Article: Riley Heidt Can Make Marcus Johansson Expendable

[Pewterschmidt]

1 hour ago, TheGoosesAreLooses said:

Heidt will make it. He worked hard at becoming a well rounded player this season and it showed. He plays with an edge and has no quit on his motor. He made the summer showcase and was second in points (8)and tied for first in goals(4) in 5 games. He has a chip on his shoulder and Dave Cameron can eat a dick for shorting him in favor of some OHL and QMJHL plebs. 

I am a resounding yes that he will earn a spot and a maybe on whether Guerin will make the right decision and keep him up. Not because he won't earn it but because Guerin loves to defer to veterans.

Goose is a "YES"

[Protec]

SillyG? 😃

[Imyourhuckleberry]

1 hour ago, mnfaninnc said:

An out of market guy doesn't get this type of information, but I'll ask. Has Heidt been around the Twin Cities this summer? Has he been working out with his future teammates? Has he been taking skating lessons from Andy Ness? Is he looking for a place to stay?

I don't know the answer to this, but he was at the Wild developmental camp, and at the summer showcase for World Juniors, where he earned a spot on Team Canada. He will be working hard in the summer and he believes he has a shot to be on the Wild in the upcoming season.

See the 5:00 mark in this interview, given a few weeks ahead of Wild developmental camp, where he looked good.

At the 16:10 mark, he talks about rounding out his game last season, which might also be a point of interest.

This article also might be of interest.

https://www.therinklive.com/nhl/most-intriguing-player-at-wild-development-camp-the-prolific-riley-heidt

Edited August 19 by Imyourhuckleberry
Added TheRinkLive article

[Protec]

At least we're not gonna have to have the Laine debate any longer.

🙂

[WheelSnipeCelly]

36 minutes ago, Protec said:

At least we're not gonna have to have the Laine debate any longer.

I've had to re-read the trade details a few times to make sure I'm not missing something: Montreal gets Laine and a 2nd Round Pick for Jordan Harris.

Obviously Montreal took on Laine's entire contract, but to get a 2nd Round Pick too...well done Canadiens. 

[Burnt Toast]

4 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Call our shots

Not happening. It would go against everything I’ve witnessed the last 5 years. The question is where should he play to develop for 2025? I still think Yurov is our best forward prospect overall but there’s always room for some healthy competition. 

[Imyourhuckleberry]

21 minutes ago, WheelSnipeCelly said:

I've had to re-read the trade details a few times to make sure I'm not missing something: Montreal gets Laine and a 2nd Round Pick for Jordan Harris.

Obviously Montreal took on Laine's entire contract, but to get a 2nd Round Pick too...well done Canadiens. 

That is quite surprising that they also sent a 2nd round pick. I initially assumed the pick went from Montreal to Columbus for that trade.

Clearly Columbus favored getting out of the entire contract, over retaining some salary, to give themselves maximum flexibility moving forward, but that certainly looks like a steal of a deal for Montreal.

[Pewterschmidt]

1 hour ago, Protec said:

At least we're not gonna have to have the Laine debate any longer.

🙂

Bullet dodged

[TheGoosesAreLooses]

2 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Goose, are you betting "Yes" Heidt will play 10+ games with Wild this season?

#Nojoeatsdicks

If I was a betting man I would say no. based solely on my knowledge of Guerin and how he operates. 

Fortunately, he's a Saskatoon boy(my hometown as well) and I am an eternal optimist (regarding our prospects not our FO), so keep that at a yes. 

[bisopher]

I'll be optimistic/ delusional and go "Yes" on 10+ games for Heidt.

I have this vision of Ohgren - Rossi - Heidt as our second line, with the vets (Foligno - Trenin - Hartman) as L3.  It doesn't have any spot for Zucc, so it's not going to happen, but maybe eventually...

[PiranhasOnIce]

5 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

My take is that if he's ready he plays 10+ games.  I don't believe he'll be used as an injury fill-in for over 9 games if he's not ready.  Let Nojo/Fraud/Lauko eat those minutes rather than burn a year on a player who's not quite ready yet.

Yes. This.

[Lovehockey]

I think he should and hopefully will end up in Europe. Three reasons:

Guerin indicated multiple times that he believes this year team will be better and will be able to compete for the playoffs. With this in mind unless he will be 10 times better than top 9 or one of the top 9 will have a disastrous camp even he outperforms some players he will not be on the team

2. Specifically for Johansson he will be playing for one more contract (not with the Wild) and he will be plying better. Why? Because he can

3. I think it will be next step and still step up for Heidt and besides very needed experience playing in a men league it will boost his morale satisfaction. And after this Europe year (if nothing unexpected ) he will be in the Wild team almost guaranteed .

[FredJohnson]

Riley Heidt Can Make Marcus Johansson Expendable

Nojo has made himself expendable.

[Citizen Strife]

Glad the Laine stuff is gone.  Wait a year, and 2-3 of the prospects may do what Laine would do production wise while on ELCs.

[Protec]

2 hours ago, FredJohnson said:

Riley Heidt Can Make Marcus Johansson Expendable

Nojo has made himself expendable.

This was my initial reaction. 

RasmuKampu made the call early to sign a Liiga contract knowing the OHL wasn't gonna help him any longer. 

For Heidt, he's kinda in the same boat. WHL isn't gonna be a great challenge. The Swiss league might be men but bedazzled uniforms and circling around Olympic ice poke-checking isn't really too great a challenge either. I'm sure he wouldn't wanna go back to juniors but that's fine. Hopefully he does enough to get ready physically.

I would prefer Heidt over NoJo regardless. I don't see #90 being anything other than a non-factor, morale-buster like last season. He's lost what it takes naturally and he isn't a hard-working, greasy-guts guy. I.e. he's toast, not hungry or determined. 

I think Heidt has an advantage from a few different angles. All the areas, NoJo sucks, Heidt could be better. Experience and NHL proof are lacking but I want NoJo to face the same scrutiny as the new guys trying to make it. 

[Stymie]

I envision a line of Heidt Hartman and Rossi....pesky bunch with ability to put together some smart passes and score...Rossi showed last year that he'll butt heads with anyone, Heidt is showing a chip on his shoulder kind off game, and Hartman, we all know his feistiness and willingness to scrape a bit.  My bet on heist is dependent on who he plays with.,..if paired with a foligno, mojo, gaudreau, etc..then forget it,.

 

[SpaceCowboy]

I would like Heidt to play more than the 9 games and get his NHL career started. That is the optimist in me. But realistically I find it very hard to see Bill Guerin potentially having 3 rookie forwards in the line-up. I think they have Heidt in for a handful of games and then send him either to Juniors or Europe to "develop".  I am a no on the 10+ games unfortunately. 

[mnfaninnc]

18 hours ago, Up North Guy said:

He cannot go to the A so he cannot be a call-up.

If he hasn't been in the A, but is on his jr. team, why can't you call him up? While I would think him leapfrogging over A players is a bit odd, I still think you can do it. Even the Wild recalled Ek when he was in Sweden to come back for the playoffs and they burned an ELC year on him.

[Pewterschmidt]

10 hours ago, Protec said:

This was my initial reaction. 

RasmuKampu made the call early to sign a Liiga contract knowing the OHL wasn't gonna help him any longer. 

For Heidt, he's kinda in the same boat. WHL isn't gonna be a great challenge. The Swiss league might be men but bedazzled uniforms and circling around Olympic ice poke-checking isn't really too great a challenge either. I'm sure he wouldn't wanna go back to juniors but that's fine. Hopefully he does enough to get ready physically.

I would prefer Heidt over NoJo regardless. I don't see #90 being anything other than a non-factor, morale-buster like last season. He's lost what it takes naturally and he isn't a hard-working, greasy-guts guy. I.e. he's toast, not hungry or determined. 

I think Heidt has an advantage from a few different angles. All the areas, NoJo sucks, Heidt could be better. Experience and NHL proof are lacking but I want NoJo to face the same scrutiny as the new guys trying to make it. 

Protec, are you "Yes" or "No" on Heidt playing 10+ games this season?

[mnfaninnc]

18 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

This article also might be of interest.

Essentially, the article talks about him rounding out his game and being in constant contact with the player personnel guys. It also says he came into town for developmental camp. 

So, what doesn't it say? Coming in for developmental camp suggests he wasn't there already. It does not mention whether or not he stayed behind after that. It also says he's rounding out his game which does not directly speak to his measurements. Based upon this information, and the fact that he isn't searching for a place to stay yet (even if he isn't signing a lease until after training camp), I would conquer with Pewter's decision to place me in the "no" column.

It is interesting that Heidt says he believes he has a real chance to make the team. Yet, his actions are telling a different story. If he believed he was going to make the team, or had a better than average shot, he'd be here right now. He'd be bulking up. He'd be working on his skating with Andy Ness. He'd be looking at where he was going to rent for the season. He'd be making plans to be here, not there. 

I truly believe that Heinzy will run an open camp. I am confident that if a young gun impresses enough, he will make the roster and can make the top 6. However, note to the young guys, if you think you are going to be this guy, you need to act like you're going to be this guy. 

 

[mnfaninnc]

17 hours ago, WheelSnipeCelly said:

I've had to re-read the trade details a few times to make sure I'm not missing something: Montreal gets Laine and a 2nd Round Pick for Jordan Harris.

Obviously Montreal took on Laine's entire contract, but to get a 2nd Round Pick too...well done Canadiens.

I've been telling everyone that his market value had tanked and we could pick him up cheap. That Montreal didn't need retained salary probably helped their situation.

[mnfaninnc]

15 hours ago, bisopher said:

It doesn't have any spot for Zucc, so it's not going to happen, but maybe eventually...

Unless you are trying to get Zuccarello to waive his NMC.

[mnfaninnc]

How about this option? Guerin contacts the GM for Metallurg and gets them to give Heidt a 1-year deal to play alongside Yurov (if he can do it)? 

I know that it's hard to get anyone out of the K, but no team has really tried to put a prospect in the K that wasn't Russian. It could be beneficial to Heidt to learn a bit of Russian too. Yet, I have no idea how to read their spelling. 🤷‍♂️

[Pewterschmidt]

1 hour ago, mnfaninnc said:

I've been telling everyone that his market value had tanked and we could pick him up cheap. That Montreal didn't need retained salary probably helped their situation.

Maybe Pierre Luc Dubois was a cautionary tale around the league and players with skill AND baggage are at all time low value right now.  Time will tell if CBJ or MTL look smart

[raithis]

You can put me down for no as well.

I believe he will get a long look and may even turn some heads in pre-season, but at the end of the day, the Wild will suggest he play in Europe for the season to polish his game a bit more for another chance at the roster in '25-'26. 

And honestly I think that will be the right call.  I hope we does well and makes it a hard decision, but I feel like he will be better in the long run if he plays in a league that challenges him more before jumping to the NHL.  I'd also want the Wild to be clear with him what they liked and what they think he needs to work on.  Some of these kids don't seem to get the memo, so maybe it comes down to people just not being direct enough with them.