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Article: The Wild Needs Its Veterans To Be Its Backbone


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4 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Foligno is now a high end DeLaurias.  If he doesn't bring the theatrics, fight, and blow up D-men on the end boards then he literally is bringing nothing.  

Well, Foligno did help out on the score sheet, but you would like to see Trenin, Foligno, or Lauko blast someone like Hathaway when he's out there just trying to knock one of their top centers out of the game.

Dude literally played the most minutes he's played all year against the Wild.

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1 hour ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Hathaway when he's out there just trying to knock one of their top centers out of the game.

I unfortunalely wasn't able to watch the game but I'm assuming no one bullied Hathaway back.

Memo to Foligno+Trenin: What would you say you do here?

*officespacegif*

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From what I saw last year almost everyone needed to improve.  Thankfully I think most of them have.  Our Veterans seem to be structured better and not trying to do too much.  Our younger players like Rossi, Marat, Boldy, Chisholm and Faber are all playing well and better than last year. Put it all together and the roster is looking better.

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I noticed this last season too while watching Middleton play. He started off the season very well, and it looked like he had picked up a step. Then he played through injuries and looked slow. It was hard finding him a partner, sometimes he looked lost when his pilot wasn't there but he was producing some offense. The defense just wasn't in sync.

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Jake Middleton's performance is crucial to keeping Brodin healthy. Are we witnessing Middleton's rise? He has 5 points in 7 games and is on pace for 59 points. If Middleton is showing to be more of an offensive producer, then it looks like his contract extension may not be a problem at all. 

Middleton plays a very simple offensive game. His assists are likely secondary, but sometimes that's what it takes. I would consider him a late bloomer, getting better after the age that says he's not supposed to. I think he was actually better than his numbers showed last season, and you have to give him and Faber credit for playing through the injuries.

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Looking through the other teams, one thing sticks out to me: they went at it like a team. They all knew their roles and if there was trouble they all had each other's backs.

I don't have that same feeling about the Wild. It probably goes all the way back to when Staal got crosschecked by Morrissey (a sin he has yet to pay for) in the neck. NO RESPONSE! The opportunity showed up again when Staal was sent sprawling head first into the boards by a Blues' defender....crickets. 

There was no response to the player. There was no response to the jersey he wore. There was no having the other guy's back. And, it still persists today. This must be fixed. Last season, it took Rossi sticking up for Kaprizov. It took Duey1 rematching for Duey2, and that guy's on our team now. It took Hartman to reverse hit Ehlers sending the message that we can mess you up if you touch our guys.

But from the guys like Foligno there's really not been much. I love his heavy game, but when Ek gets the facewash treatment, I don't see him hammering away at the other team's best center. This one thing needs to get fixed, and every once in awhile it doesn't hurt to have a complete meltdown into a boys will be boys melee. 

My hope is that having guys like Trenin and Lauko now on the team, this will be different. Heinzy should only have to look at you on the bench for you to understand it's your turn to stick up for your teammates. And here's the thing, with the Trenin-Hartman-Foligno line, they will match up against other team's top lines plenty at home. They need to make sure they read the full manual on the duties of their role. Sometimes it just seems like some pages are missing.

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