Article: David Jiricek Offers the Wild More Than Raw Talent

[Citizen Strife]

Also, if goalie voodoo isn't real, look at Swayman and Ullmark.  Both got paid $8+m and through either their play or the teams in front, results haven't been pretty.  

Wallstedt getting smacked around in Iowa for free hardly seems as frustrating when one team can win a President's trophy and then fire their coach within eight months.

[Pewterschmidt]

6 minutes ago, Enforceror said:

Not sure how much it matters but most of the picks we traded were ones we have previously received via trade from other teams so we're not really out anything substantial in my opinion.

To say that we're spending house money ignores the opportunity cost of missing out on the random late rounder (97) that hit's the bullzeye.  But I'm not going to make too much noise here.  If Jirizy is Cam Barker 2.0 this will come up again, but let's see what we got.

jirizy: do not operate heavy machinery when using jirizy  

[OldDutchChip]

11 minutes ago, Citizen Strife said:

And if that happens, it happens.  They can't put Wally in if Gus and Fleury are doing this.  It would be mismanagement and disservice to the Wild team now. But goalie voodoo is just that.

Wallstedt is only paid peanuts.  If he figures it out (likely), he'll be back up.

Better for Wallstedt to fuck up and get it out of his system and learn than the main club forcing him in and potentially costing games.

 

yeah that's fine. i am not arguing any of that. it's just a bit unfortunate to say the least that our prized goalie is still "figuring" it out. not a trend of course - our prospects always pan out as expected, but makes you think 😉 

[Pewterschmidt]

3 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

yeah that's fine. i am not arguing any of that. it's just a bit unfortunate to say the least that our prized goalie is still "figuring" it out. not a trend of course - our prospects always pan out as expected, but makes you think 😉 

I'm chalking up Wally's struggles to goalies doing goalie things.  But I agree, after the years of 2nd-coming hype is was expecting by now to hear about Wally stealing games in St Paul, not Wally getting shelled in IOWA.  Get your poop in a group Wally and we'll see ya next year.

Gus, thank you for being you.

Fleury, stay frosty because when we need you you need to show up.

[OldDutchChip]

14 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Flower is definitely cooked and needs to retire for good at end of season.  Thank god no one bit on the Gus trade this summer, or this season would look very different.  In Gus We Trust.  Thankful Wally get's to work on his mental toughness this season.  In fairness to him it's been an emotional whipsaw.  You're in the rotation, get a place in St. Paul.  Now you're going back to IA, etc.  I'll assume this is all good for his development and better than him playing in St Paul this year getting run out of the barn.  

Yeah i do hope he figures things out and comes back and be who he was promised to be OR he can continue the unfortunate path he is on now. Fleury decides that he wants another farewell tour - nothing is wrong with that

back to Wally - we pretty much have our entire list of studly D prospects in front of him, that can't be all their fault  😜

Masters, Hunt (used to), O'Rourke, Lambos, Spacek, Peart - all these gents were going to make an impact and will surely still will. (or maybe our prospects are not as great as we were lead to believe....?) 🙂 

[OldDutchChip]

19 minutes ago, Citizen Strife said:

Also, if goalie voodoo isn't real, look at Swayman and Ullmark.  Both got paid $8+m and through either their play or the teams in front, results haven't been pretty.  

Wallstedt getting smacked around in Iowa for free hardly seems as frustrating when one team can win a President's trophy and then fire their coach within eight months.

yes exactly

big mistake for Nash - they invested in Saros and should have promoted Asky. not their only mistake - but still a big one. 

Asky though is much further along in his development than Wally (i think)

[OldDutchChip]

19 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

To say that we're spending house money ignores the opportunity cost of missing out on the random late rounder (97) that hit's the bullzeye.  But I'm not going to make too much noise here.  If Jirizy is Cam Barker 2.0 this will come up again, but let's see what we got.

jirizy: do not operate heavy machinery when using jirizy  

also speaks loudly about the D depth that we have accumulated in the AHL.....waste of picks 

[Pewterschmidt]

2 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

Fleury decides that he wants another farewell tour - nothing is wrong with that

I'll disagree here.  another Fleury farewell tour becomes more distraction especially since his play is not high caliber anymore.  End this season with Fleury good vibes, mustache's, and locker room pranks and send him off with a gold goalie stick.  Worst case is we pick up a journeyman goalie for cheap if Wally proves to not be ready for backup detail.

[Pewterschmidt]

5 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

Masters, Hunt (used to), O'Rourke, Lambos, Spacek, Peart

I believe this is Brackett's hit list.

[OldDutchChip]

1 minute ago, Pewterschmidt said:

I'll disagree here.  another Fleury farewell tour becomes more distraction especially since his play is not high caliber anymore.  End this season with Fleury good vibes, mustache's, and locker room pranks and send him off with a gold goalie stick.  Worst case is we pick up a journeyman goalie for cheap if Wally proves to not be ready for backup detail.

yeah i truly hope Fleury is NOT on the team next year but .....

[Pewterschmidt]

4 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

also speaks loudly about the D depth that we have accumulated in the AHL.....waste of picks 

Yes this reality becomes harder to ignore as we pick up D-men that leap frog our 'top' draft picks.

[OldDutchChip]

5 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Yes this reality becomes harder to ignore as we pick up D-men that leap frog our 'top' draft picks.

yup and you'd think they'd have the smarts to identify those that they missed on and ship them out while they still have some value (or fool someone - this is not meant to be a zing on columbus)....why have them rot in minors? all these D prospects had value at some points and some still do - if you ain't playing them - maybe trade them (change of scenery is not the worse thing) Maybe we get another guillaume latendresse!

[Enforceror]

Just now, OldDutchChip said:

also speaks loudly about the D depth that we have accumulated in the AHL.....waste of picks 

Chances of being an NHL'r (based on Dobberprospects study)

1st Lambos 74% chance

2nd O'Rourke 34% chance

2nd Peart 34% chance

3rd Hunt  27% chance

4th Masters 22% chance

5th Spacek 15% chance

 

[Enforceror]

I don't really pay attention to other team's picks below 1st (and most not even that) but it does make me wonder how we do with our picks compared to other teams.

Edited December 2 by Enforceror
whoopsie

[OldDutchChip]

11 minutes ago, Enforceror said:

Chances of being an NHL'r (based on Dobberprospects study)

1st Lambos 74% chance

2nd O'Rourke 34% chance

2nd Peart 34% chance

3rd Hunt  27% chance

4th Masters 22% chance

5th Spacek 15% chance

 

so minus Hunt - we are sitting thus far at 0% success 🙂 

 

[TheGoosesAreLooses]

2 hours ago, OldDutchChip said:

i agree with you, it's just him being presented for some time as this once-in-a-lifetime keeper - made me think he will dominate anywhere with anyone. or at least not look like he has. i know i know about goalies and how they may take time to blossom, but this is a bit discouraging. i guess MAF can un-retire and join the fun again next year.

Hockey includes all 6 players on the ice and all 19 that are active. I dgaf how good you are, no one carries a team by themselves. Not Gretzky, not Mcdavid, not Crosby, Not Roy or Hasek. Iowa blows chunks as a team. This isn't squarely on Wallstedt. 

Expecting a 22 year old in net to do it is ridiculous. His stats are below what we would expect this year but at the same time, he even admitting to feeling put down over not playing with the big club. Mental things like that have an affect on the ice. The kid has time to bounce back. Good to remember he is just a kid, like all prospects, and hockey can be as much a mental game as it is physical, especially in net. 

[Protec]

Things are going quite nicely.

Naturally, we should all get mentally prepared for the Wild to draw the Avs or Kings coming into the playoffs hot, where Ek has been bit by a rattlesnake so he's out 4-6 weeks and the Wild lose their first round series. 😜 

[TheGoosesAreLooses]

1 hour ago, Enforceror said:

Chances of being an NHL'r (based on Dobberprospects study)

1st Lambos 74% chance

2nd O'Rourke 34% chance

2nd Peart 34% chance

3rd Hunt  27% chance

4th Masters 22% chance

5th Spacek 15% chance

 

It is necessary to remember that prospects overall have a fairly low percentage chance of making it. D-man also traditionally take longer to develop than anyone else besides goalies. There are 225 player taken every draft year and only 712 players on opening day rosters, 608 that actually play in any given set of games. Considering playing age can range from 17-40 that is 23 years and a total of 5175 players that are drafted into the NHL during that period. You literally have to be in the top 12% of the best the world has to offer to play on a team consistently.

Hockey players tend to peak around 26-28, with defensemen typically peaking later. 

All that is to say, have a little patience with prospects. Every one is not a Boldy or faber, that can step into the best league in the world seamlessly and to expect every prospect to do it is delusional. To lose hope after 1-2 years of professional hockey is setting expectations too high. Some of these guys may not make it but they all have a chance, might as well watch and cheer them on in their successes! 

[Dango]

I think thats why MFAN pushes adding weight and strength  before your auditions because of those success rates are already working against you .

[Pewterschmidt]

4 minutes ago, Dango said:

I think thats why MFAN pushes adding weight and strength  before your auditions because of those success rates are already working against you .

I'm not exactly sure what Dango Unchained's point is here, but I got to say Dango Unchained.

[MNCountryLife]

Give Jiricek loads of minutes.  I really like the gradual move to youth that BG is doing.  We may have Faber, Boldy, Marat, Rossi, Lauko, Chisholm, Jiricek, Zeev, Ohgrem, Yurov and Wallstedt all playing by next year.  That is half our roster under 26.   Sets us up nicely to have a strong team for years to come.

[OldDutchChip]

1 hour ago, TheGoosesAreLooses said:

Hockey includes all 6 players on the ice and all 19 that are active. I dgaf how good you are, no one carries a team by themselves. Not Gretzky, not Mcdavid, not Crosby, Not Roy or Hasek. Iowa blows chunks as a team. This isn't squarely on Wallstedt. 

Expecting a 22 year old in net to do it is ridiculous. His stats are below what we would expect this year but at the same time, he even admitting to feeling put down over not playing with the big club. Mental things like that have an affect on the ice. The kid has time to bounce back. Good to remember he is just a kid, like all prospects, and hockey can be as much a mental game as it is physical, especially in net. 

Hockey includes all 6 players on the ice and all 19 that are active. I dgaf how good you are, no one carries a team by themselves. Not Gretzky, not Mcdavid, not Crosby, Not Roy or Hasek. Iowa blows chunks as a team. This isn't squarely on Wallstedt.  he has 860SV%. Giving up nearly 5 per game. He ain't playing against Gretzky and McDavid - he is playing against unproven or career AHLers. He was touted as the best goalie prospect and we heard of his greatness for years now. What's his nickname? The wall? Common! We can question his readiness, development and play. Why can't we? 

Expecting a 22 year old in net to do it is ridiculous. yeah you right - i mean his buddy that was drafted by nash at the same time and is the same age is likely struggling too.....let's look and see shall we?

Askarov in AHL

• 2022-23 GAA 2.69 SV 911
• 2023-24 GAA 2.39 SV 911
• 2024-25 GAA 2.02 SV 937

Askarov in NHL

• 2024-25 GAA 1.96 SV 927

Can we ask questions yet or is there no alarms yet? or what about our collection of D studs that we've drafted? all suffering some mental issues and just need more time? dude - just look at it objectively and see that there are some issues with our scouting. we keep drafting and drafting and have nothing to show. maybe they'll spill out soon or maybe not.

[MNCountryLife]

Whenever we lose Spurgeon or Brodin it makes a difference.  Those 2 are the backbone of our D right now.  We need at least 4 studs on the back end.  Adding Faber, Zeev, Mid and Jiri gives us the backbone for years to come... and that is with Brodin clearly having another 4 to 5 quality years ahead of him and Spurgeon proving he can still play this year. 

[MNCountryLife]

We may have a player or 2 we can trade away for some future low draft picks.  Merrill could definitely be traded away now... and he has played solid D this year.

[TheGoosesAreLooses]

9 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

Hockey includes all 6 players on the ice and all 19 that are active. I dgaf how good you are, no one carries a team by themselves. Not Gretzky, not Mcdavid, not Crosby, Not Roy or Hasek. Iowa blows chunks as a team. This isn't squarely on Wallstedt.  he has 860SV%. Giving up nearly 5 per game. He ain't playing against Gretzky and McDavid - he is playing against unproven or career AHLers. He was touted as the best goalie prospect and we heard of his greatness for years now. What's his nickname? The wall? Common! We can question his readiness, development and play. Why can't we? 

Expecting a 22 year old in net to do it is ridiculous. yeah you right - i mean his buddy that was drafted by nash at the same time and is the same age is likely struggling too.....let's look and see shall we?

Askarov in AHL

• 2022-23 GAA 2.69 SV 911
• 2023-24 GAA 2.39 SV 911
• 2024-25 GAA 2.02 SV 937

Askarov in NHL

• 2024-25 GAA 1.96 SV 927

Can we ask questions yet or is there no alarms yet? or what about our collection of D studs that we've drafted? all suffering some mental issues and just need more time? dude - just look at it objectively and see that there are some issues with our scouting. we keep drafting and drafting and have nothing to show. maybe they'll spill out soon or maybe not.

How astute of not to even look at the teams these two are playing for. Wallstedt was better than or equal to Askarov in the past two years. Sharks have had 7 1+2nd round picks in 23-24 drafts including two in the top 4. The Barricuda's record is 12-6-0 and they were shite last year until some of the top picks in the last two drafts showed up. Yeah, they kind of have an advantage being in a rebuild and getting top picks. Meanwhile the Iowa wild have been bottom of the barrel since MacLean showed up, and haven't drafted in the top 10 since Rossi. Even though Army had them in the payoffs a year before. 

Wallstedt was the among the best goaltenders in the league even while having a crap team in front of him 22-23 .908 save %, 23-24 .910 save . I'm saying maybe the anomaly season might be the outlier with other factors at play. Instead of wanting to call him a bust a quarter of the way into his first rough season.

What about our defense? They are at most 23! they have time considering there are no spots for them on the line up right now. I would point to coaching more than anything in Iowa, not the players themselves.