Article: Four Wild Players Playing At World Championships This Year

[Thomas Williams]

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[Protec]

Yurov seems like a pretty smart kid. There's been players like Nishushkin who were promising young players that didn't majorly succeed at the NHL level while they were young. Radulov perhaps as an example of a player who came in hot and ended up back in the KHL. Podkolzin is one who's struggling now.

Yurov will be able to prepare for high expectations and enjoy being a winner in Magnitogorsk. He'll have a pretty clear shot at jumping right into the Wild's new look lineup for a year with #97 on a top line and PP. 

[mnfaninnc]

We still have CHL players to cheer for, Kalem Parker for Moose Jaw, and Rasmus Kumpulainen for Oshawa. These are in their league finals. 

Kalem Parker isn't a guy who puts up stunning numbers on the backend. He was only a 6th round pick last year, and he looks like he was an overage pick. He got traded to Moose Jaw this year and played far better. 

He's an RHS defender, and is currently 6' 192. That's only about 8 lbs. short of where he needs to be. Can he make the N? Maybe, he'll have to fight Masters for it. And, he is yet to be signed. I'd think he'd be worth a flier. 

 

 

[Citizen Strife]

Boldy on the first line for Team USA.  I know Hynes is the coach and all, but pretty good props to put Boldy ahead of Caufield in the depth chart.

[FredJohnson]

5 hours ago, Citizen Strife said:

Boldy ahead of Caufield in the depth chart.

😳

[mnfaninnc]

On 5/8/2024 at 10:33 AM, Citizen Strife said:

Boldy ahead of Caufield in the depth chart.

Why wouldn't they be on the same line?

[mnfaninnc]

Sheldon Keefe is the 11th head coach let go this season. I'd still recommend trying to get him to come to this organization. I'm not suggesting he'd have to be head coach, or he could be and Heinzy moves into the front office in an executive position. 

Keefe's got a different set of eyes that are outside of Guerin's sight. I think he may be able to help with Guerin's blind spots. I also believe that Keefe aligns more with Brackett type players, and can bring them to another level. 

One shortcoming the Leafs had was defensively. While they could put up points, they lacked the commitment to a 200' game in their star players. I think you'd get an up tempo style with Keefe, but there would still be a 200' commitment from the players if he were to coach. 

If he was in the front office, perhaps even temporarily, I think he would be a good sounding board for Guerin. I'm not sure about the particulars, but if Toronto is letting him exit the organization, which fired sounds like, he is still under contract with them. Would a front office role mean Toronto had to pay his full extension? I also think that he'd help in the area of player development.