Article: Get Ready For the Rossi Revenge Tour

[mnfaninnc]

2 hours ago, TheGoosesAreLooses said:

I feel like a broken record but we need to stop with the bargin bin pickups and let our young guys get a taste for the NHL. We have multiple guys as ready as they can be for the big show. Beckman, Rossi and Walker all showed they were ready last year. Beckman and Walker looked good on the ice every time they were called up and Rossi looked much improved in the last games of the season. 

It's not a broken record, and I see the value in that. I would point out that both Boldy and more Walker had their play drop off when they hit a wall. That will happen to college kids. Beckman, I believe, could play but needs more muscle and filling out. Rossi clearly needed a lot of things.

Yes, Rossi showed a couple of glimpses at the end of the year, but even in the A, he was still gliding, standing still, and a step behind on defense a lot. I didn't really see him start driving until the last 10 games in the season in the A. Granted, they were just highlights, but the highlights were showing nice drives that got stopped. 

To me, with Rossi, I thought something clicked at the end of the year. I've been looking for him to shift into another gear and it felt like he was grinding the gears trying to get there. Finally he was able to shift into it. I think he needed that extra time down there, and if he's not a lot stronger this season, he may need even more time in the A. If he doesn't play fast, he gets crushed by middleweight players. 

Evason still wants to play that grinding, bangin' & hammerin' style. But, with Walker, Beckman and Rossi, they're simply not built for that style of play. Now, Evason also coached the team differently when Fiala was on line 2 and we could score more.

[mnfaninnc]

2 hours ago, Protec said:

One of the other questions is about the coaching? Dean has been good for regular seasons. Three playoffs and 0-2 against DeBoer, 0-1 against Berube. Can Dean elevate his coaching game? Is that significant do we think??? Two opposite goaltending decisions in back to back years that were wrong it seems. I mean maybe they weren't wrong but each didn't get good results and therefore source of criticism. Just sayin, is the coach right for a Wild playoff run? I don't think Dean is a bad coach but he's not an NHL elite Cup finals guy like we've seen from certain NHL coaches who keep making it back to the Conference or Cup finals.

This is a very good question. 

1 hour ago, Willy the poor boy said:

Maybe you're right, I lean the other way though. I'd like to see what DE could do on a level playing field. we're short roughly 14 million in talent.

And this is the counterpoint.

Here's where I think Protec's point gets a little more evidence: Deano is 0-professional coaching career in playoff series. Actually, these past 3 have been his best, he was getting swept in the A. This says something to me: Deano is a starter coach. With the rookies coming in soon, a starter coach is just fine, but when the window opens, if Deano is still 0-for, a change needs to be made. 

I consider his seat warming up this coming season and if he doesn't get out of the 1st round, I think that's it. Of course everyone knows I'd like Keefe to come, and with a new GM over there, maybe he becomes available after the season? But, all Keefe's proven is he can beat the Lightning in round 1. 

You have to coach the players you're given, -$14.7m isn't an excuse. Under Deano, the Wild have been very good at taking care of business vs. the lower 20 teams. I do think we've had less talent to deal with, and with the -14.7m you have to go in healthy. Losing Shaw and then Ek with really no answers was too much to overcome. I think what it really comes down to is a 7 game series. A coach has to set things up and constantly make tweaks in the series. Deano shows that he is either too slow to do so, or just doesn't do it. DeBoer and Berube did. 

[TheGoosesAreLooses]

15 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

Evason still wants to play that grinding, bangin' & hammerin' style. But, with Walker, Beckman and Rossi, they're simply not built for that style of play. Now, Evason also coached the team differently when Fiala was on line 2 and we could score more.

I guess this is where I disagree. I think you coach for the team you are given and utilize the player's best qualities and skills the best you can. Not set an identity and force players to play that way. Our size and skill would indicate we change our strategies a little instead of trying to get Rossi attempting to lay out someone like Stanley in the D zone. That doesn't improve our team, just racks up injuries when we could be focusing on a fast paced game that leaves Stanley struggling to keep up.

I've heard multiple coaches including Berube and Cooper make this comment. Specifically towards what make up it takes to win a cup. I think this may be where our coaching is falling down. 

7 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

Here's where I think Protec's point gets a little more evidence: Deano is 0-professional coaching career in playoff series. Actually, these past 3 have been his best, he was getting swept in the A. This says something to me: Deano is a starter coach. With the rookies coming in soon, a starter coach is just fine, but when the window opens, if Deano is still 0-for, a change needs to be made. 

Deano has yet to prove he has the capacity for post season hockey. He's failed to make adjustment or made bad adjustments in the past two years. Not saying the outcome would have been changed by a different coach but every little bit helps. The Fleury deployment in the past two playoffs have been head scratchers. You put out your best for playoffs, end of story.