Article: Wilderness Walk: Development Camp Time

[Thomas Williams]

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[mnfaninnc]

I would think development camp should be very interesting this year! 

It'll be nice to see the progress of Bankier, Haight, Spacek, Peart, Lambos, and the new guys. I wonder if the European guys will participate? I wonder if Firstov will be invited?

[Sviginak]

we’ll know soon….

[Backwoodsbob]

Still looking a little small on the back end. Not terrible but still a little concerning.

 

[M_Nels]

Hopefully these get recorded and posted. BUNCH of guys I'm excited to see.

Baniker, Haight, Heidt, Stramel, Ohgren, Yurov 

[mnfaninnc]

1 hour ago, Backwoodsbob said:

Still looking a little small on the back end. Not terrible but still a little concerning.

At development camp, do the Wild take measurements? I assume they do physicals on the guys. I'd like to see how their measurements have progressed. Some of these kids may have put on an inch or 2 since being drafted too.

Will Mikey Milne be invited too? 

If I were Shooter, I'd want to know how the prospects are progressing with the strength part of development. Some of that can be determined by weight. For instance, I'd like to see Beckman at about 205 coming into camp, looking ripped. I'd like to see Rossi up to 195 too.

[Protec]

Rossi & Walker had the best AHL production. Walker is little older than Beckman who has looked like he can be a scorer but one more year of top AHL minutes wouldn't be the worst for any of these guys. When Zuccarrello and Foligno are done there will be open spots. More so if Maroon is gone. The Wild will be okay with or without these players but I do think all of them will get some opportunities like last year. The nice thing is any of them could "potentially" be guys who come in and play  at a 20 point pace in the NHL. Rossi's pre-season last year was great. Beckman and Walker showed some NHL ability to chip in. Beckman's goal disallowed but Walker got on the scoresheet so both guys really look close. If these guys can pack on 30-40lbs of muscle this off-season like mnfaninnc's looking for it's gonna make the Wild a big-rig-moose-Euro-convoy.

 

[mnfaninnc]

6 hours ago, Protec said:

Walker is little older than Beckman who has looked like he can be a scorer but one more year of top AHL minutes wouldn't be the worst for any of these guys.

Walker looked good when he was up here, but he really wore down in the 2nd half, kind of typical for a college guy. I'll bet he fixes that this season, though, even Boldy kind of went through that a bit last season too, again.

As for Beckman, if he weighs in at 205, and it's good weight, he makes this team full-time. Strength was his only drawback. That's what he needs to do, let's see if he paid attention and did it!

[mnfaninnc]

I'm sure Russo released a roster for development camp, but do to new Twitter rules, I can't see it. Anyone want to post that?

[Sviginak]

NHL.com/Wild article about development camp has a link to roster. Good detail in it but I could not copy and paste with ipad.

[PiranhasOnIce]

Here it is

[B1GKappa97]

13 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

As for Beckman, if he weighs in at 205, and it's good weight, he makes this team full-time. Strength was his only drawback. That's what he needs to do, let's see if he paid attention and did it!

Yeah but likely as a healthy scratch. Our top-6 is pretty much locked-in with ZHK/JEB! Adding Maroon eats up another spot in the bottom-6, so unless they're going to let him get a ton of rest days then Beckman is competing with Rossi for that final spot on the 3rd line (since Freddy can get kicked into C if necessary.) Personally I'm hoping Rossi takes that spot over Beckman. 

Next season, with Foligno/Zooky/Hartman all due to hit UFA, we might see more of the AHL guys break into the bottom-6 as other players move up the lines but I don't think it'll happen much in '23-'24 unfortunately. 

[mnfaninnc]

1 hour ago, B1GKappa97 said:

Yeah but likely as a healthy scratch. Our top-6 is pretty much locked-in with ZHK/JEB! Adding Maroon eats up another spot in the bottom-6, so unless they're going to let him get a ton of rest days then Beckman is competing with Rossi for that final spot on the 3rd line (since Freddy can get kicked into C if necessary.) Personally I'm hoping Rossi takes that spot over Beckman. 

Next season, with Foligno/Zooky/Hartman all due to hit UFA, we might see more of the AHL guys break into the bottom-6 as other players move up the lines but I don't think it'll happen much in '23-'24 unfortunately. 

Those are the penciled in slots, but you're forgetting about injuries. Some of our guys are at the age where they are a little more brittle.

[mnfaninnc]

15 hours ago, Sviginak said:

NHL.com/Wild article about development camp has a link to roster. Good detail in it but I could not copy and paste with ipad.

Got it, I wonder if everyone will show up? Also, no Khus$%^&*, no Hunter Jones?

Didn't know if you guys caught this, but it seems like our possible draft day steal from last year, Servac Petrovsky has added 2" in height and some weight to get to 187. To me, this is very encouraging.

I'm hoping we get height/weight adjustments on all these guys as they get measured. I would want them measured if I was GM!

And, yes, Mikey Milne was invited!

[Up North Guy]

2 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

Those are the penciled in slots, but you're forgetting about injuries. Some of our guys are at the age where they are a little more brittle.

As tight as the team is on the cap they may need someone to go on LTIR to call anyone up. I forget which team it was last year but one team went several games one guy short because they didn't have cap space to call someone up.

[MNCountryLife]

19 minutes ago, Up North Guy said:

I forget which team it was last year but one team went several games one guy short because they didn't have cap space to call someone up.

Players often play better when they are short a man or 2.  They get more minutes and get into the game more.  Some of these young guys play better when they are just continually tossed on the ice and they don't have time to think.

[Up North Guy]

1 minute ago, MNCountryLife said:

Players often play better when they are short a man or 2.  They get more minutes and get into the game more.  Some of these young guys play better when they are just continually tossed on the ice and they don't have time to think.

True but it is not optimal to be short going in. Injuries happen and can happen in bunches.

[MNCountryLife]

1 hour ago, Up North Guy said:

True but it is not optimal to be short going in. Injuries happen and can happen in bunches.

Agreed.  Excellent point.

[mnfaninnc]

I watched the interviews of the prospects. It's annoying when the question's they're asked are muffled, so you don't really know what they're answering. Who knows, maybe they answer the question they wished they were asked?

I also wanted to see the players, and was hoping to see physical growth. No idea why they didn't post Bankier and Heidt interviews. Would have liked to see Lambos too. 

I thought Stramel's interview was excellent. Kumpulainen's interview revealed a deeper voice than I expected, I believe he still has some growing to do. Stramel looks like he's been in the gym but has a lot of room to bulk up. Yurov looked small, to me. Ohgren had on a jacket so it was tough to tell. He said the player he likes to watch is Landeskog, and model his game after. I'd love a Landeskog type of player on our team.

Pionk, to me, looks way too small. Jimmy Clark looked small too, but his interview wasn't bad. Yurov also had trouble with the questions as his English is very basic and he needed a translator who I don't think was that good. Honestly, though, I think Yurov may be Zuccarello's replacement. He does need to hit the upper body weights. 

I'd still like updated height/weight measurements to be released. It looks like the Wild hasn't released any video of the development camp so far.

[Protec]

A lot of young guys are looking to have big seasons and get in the real competition for an NHL job. I'm sure the questions are annoying to answer. Everybody wants to improve and get to the NHL. I'll be interested to see who can break through. That's what the Wild have needed. It was slow and steady with Ek. Boldy is on the path. Kaprizov lived up to the hype, but the Wild need one or two of these guys this season.

[Dango]

Talking about player size , anyone know  do they  measure them with their skates and pads on or just barely dressed .

[Imyourhuckleberry]

A few key notes ahead of camp -- From The Athletic

Quote

Danila Yurov arrived in the Twin Cities recently ahead of Wild development camp and immediately dug the area — which, fans hope, is his future home.

“Great city,” he said. “Great people.”

But Yurov, 19, especially enjoyed the welcome text messages he got Wednesday from Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov. Yurov, one of the team’s top prospects and a 2022 first-rounder, said Kaprizov helped him with a few questions. What was Kaprizov’s message to his fellow Russian?

Quote

“He’s waiting for (me),” Yurov said through an interpreter.

Quote

...Ohgren and Yurov both said they plan to come to North America next summer with the idea of turning pro — whether that’s in AHL Iowa or with the Wild.

“One more year in Sweden in the SHL, and I hope to take even more steps,” Ohgren said. “Hopefully I’ll do my best to make the team next year in Minnesota.”

Quote

Guerin was struck by Yurov’s strides in picking up the English language, having taken classes once a week. “The difference a year makes,” Guerin said...“Last year, we couldn’t really communicate. I had a full-blown conversation with him (Wednesday). It’s incredible.”

 

[Up North Guy]

23 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

I watched the interviews of the prospects. It's annoying when the question's they're asked are muffled, so you don't really know what they're answering. Who knows, maybe they answer the question they wished they were asked?

I also wanted to see the players, and was hoping to see physical growth. No idea why they didn't post Bankier and Heidt interviews. Would have liked to see Lambos too. 

I thought Stramel's interview was excellent. Kumpulainen's interview revealed a deeper voice than I expected, I believe he still has some growing to do. Stramel looks like he's been in the gym but has a lot of room to bulk up. Yurov looked small, to me. Ohgren had on a jacket so it was tough to tell. He said the player he likes to watch is Landeskog, and model his game after. I'd love a Landeskog type of player on our team.

Pionk, to me, looks way too small. Jimmy Clark looked small too, but his interview wasn't bad. Yurov also had trouble with the questions as his English is very basic and he needed a translator who I don't think was that good. Honestly, though, I think Yurov may be Zuccarello's replacement. He does need to hit the upper body weights. 

I'd still like updated height/weight measurements to be released. It looks like the Wild hasn't released any video of the development camp so far.

Ohgren was listed in the Strib at 6'1" and 195lbs. He still has growth. His Dad is a fitness trainer (Landeskog's) so that should help.

[Up North Guy]

I need to start mapping out where these guys will play as they come up and when. Whose place do they take? What kind of timeline for success is acceptable? 

I am thinking that we will see 1-3 of these guys maturating to the big club every year for the next 3-4 years. This year will be interesting with no contracts expiring and no cap space available. Not all of these guys will make it but you have to expect most of the upper tier guys will. It is going to be interesting.

[mnfaninnc]

23 hours ago, Up North Guy said:

Ohgren was listed in the Strib at 6'1" and 195lbs. He still has growth. His Dad is a fitness trainer (Landeskog's) so that should help.

This was the same size as listed when he was drafted. As the son of a fitness trainer, I'm having a hard time believing he hasn't moved the needle at all. Plus, I'm betting he's 6'2" now.