Article: Wilderness Walk: Wallstedt Shining At Worlds

[Thomas Williams]

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[Protec]

Trade Gustaffsson while he's hot and get a center.

Have to. Wall was drafted first round for a reason. Not to be second fiddle to aging Fleury or another elite Swede.

Would Arizona perhaps trade their 6th or 12th overall pick for Gustaffsson and the Wild's first 2nd rd. pick???

There's 5 centers in the top 8 ranked NA skaters and 3 of the top 6 ranked International. Could the Wild get one of those picks? MTL is another team that might need some goaltending security. Hanging on to Gus while hot isn't gonna ruffle any feathers but it's not gonna help the Wild get a top center. I'd say the Wild should trade Gus & Rossi for the 5th or 6th overall pick.

[mnfaninnc]

1 hour ago, Protec said:

There's 5 centers in the top 8 ranked NA skaters and 3 of the top 6 ranked International. Could the Wild get one of those picks? MTL is another team that might need some goaltending security.

Which center(s) are you targeting?

I haven't really started looking at them yet, but I know there's a bunch.

Was painful watching Lundell competing well in game 5 when I knew he'd be doing that in the N.

[mnfaninnc]

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Chandler Stephenson's rise to stardom

This was the player I was thinking of when I was wondering if there were any centers who could thrive if given a better opportunity. William Karlsson was the other. Vegas hit gold with both of these expansion draft picks. 

Since they were at least bottom 6 at the time, you knew they had defense down. But they had tremendous upside and Vegas took advantage of that. Both Stephenson and Karlsson filled in as the top 2 Cs on Vegas, but they really needed a guy like Eichel to take on that top C role. 

Steel is not this solution, but is there a solution where we could trade to fill a team's weakness and give one of their lower centers a spot they could thrive in right next to Kaprizov?

[Protec]

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Which center(s) are you targeting?

I haven't really started looking at them yet, but I know there's abunch.

Bedard, Fantilli, Smith gone top five. Carlsson and Dvorsky are both good size centers ranked at the top for International guys and one is as elite Swede as they come. Carlsson with two ss’s...

At 5th or 6th you might get one of those guys or perhaps Nate Danielson or Dvorsky around 10th-12th. Maybe Ritchie or Moore at 21st. 
 

I expect Carlsson to probably go to CBJ or SJ. If Michkov goes early, the Wild could get Smith at 5th or 6th if they could get one of those picks for Gus. He could get a better contract perhaps and the Wild could get a top center. If the Wild could only get the 12th pick, perhaps it’s still worth it to go after Danielson. If he went earlier than 12th the Wild could get shafted, especially if Dvorsky is also gone. Although, I’d rather not get any Euro guys. Ritchie is the guy I would say has a chance of being available at 21st. That pick, plus Gus for 5th or 6th might be worth it if the Wild were really confident on Smith.  If Carlsson was still there somehow at 5th, you know the Wild will go elite Swede. 
 

I dunno, those two teams could potentially use a good goalie and might trade a 1st, maybe. Arizona’s 12 slot is where I’d go Danielson for size and skating. That is the most win-win since Arizona has marginal goaltending and is flush with center prospects. 12th is more risky that 6th though because so much can happen and Yzerman is ahead of you. No telling what shakes out before 12th.

[mnfaninnc]

5 hours ago, Protec said:

Bedard, Fantilli, Smith gone top five. Carlsson and Dvorsky are both good size centers ranked at the top for International guys and one is as elite Swede as they come. Carlsson with two ss’s...

At 5th or 6th you might get one of those guys or perhaps Nate Danielson or Dvorsky around 10th-12th. Maybe Ritchie or Moore at 21st. 

Ritchie at 20ish and Danielson at 12 is what I was thinking, but I haven't looked deep into those guys yet. What about the kid from MN headed to the U?

I was thinking if we went to 12, perhaps Rossi is part of that deal, not Goose2. For me, Addison's got to be part of a deal. 

The article I read on Danielson said he was close to NHL ready already. He doesn't have the greatest ceiling, but for us, that might be better than anything we've got!

[mnfaninnc]

Watching the Dallas-Seattle game, there was one thing that stood out to me, size really does matter. 

On Dallas' 1st PP, the ability of the Seattle defense to box out and punish the guys in front of the net, I thought, was something we really could never do. I mean this year, last year, the year before. 

Speaking of which, Tolvanen took the penalty by cross checking Benn in the crease saving a goal (of course, Benn cross checked Gourde to get there but obviously that never gets called!), and that was an example of the lack of compete I saw in Rossi, he never makes that crosscheck. 

To be fair, I saw a glimpse of Rossi finally cutting loose, so this little sliver of hope has me hoping we give him another year. That was the guy we were supposed to have drafted by a bunch of quotes in his draft scouting report. I want to see the short guy play with an edge, and I'll be disappointed if we never get to see that.

I'm also enjoying watching Robertson struggle. This guy doesn't really like the physical game, and in that frame, he should. 

[mnfaninnc]

CHL Update-Winnipeg split over the weekend with Seattle, series tied 1-1. Lambos is a +2 with no points so far.

[mnfaninnc]

Here's a January scouting report on Caeden Bankier:

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January 2023 – Bankier, who was drafted in the 3 rd round at the 2021 NHL draft, is having a strong season in the WHL for the Kamloops Blazers. He has strong leadership skills, as he is an alternate captain for the team, as well as being invited to the Canada U-20 National team. His goal-scoring has been phenomenal during the 22-23 WHL season, where he has currently put up 20 goals in only 24 games while also adding 13 assists. At the 2023 World Junior Championships, Bankier played a depth fourth-line role where he added only one assist in 7 games leading Canada to a gold medal victory. Although Bankier has strong numbers in the WHL, it is clear that he will need to develop his offensive game for the NHL. Otherwise, he will be an energy forward in the bottom six at the NHL level. Minnesota has a strong pipeline for forwards coming up, therefore Bankier will need to continue to develop in order to one day crack a spot at the NHL level after a couple of seasons in the AHL. Nathan Leblanc

Another place said that his skating is getting better and he's closing more often. This is a kid who's as tall as Beckman but a little heavier and he knows how to score. 

It sounds to me like the kid will need at least 2 seasons in the A. He kind of came out of nowhere this season to be 2nd on his team in scoring. My guess would be that this is due to his skating getting better, and that he is one more season longer in his new body. 

I believe he is a hard worker, so if he can come in and get some direction on what to work on, I believe he will improve. I sure hope they stick him at center in Iowa. 

[mnfaninnc]

There's a middleweight defenseman in Winnipeg, Lambos' team, that was their top scoring defender. He's a 21 year old, but is supposed to be a good puck mover. He's only 6', 170 right now, and is a ? defensively, however, could he be worth a look in Iowa? 

His name is Ben Zloty.

[TitusBooker]

would like to share my thoughts on this exciting match. First, I think Wallstedt handled a brilliant game at the World Cup. His skills and goaltending were top notch and I couldn't help but admire his reflexes and confidence on the ice. He really deserves recognition and praise for his performances. In addition, I liked how the author of the article talks about the details of the game and includes interesting facts about the team and the tournament. This adds depth and context to the material, making it fascinating to the reader. I also agree with the author that Wallstedt's success at the World Championships can have a positive impact on his career and be an additional motivating factor for him and his team. I hope his performances continue to impress us in the future.

[Protec]

How bout  Wyatt Johnston’s GWG? Pretty slick!

The Wild took Wallstedt and Dallas took Johnston. 
 

Worth noting that the Wild’s draft failures of the past are a huge part of their current problems. Brackett is a Euro-lover and Spurgeon should be traded to allow the Wild to move forward. Faber will become the new defensive leader for the Wild.

[Quebec1648]

On 5/15/2023 at 8:48 AM, Protec said:

Trade Gustaffsson while he's hot and get a center.

Have to. Wall was drafted first round for a reason. Not to be second fiddle to aging Fleury or another elite Swede.

Would Arizona perhaps trade their 6th or 12th overall pick for Gustaffsson and the Wild's first 2nd rd. pick???

There's 5 centers in the top 8 ranked NA skaters and 3 of the top 6 ranked International. Could the Wild get one of those picks? MTL is another team that might need some goaltending security. Hanging on to Gus while hot isn't gonna ruffle any feathers but it's not gonna help the Wild get a top center. I'd say the Wild should trade Gus & Rossi for the 5th or 6th overall pick.

Why do we need to trade Gus? What's wrong with having two quality goalies? The Wall can be the 1A goalie, while the Gus bus can be the 1B goalie. I agree the Wild need a legit #1 center, but I disagree on trading Gus. 

[Protec]

Well if Fleury could go back to Pittsburgh then yeah sign Gustaffsson and go full elite Swede between the pipes with Wallstedt. 

At the same time, the Wild picked Wallstedt to be a main guy. When have the Wild had an asset like Gustaffsson who is entering prime years and coming off such a good season that could become a top center which has been on the Wild's radar since before Koivu's retirement?