Article: The Minnesota Wild's Kids Are Going To Play

[Tony Abbott]

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[Citizen Strife]

The Wild didn't have the right options last year.  There were so many injuries, but the end result was a lot of lackluster Iowa talent proving they weren't really the answer.  Rossi and Faber were the two that did (and jury is still out on Khusnutdinov).  I don't think the Wild have as much a problem this season, because as stated, the money situation makes it so Ohgren, Yurov, Heidt, Wallstedt, Buium, and others have to be those answers in the next couple years.

Some years, the Wild didn't have that luxury.

[Burnt Toast]

Yes please!! Give me a kid line ala NY Rangers postseason 2022. I want the Wild to step up and roll the dice, even if they end up with a “ You’ve got to be kidding me line.” It’s worth the risk, and guaranteed to be entertaining. 

[Need4speed99]

I'll be excited to see who deserves a look and if they will get a legit shot(not put on the 4th line). Need to know where they stand and who is ready to step up or possibly do so in a year or 2.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

Athletic has an article about Wild PK. This helps illustrate part of why being healthy enough to keep players like Mermis and Merrill off the penalty kill units can lead to significantly better results.

Team penalty-kill save percentage while on ice in 2023-24

Player	PK Sv%
Dakota Mermis	.725
Marcus Johansson	.792
Jon Merrill	.800
Jonas Brodin	.837
Freddy Gaudreau	.844
Zach Bogosian	.845
Brandon Duhaime	.848
Jared Spurgeon	.853
Connor Dewar	.853
Ryan Hartman	.857
Brock Faber	.858
Joel Eriksson	.860
Marcus Foligno	.871
Jake Middleton	.891

Also supports keeping Middleton around!

[Pewterschmidt]

6 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Athletic has an article about Wild PK. This helps illustrate part of why being healthy enough to keep players like Mermis and Merrill off the penalty kill units can lead to significantly better results.

Team penalty-kill save percentage while on ice in 2023-24

Player	PK Sv%
Dakota Mermis	.725
Marcus Johansson	.792
Jon Merrill	.800
Jonas Brodin	.837
Freddy Gaudreau	.844
Zach Bogosian	.845
Brandon Duhaime	.848
Jared Spurgeon	.853
Connor Dewar	.853
Ryan Hartman	.857
Brock Faber	.858
Joel Eriksson	.860
Marcus Foligno	.871
Jake Middleton	.891

Also supports keeping Middleton around!

If I'm reading the #'s correctly this is the Foligno Corsi magic we've heard so much about.  Ok, I'll believe the stats and ignore the eye test.  To all the Hartman haters, let's give the RAT some love too.

Shocker that Nojo is nearly the worst.

[Dis-allowed display name]

I kinda feel like the headline should read:

The Minnesota Wild's Kids Are Going To Play When There is Room Adjacent to The Plethora of Aging Players on Generous Contract Extensions.

But maybe that is a little wordy.

[mnfaninnc]

Come on kids, claim your spots!

On the flip side of this, and let's remember, while we are ceilinged at the cap, actual payroll for OCL is around league minimum. So, as a business model, there is room in Iowa for extra payroll. If kids completely outplay the low hanging fruit vets, both in preseason and in the practices, they should be elevated and we eat the cost. It's not like the low hanging fruit is making $5m, they're making around $2m or under. If these guys on ELCs come in and aren't really ready, they can be sent back to Iowa (or the W) without waivers. 

We knew at some point there would need to be a youth movement on this team. The Wild had to cover their backsides and make sure they had an NHL roster they could ice. But, many of these guys are placeholders and there are plenty of other teams that need placeholders too. Sure, we don't get much back for them, but they have a place and we can purge the contract off the books. 

Now, here's the rub. Shooter/his staff needs to be able to work with this and come up with creative ways to make this happen. What that means is really scouting other teams prospects, and using creative trade proposals, maybe even using 3 team deals or utilizing picks far down the road. This is where I have the least amount of confidence. Thus far, Shooter has not shown a creative side to dealing. The Zucker deal was his most creative so far, and probably suggested from the other side. I hope one of the guys he promoted has the ability to do better than 2+2 trades.