club. He is a really offensively minded player, a real warrior in his production. We need those players to see their performance in NHL. If he is healthy, and not prone to injuries, then I do not care about anything else. This season Sokolov's contract is ending, but he was never tried in the Wild uniform. That way is not allowable. If the club signed a player for a contract, then the player should have a chance to be tried in the main club. Especially, if the player producing 15-16 goals 2 seasons in a row by playing mainly in the 4th line in AHL between 41-60 games per season as well as he was placing 48-50 goals per season 2 seasons in a row in OHL by playing 64 games during the season. Do we have any player who had/or has these stats by playing in the 4th line in the Wild team? Never. Last season Sokolov had 15 goals; 7 assists; +/- +12 in 41 AHL games by playing in the 4th line. He multiple times saved the team by placing goals in a last minutes of regulation and in OT for 2 seasons in a row in Iowa. These are perfect stats to try him here. Iowa fans liked his play a lot and I think, he could be a very valuable player here too.

 

The only real NHL-level skill he had was his shot.  Everything else was below that standard.  IMO, its a lot like Teemu Pulkkinen; great shot...not much else.  I also think you have to remember Sokolov was a player selected by Chuck Fletcher / Brent Flahr.  There has been a lot of changes to the administration and scouting since then.  So guys that may have been willing to go to bat and argue for him are no longer there so then you are simply at the discretion of the new regime.  They look at you, they don't really like what they see and they say can we get a player who better fits how we want to play there?  Ok...and they go with that.  

 

IMO, its not unforgiveable at all.  Its the reality of the business.  Remember, prior to his draft year Sokolov looked like a possible 1st round pick.  But all of the league's teams obviously soured on him enough that he was available in the 7th round.  He was drafted and the criticisms that led to his fall in the draft kept going unaddressed by the player.  That's on Sokolov, not anyone else.  

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4 hours ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

 

The only real NHL-level skill he had was his shot.  Everything else was below that standard.  IMO, its a lot like Teemu Pulkkinen; great shot...not much else.  I also think you have to remember Sokolov was a player selected by Chuck Fletcher / Brent Flahr.  There has been a lot of changes to the administration and scouting since then.  So guys that may have been willing to go to bat and argue for him are no longer there so then you are simply at the discretion of the new regime.  They look at you, they don't really like what they see and they say can we get a player who better fits how we want to play there?  Ok...and they go with that.  

 

IMO, its not unforgiveable at all.  Its the reality of the business.  Remember, prior to his draft year Sokolov looked like a possible 1st round pick.  But all of the league's teams obviously soured on him enough that he was available in the 7th round.  He was drafted and the criticisms that led to his fall in the draft kept going unaddressed by the player.  That's on Sokolov, not anyone else.  

LIG, I understand about the changes to the administration, but I liked from Bill Guerin interviews when he was saying - I do not care who signed the player before me, but if the player capable to contribute to the team, then I will be satisfied too.

In my opinion,  besides the nice shot Sokolov is capable to contribute to the team. At least he should be tried in the main Wild club. Before my final conclusion about him, I really want to see his tryout here. Kind of my dream at least for the year 2021, because, so far, he is  a very specific player who merit that  NHL tryout.  Sincerely, it does not matter for me in what round he was drafted #7th or #1st. Pavel Datsyuk was drafted in the #6th round, but became an NHL legend, and Kaprizov was drafted in the #5th round, but became an elite star player even before playing in the Wild club. Sadly to say, our #1 draft last season Marco Rossi, did not showed me anything in his 4 games play as a captain(0 points;+/- -6) at the 2021 WJC-20. The Austrian team allowed 29 goals in 4 games and the team was able to place only 1 goal during that tournament into the opposite net. I was expected more out of Marco.

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(shrugs)  Sokolov wasn't cheated.  He had a chance, but he had to take steps to round out his game / fitness and he didn't.  I could go deeper on this; but I'll just say that he had every opportunity and was told precisely what he must do.  At the end of the day he didn't do it and the thus team let him go.  It happens.  Its a shame, but the blame shouldn't be on the organization.  They shouldn't have to continually remind him the benefit of taking a professional approach.  He didn't choose to and thus he made his bed.  He can go lie in it now.  Sokolov made himself a 'what if' not the Wild.  

 

What in the hell was Rossi supposed to show when he was on a team that didn't really have the talent to compete?  What line mate did he he really have to work with?  Team Austria averaged about 10-11 shots per game, I think that's pretty lame to put that all on Rossi.  I notice Firstov left a lot to be desired for Team Russia, but let me guess we'll hear a ton of excuses because he's a Russian, blah blah blah.  

 

Firstov is falling on my list.  Khusnutdinov and Boldy have certainly climbed up near the top.  

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