Article: Wilderness Walk: Welcome, Jujhar!

[Thomas Williams]

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[Imyourhuckleberry]

Just read this note from TheAthletic:

Quote

the Wild signed Khaira to a two-way contract (may have to start as a pro tryout). Khaira is a big body (6-foot-4), a center, isn’t afraid to fight and is a good penalty killer. It’s helpful to also have another $775,000 league-minimum guy for call-ups. At the start, Khaira, Lettieri, Nic Petan, Nick Swaney and Steven Fogarty have much better chances of being recalled than Adam Beckman and Sammy Walker, who make in the high $800s as opposed to $700s.

That salary cap situation may dictate a few things early on. Sounds like they also expect Addison to sign in the next few days, with training camp opening up this week.

[vonlonster67]

Obviously the salary camp may dictate our moves from a forward prospective, but after watching the depth (prospect camp) we have at "D" in IA, I wonder if that could change the philosophy of order or result in a trade.

mnfaninnc was talking about Lambos in an article last week and him being the last cut of camp before went back to Canada. I have to believe if he keeps playing like he has this past week with the bigs, he may change some minds. Now don't go getting to excited as he was playing against other prospects vs Blues/Hawks, but he was making himself felt all over the ice. He's laying like they want Addy to play, so who knows????

Lambos was flying all over the ice, slashing through the opposition, driving plays and taking power shots from the blue line when given a chance. He also was shutting down any opportunity against the rushes with his stick, speed and body control (Brodin moves). I watched him individually as these guys have only played together for a few days and overall got shredded by the Blues and played the Hawks on a back to back.

The pairings were:  Lambos/Spacek, Hunt/Johannsen, O'Rourke/Masters, for players that we'll see in IA.

Spacek also did not look out of place and was a nice fit with Lambos. I was really impressed with Masters, he looked bigger and also was all over the ice and involved offensively. He didn't look like a player coming back from injury.

Even if none of these guys see the big roster it will be fun as hell watching them mature in IA with Wallstedt.

 

[Pewterschmidt]

1 hour ago, vonlonster67 said:

Now don't go getting to excited as he was playing against other prospects vs Blues/Hawks, but he was making himself felt all over the ice.

You took the words out of my mouth.  Shining against a bunch of incoming 19 yr olds is almost meaningless.  That said, I liked the way Lambo looked in terms of composure and play making ability.  

[Up North Guy]

1 hour ago, vonlonster67 said:

Obviously the salary camp may dictate our moves from a forward prospective, but after watching the depth (prospect camp) we have at "D" in IA, I wonder if that could change the philosophy of order or result in a trade.

mnfaninnc was talking about Lambos in an article last week and him being the last cut of camp before went back to Canada. I have to believe if he keeps playing like he has this past week with the bigs, he may change some minds. Now don't go getting to excited as he was playing against other prospects vs Blues/Hawks, but he was making himself felt all over the ice. He's laying like they want Addy to play, so who knows????

Lambos was flying all over the ice, slashing through the opposition, driving plays and taking power shots from the blue line when given a chance. He also was shutting down any opportunity against the rushes with his stick, speed and body control (Brodin moves). I watched him individually as these guys have only played together for a few days and overall got shredded by the Blues and played the Hawks on a back to back.

The pairings were:  Lambos/Spacek, Hunt/Johannsen, O'Rourke/Masters, for players that we'll see in IA.

Spacek also did not look out of place and was a nice fit with Lambos. I was really impressed with Masters, he looked bigger and also was all over the ice and involved offensively. He didn't look like a player coming back from injury.

Even if none of these guys see the big roster it will be fun as hell watching them mature in IA with Wallstedt.

 

We know that O'Rourke plays a physical game but that scrap he got into yesterday shows that Mnfann is right. He needs to add some ass to that frame to play the way he wants to. He got whipped. I agree that Lambos and Spacek looked good. Walker showed that him being 3-4 years older than the completion made a difference. That said, he played very well.

[Protec]

2 hours ago, Up North Guy said:

We know that O'Rourke plays a physical game but that scrap he got into yesterday shows that Mnfann is right. He needs to add some ass to that frame to play the way he wants to. He got whipped. I agree that Lambos and Spacek looked good. Walker showed that him being 3-4 years older than the completion made a difference. That said, he played very well.

I thought the fight was pretty squirrelly. Not saying O'Rourke looked like O'glethorpe in the bout but that it wasn't that bad. I think all these young guys will be better if they mature physically. To me O'Rourke looks like the kind of player who after a few AHL seasons could become a guy somewhere in the Prosser to Middleton range. It looked like guys were trying to exhibit their thing and it went well.

Khaira should be a good depth guy. Not a little player, 6'4" 210. North American style game. Scored 14 points last year in 50 games and nearly 50% in the faceoff circle with nearly 300 draws last season. Two-way deal makes me think GMBG was smart to sign Khaira more than the economy-center I suggested in Nosek. Certainly an upgrade in the size and experience department. I'm looking forward to seeing what shakes out at camp. Guerin is gonna have some redundancy and flexibility. The young guys are gonna need to be special to earn their spots.

[Pewterschmidt]

18 minutes ago, Protec said:

Khaira should be a good depth guy. Not a little player, 6'4" 210. North American style game. Scored 14 points last year in 50 games and nearly 50% in the faceoff circle with nearly 300 draws last season.

Prior to reading this sentence I had Kalahari penciled in a Sundqvist 2.0.  Good size, but basically a pylon who can check.  Now that I know Special K is a center with size I'm going to wildly speculate that BG plans to deal Hartman (or Rossi if he continues to fizzle) at some point this season.  Love Hartzy or hate him he's cheap and would make a fantastic bottom six addition (assuming he's healthy) to a playoff bound team.  

Getting a solid return for Hartzy while he still has tread on his tires would be some excellent GM'ing

Edited September 18, 2023 by Pewterschmidt

[vonlonster67]

28 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Prior to reading this sentence I had Kalahari penciled in a Sundqvist 2.0.  Good size, but basically a pylon who can check.  Now that I know Special K is a center with size I'm going to wildly speculate that BG plans to deal Hartman (or Rossi if he continues to fizzle) at some point this season.  Love Hartzy or hate him he's cheap and would make a fantastic bottom six addition (assuming he's healthy) to a playoff bound team.  

Getting a solid return for Hartzy while he still has tread on his tires would be some excellent GM'ing

I'm guessing it's purely insurance based. They'll resign Hartman,  he's 28 yoa.

[Pewterschmidt]

7 minutes ago, vonlonster67 said:

I'm guessing it's purely insurance based. They'll resign Hartman,  he's 28 yoa.

I'm not so convinced.  Hartzy's mile are hard miles, no highway miles.  Maybe it's just his style of play (love his grizzle) but I think he's going to fade fast once he starts to fade, so to deal him and get a solid return (high second, or prospect who's 1 yr away from NHL) i think BG looks smart.  Hartzy is different than Foligno.  Foligno is a big blunt instrument so when he fades there's not much to notice, but Hartzy's value is based on his ability to facilitate offense and/or finish and we saw last year how ineffective he was at beginning of season (when healthy) and then second half season when he started to break down.

[Tony Abbott]

46 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Prior to reading this sentence I had Kalahari penciled in a Sundqvist 2.0.  Good size, but basically a pylon who can check.  Now that I know Special K is a center with size I'm going to wildly speculate that BG plans to deal Hartman (or Rossi if he continues to fizzle) at some point this season.  Love Hartzy or hate him he's cheap and would make a fantastic bottom six addition (assuming he's healthy) to a playoff bound team.  

Getting a solid return for Hartzy while he still has tread on his tires would be some excellent GM'ing

Khaira isn't displacing anyone, let alone Rossi. 

[vonlonster67]

12 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

I'm not so convinced.  Hartzy's mile are hard miles, no highway miles.  Maybe it's just his style of play (love his grizzle) but I think he's going to fade fast once he starts to fade, so to deal him and get a solid return (high second, or prospect who's 1 yr away from NHL) i think BG looks smart.  Hartzy is different than Foligno.  Foligno is a big blunt instrument so when he fades there's not much to notice, but Hartzy's value is based on his ability to facilitate offense and/or finish and we saw last year how ineffective he was at beginning of season (when healthy) and then second half season when he started to break down.

They will have to pick because, Zucci, Hartzy, Dewey 1 & 2, and Foligno I'm guessing only half will be back...

[Protec]

39 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Prior to reading this sentence I had Kalahari penciled in a Sundqvist 2.0.  Good size, but basically a pylon who can check.  Now that I know Special K is a center with size I'm going to wildly speculate that BG plans to deal Hartman (or Rossi if he continues to fizzle) at some point this season.  Love Hartzy or hate him he's cheap and would make a fantastic bottom six addition (assuming he's healthy) to a playoff bound team.  

Getting a solid return for Hartzy while he still has tread on his tires would be some excellent GM'ing

I've noticed a lot of Guerin moves that are low-cost, under-radar, subtle-gains, that cultivate options. Even if long-run success isn't there, the Wild have benefited from Kulikov, Reaves, Mojo, Middleton, Gaudreau, and Gus at least. The Klingberg or Nyquist stuff that doesn't last, at least gets the Wild more kicks at the can for chemistry in a way that's affordable. Bjugstad, or Sundqvist are similar examples where the Wild just needed to fill holes at times or have NHL ready reserves.

To me this looks like another try to get a player who thrives in a stable environment with complimentary talent like the Wild have. This also allows the Wild to play Rossi at wing and have some size in the bottom six. Additionally, it allows the Wild to package assets if a trade comes up with NHL capable players, not just prospects.

I think it's a great move to be sure the Wild have injury depth and a plan B if Mojo, Rossi, Hartman, Foligno, or others are phoning it in. There's gonna be contracts up for grabs. The more of this healthy competition, the better IMO.

I think the first month is gonna be really interesting. To see where the players are at and what the Wild need. The next month or so should be good to see where teams are headed and playoff projections. Adding Khaira and Maroon to go with Foligno and Duhaime boosts the toughness and size. Khaira can skate and has a Bjugstad vibe but with a beard strong enough to deflect high-sticks in the dirty areas on the ice. JJ Grit-haira. #40 would be good and correlates to heavy-grit.

[mnfaninnc]

20 hours ago, vonlonster67 said:

They will have to pick because, Zucci, Hartzy, Dewey 1 & 2, and Foligno I'm guessing only half will be back...

Dewey's will be back. I'm thinking Foligno will be too, on a lesser deal. Zucci, Hartzy and possibly Addy are probably dealt or at least not back.

[vonlonster67]

1 minute ago, mnfaninnc said:

Dewey's will be back. I'm thinking Foligno will be too, on a lesser deal. Zucci, Hartzy and possibly Addy are probably dealt or at least not back.

We've beat this dead horse X7.....time and play will only tell the fair assessment in this quandary! 

[mnfaninnc]

20 hours ago, Protec said:

To me this looks like another try to get a player who thrives in a stable environment with complimentary talent like the Wild have. This also allows the Wild to play Rossi at wing and have some size in the bottom six. Additionally, it allows the Wild to package assets if a trade comes up with NHL capable players, not just prospects.

I'm not so sure we should see this as a big deal for the big club. Looking at the Baby Wild, though, Baddock was really the only big physical guy they had last season. I'm not sure he's back, but somebody's got to watch out for the young guys coming in. Khaira should wear a linebacker's number, just for statement purposes.

[mnfaninnc]

2 minutes ago, vonlonster67 said:

We've beat this dead horse X7.....time and play will only tell the fair assessment in this quandary! 

But, it may not sort out as you think. Play may price others out of the equation, or determine that the wheels are falling off.

We've got a few guys who are being resold at Bob's used car lot where he cleans 'em up and slaps on some duct tape where needed. The point about Foligno is that his body is big enough to take the pounding. Hartzy and Zucci maybe not. Addy, unless he adds size, definitely not. 

[vonlonster67]

1 minute ago, mnfaninnc said:

But, it may not sort out as you think. Play may price others out of the equation, or determine that the wheels are falling off.

We've got a few guys who are being resold at Bob's used car lot where he cleans 'em up and slaps on some duct tape where needed. The point about Foligno is that his body is big enough to take the pounding. Hartzy and Zucci maybe not. Addy, unless he adds size, definitely not. 

I'm guessing Moose is still not healthy and that's why we signed Jujhar Khaira to a one-year, two-way deal.

[mnfaninnc]

This is a non-hockey item, but I got a chance to get away to Myrtle Beach this past weekend. Did you all see that an F-35 fighter went down in SC on Sunday? Well, looking at the planes' footage, we got to see 6 of them streaking across the sky on Saturday. Myrtle Beach is not that far from Charleston by flying. 

Sunday is when the accident happened, we were out before they flew, but those things looked pretty impressive going across the ocean. 

[mnfaninnc]

1 minute ago, vonlonster67 said:

I'm guessing Moose is still not healthy and that's why we signed Jujhar Khaira to a one-year, two-way deal.

I'm thinking this could be the 13th forward if we need to take one on the road trips. A big guy like this can play any forward position and we can stash him down in Iowa when we need to. Plenty of guys in Iowa will appreciate him. The 2-way deal gives away what the intention is. He'll be like Letteri, a "break glass in case of emergency" type of player.

[Protec]

4 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

This is a non-hockey item, but I got a chance to get away to Myrtle Beach this past weekend. Did you all see that an F-35 fighter went down in SC on Sunday? Well, looking at the planes' footage, we got to see 6 of them streaking across the sky on Saturday. Myrtle Beach is not that far from Charleston by flying. 

Sunday is when the accident happened, we were out before they flew, but those things looked pretty impressive going across the ocean. 

Haha the cameras and transponders malfunctioned. F-35 did not kill himself. 

[Up North Guy]

22 hours ago, Protec said:

Haha the cameras and transponders malfunctioned. F-35 did not kill himself. 

I can't imagine the pilot that punched out of a $50M A/C that flew another 75 miles is not in hot water (caveat - I don't have info on what the emergency was). At the very least he probably will be challenged to get promoted in his normal timeframe.