Article: How Did the Wild Build A Strong Prospect Pool Without Top Picks?

[Luke Sims]

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[MNCountryLife]

It appears that Yurov is having surgery to fix his LBI.  He is projected back before the KHL playoffs.  Glad it isn't a 6 month injury.  Looking forward to having him join the Wild this summer.  Hopefully Zeev can join us this spring yet.

[Sam]

1 hour ago, MNCountryLife said:

It appears that Yurov is having surgery to fix his LBI.  He is projected back before the KHL playoffs.  Glad it isn't a 6 month injury.  Looking forward to having him join the Wild this summer.  Hopefully Zeev can join us this spring yet.

He had surgery last year to fix his shoulder, so this is something different, right? 

[MNCountryLife]

24 minutes ago, Sam said:

He had surgery last year to fix his shoulder, so this is something different, right? 

Yes, this is a lower body injury.  If it was a ligament tear I would suspect it to be a season ending 6 month plus injury.  He will be back in 6 to 8 weeks.  Your guess is as good as mine as to what the injury actually is.

[Citizen Strife]

The Wild were dealt a shitty hand with being a team that had "talent," but neither top not bottom level.  But the Faber trade panned out in spades.  Jiricek came off the Columbus boat better (or at the very least more fired up):than the bottom D in the system.  Stramel is looking to have bounced back and is a year or two away.  Heidt fell to the team as a gift and might be another option in the same timeframe.

I say this a lot, but being patient will help.  Fletcher was CONVINCED the Parise/Suter/Koivu teams were the answer.  Guerin is HOPING this Kap/Rossi/Faber/Boldy team is what those never were.

There's a difference.  He has no evidence yet that this team is ready, so he is keeping other players in stock just in case 

 

 

 

[Imyourhuckleberry]

3 hours ago, MNCountryLife said:

He is projected back before the KHL playoffs.

I was very happy to see The Athletic say that the Wild expected him to return for the KHL playoffs. Hopefully he can have a strong summer of work over in the US and hit the ice full speed ahead next training camp.

Yurov might start the year in the AHL, but I wouldn't expect him to be there for a really long time even if that's what they decide to start the year.

[RedLake]

Yurov has a knee Injury now. Happened last week. He can jump into NHL Hockey when he arrives, but if he's getting banged up in the KHL the NHL will swallow him up.

[SkolWild73]

33 minutes ago, RedLake said:

Yurov has a knee Injury now. Happened last week. He can jump into NHL Hockey when he arrives, but if he's getting banged up in the KHL the NHL will swallow him up.

Guys get hurt all the time  before they reach the nhl.  

[RedLake]

10 minutes ago, SkolWild73 said:

Guys get hurt all the time  before they reach the nhl.  

 The kid has all the talent in the world but seems soft in my eyes. There is a difference getting banged up and being on the operating table cut open.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

9 minutes ago, RedLake said:

The kid has all the talent in the world but seems soft in my eyes.

How often do you see him play?

And are you suggesting the KHL is a soft professional league?

Edited February 20 by Imyourhuckleberry

[SkolWild73]

14 minutes ago, RedLake said:

 The kid has all the talent in the world but seems soft in my eyes. There is a difference getting banged up and being on the operating table cut open.

I haven’t been able to watch a game of his to see if he is soft.  Knee injuries can happen without contact.  Unless you have watched his games, not sure how you can call him soft.

[Scalptrash]

Who says they have a strong prospect pool? None of those players are proven in the NHL. Most prospects, as many Wild fans should know by now, don't work out at this level. Zeev is really the only guarantee, but nobody knows how good he'll truly be in the NHL. He could easily be another Jiricek, who should be further along and doing better at this stage of his career.

[FredJohnson]

1 hour ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

I was very happy to see The Athletic say that the Wild expected him to return for the KHL playoffs. Hopefully he can have a strong summer of work over in the US and hit the ice full speed ahead next training camp.

Yurov might start the year in the AHL, but I wouldn't expect him to be there for a really long time even if that's what they decide to start the year.

I don’t know if he should be sent to Dezy Moinez…they don’t seem to develop much/many NHL talented players.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

6 minutes ago, FredJohnson said:

I don’t know if he should be sent to Dezy Moinez…they don’t seem to develop much/many NHL talented players.

Hard to dispute. The Wild do have a few players who went straight to NHL and stayed, without spending time in the AHL, it's just hard to know who they will be.

So far, I believe it's just Faber, Kaprizov, and Khusnutdinov under Guerin's time as GM, but perhaps I'm missing someone there. If he were to go there, it would primarily be due to the Wild signing a major free agent for the top 6 and the team wanting him to be playing around 20 minutes per night, but not having that type of role open in the NHL. Cannot imagine him on a checking line.

I would assume Kaprizov, Zuccarello, Boldy, JEE, and Rossi all play top 6 over him if they are still on the team next year, and the FA forward they are likely to bring in would as well. I'll leave open the possibility they trade someone, but I'm not sure they want to place Yurov directly into top 6 NHL minutes either--he could be ready, but that will be determined in training camp.

An AHL decision would be simply about getting significant minutes for him, playing a top power play role, and working on faceoffs and defensive responsibilities for the Wild's system. He'd be coming back to the NHL as an early call up assuming he looks the part.

Once Yurov establishes himself, they certainly could use JEE on a prominent 3rd line again, still giving him significant minutes, but the other guys need to be worthy of stepping into top 6 roles before they look at that option, I imagine.

[Dean]

Billy is a classless morally bankrupt fool. Having a convicted rapist, the Cheeto Jesus  in his full dementia call in to the team to talk shit about Canada is ridiculous.  NHL wants to talk about the history of hockey yet forget the history of this country that provided for the nhl is ridiculous. A chicken shit who shits on veterans that built and defended this country is pathetic and deserves no respect. Yet that’s Billy’s guy .  A liar , crook , felon an a full fledged moron. Plus a pussy  who got how many deferments? A real girly man. Billy brought politics into this. He’s also going to lose fans due to this. I can’t support billionaire ball lickers like Billy who are willing to destroy our country for billionaire oligarchs.  Billy is a sell out with no character and his billionaire Craig is going to Dallas maverick St. Paul . 

[Willy the poor boy]

1 hour ago, Dean said:

Billy is a classless morally bankrupt fool. Having a convicted rapist, the Cheeto Jesus  in his full dementia call in to the team to talk shit about Canada is ridiculous.  NHL wants to talk about the history of hockey yet forget the history of this country that provided for the nhl is ridiculous. A chicken shit who shits on veterans that built and defended this country is pathetic and deserves no respect. Yet that’s Billy’s guy .  A liar , crook , felon an a full fledged moron. Plus a pussy  who got how many deferments? A real girly man. Billy brought politics into this. He’s also going to lose fans due to this. I can’t support billionaire ball lickers like Billy who are willing to destroy our country for billionaire oligarchs.  Billy is a sell out with no character and his billionaire Craig is going to Dallas maverick St. Paul . 

You need new news source dude. You bought into all the ridiculous talking points.

[punch_cut]

21 hours ago, Dean said:

Billy is a classless morally bankrupt fool. Having a convicted rapist, the Cheeto Jesus  in his full dementia call in to the team to talk shit about Canada is ridiculous.  NHL wants to talk about the history of hockey yet forget the history of this country that provided for the nhl is ridiculous. A chicken shit who shits on veterans that built and defended this country is pathetic and deserves no respect. Yet that’s Billy’s guy .  A liar , crook , felon an a full fledged moron. Plus a pussy  who got how many deferments? A real girly man. Billy brought politics into this. He’s also going to lose fans due to this. I can’t support billionaire ball lickers like Billy who are willing to destroy our country for billionaire oligarchs.  Billy is a sell out with no character and his billionaire Craig is going to Dallas maverick St. Paul . 

 

You are an idiot. I remember you going on and on about how Evason was a terrible coach and everyone in the NHL knew. Not surprising you spew incorrect things.

Hopefully the Wild can lose you as a fan!

I am happy you are going to be crying like a baby for the next few years.

[M_Nels]

23 hours ago, Dean said:

Billy is a classless morally bankrupt fool. Having a convicted rapist, the Cheeto Jesus  in his full dementia call in to the team to talk shit about Canada is ridiculous.  NHL wants to talk about the history of hockey yet forget the history of this country that provided for the nhl is ridiculous. A chicken shit who shits on veterans that built and defended this country is pathetic and deserves no respect. Yet that’s Billy’s guy .  A liar , crook , felon an a full fledged moron. Plus a pussy  who got how many deferments? A real girly man. Billy brought politics into this. He’s also going to lose fans due to this. I can’t support billionaire ball lickers like Billy who are willing to destroy our country for billionaire oligarchs.  Billy is a sell out with no character and his billionaire Craig is going to Dallas maverick St. Paul . 

Out of all that incoherent rambling I'm impressed you spelled "lose" correct.

[Fezig]

On 2/20/2025 at 4:42 PM, Dean said:

Billy is a classless morally bankrupt fool. Having a convicted rapist, the Cheeto Jesus  in his full dementia call in to the team to talk shit about Canada is ridiculous.  NHL wants to talk about the history of hockey yet forget the history of this country that provided for the nhl is ridiculous. A chicken shit who shits on veterans that built and defended this country is pathetic and deserves no respect. Yet that’s Billy’s guy .  A liar , crook , felon an a full fledged moron. Plus a pussy  who got how many deferments? A real girly man. Billy brought politics into this. He’s also going to lose fans due to this. I can’t support billionaire ball lickers like Billy who are willing to destroy our country for billionaire oligarchs.  Billy is a sell out with no character and his billionaire Craig is going to Dallas maverick St. Paul . 

Welcome to Hockey Wilderness Rachel Madow!

[Mateo3xm]

On 2/20/2025 at 10:36 AM, MNCountryLife said:

It appears that Yurov is having surgery to fix his LBI.  He is projected back before the KHL playoffs.  Glad it isn't a 6 month injury.  Looking forward to having him join the Wild this summer.  Hopefully Zeev can join us this spring yet.

Thank you for this. This would also make sense why he hasn’t quite produced as before along with the fact he had surgery to start the season.

[Mateo3xm]

On 2/20/2025 at 2:49 PM, RedLake said:

 The kid has all the talent in the world but seems soft in my eyes. There is a difference getting banged up and being on the operating table cut open.

Soft in your eyes? There’s a ton of really tough nhl players that get hurt every year and it isn’t because they’re soft.

[Mateo3xm]

On 2/20/2025 at 4:42 PM, Dean said:

Billy is a classless morally bankrupt fool. Having a convicted rapist, the Cheeto Jesus  in his full dementia call in to the team to talk shit about Canada is ridiculous.  NHL wants to talk about the history of hockey yet forget the history of this country that provided for the nhl is ridiculous. A chicken shit who shits on veterans that built and defended this country is pathetic and deserves no respect. Yet that’s Billy’s guy .  A liar , crook , felon an a full fledged moron. Plus a pussy  who got how many deferments? A real girly man. Billy brought politics into this. He’s also going to lose fans due to this. I can’t support billionaire ball lickers like Billy who are willing to destroy our country for billionaire oligarchs.  Billy is a sell out with no character and his billionaire Craig is going to Dallas maverick St. Paul . 

I think I speak for most people here when I say nobody wants to talk about politics here. We come to talk about hockey. You make yourself look foolish by being so emotional about politics on a hockey comments section. I think you should keep your politics to yourself or be prepared to get piled on in the comments. Nobody cares what side you’re on or what your opinion is A lot of us came here to get away from politics.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

On 2/21/2025 at 2:15 PM, punch_cut said:

I remember you going on and on about how Evason was a terrible coach and everyone in the NHL knew.

I remember defending Evason as a good coach. I can understand people preferring better tactical coaches, but Columbus finished with 66 points last season, and lost one of their top players to a shocking accident, yet they are vying for a playoff spot, sitting just 1 win behind their total from last year with well over a quarter of the season remaining. Evason may not be elite, but the man can coach.

Columbus had a .402 points percentage last season, far below average, and they are at .536 this season, a little above average.

[Mateo3xm]

39 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

I remember defending Evason as a good coach. I can understand people preferring better tactical coaches, but Columbus finished with 66 points last season, and lost one of their top players to a shocking accident, yet they are vying for a playoff spot, sitting just 1 win behind their total from last year with well over a quarter of the season remaining. Evason may not be elite, but the man can coach.

Columbus had a .402 points percentage last season, far below average, and they are at .536 this season, a little above average.

They are an insanely talented and young team too. It was a little while ago when I heard this but their goals a game is in the top of the nhl. Eva son is a big reason this team is doing so well 

[punch_cut]

3 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

I remember defending Evason as a good coach. I can understand people preferring better tactical coaches, but Columbus finished with 66 points last season, and lost one of their top players to a shocking accident, yet they are vying for a playoff spot, sitting just 1 win behind their total from last year with well over a quarter of the season remaining. Evason may not be elite, but the man can coach.

Columbus had a .402 points percentage last season, far below average, and they are at .536 this season, a little above average.

I agree with everying you said. That is why it was preposterous for dippy to constantly go on about it. He may not be Scotty Bowman but players/co-workers give him high praise.