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The Minnesota Frost are back-to-back Walter Cup Champions after a nail-biting 2-1 overtime win against the Ottawa Charge Monday night. The Frost had a home-ice advantage and already had 2 wins going into Game 4. However, it was important for Minnesota to end the series here. A loss would have shifted the momentum in the Charge’s favor, especially since Game 5 would have moved to Ottawa. As I discussed last week, Minnesota produced many goals in their first series, but often scrambled in their defensive end. The Frost allowed 14 goals in 4 games against the Toronto Sceptres. While Minnesota made up for it by scoring 18 goals in the same amount of time, that strategy didn’t look promising against the Charge. The Charge weren’t as productive offensively, but better defensively. They beat the Montréal Victoire over 4 games with just 8 goals. Goaltender Gwyneth Philips finished the playoffs with .952% SV and 1.23 GAA, keeping Ottawa competitive. Philips will routinely make the first, second, and even third save, like she does here: However, Philips has one fault: allowing rebounds. While no goalie can control every rebound, hers often land directly in front of her, giving the opposing team another opportunity to score. The Frost didn’t try to increase their scoring to compensate for poor defense. Instead, they stepped up their defensive game. As shown in the play below, Minnesota back-checked, picked up sticks, and got physical to defend their net. Ottawa’s Shiann Darkangelo entered the zone with 2 teammates. Still, Mellissa Channell-Watkins stepped up on her while Michela Cava and Sophie Jaques took away her outlet passes, forcing Darkangelo to take a shot from the blue line. Minnesota consistently followed through, which is why they only let in 1 goal. Below is their shot chart from Game 4. While the Charge still shot a few from the high-danger zone in front of the net, most came from the tops of the circles or outside of the dots. Note that the Charge is orange. Compare this with Game 1 in Minnesota’s first series, where the Frost lost 3-2 to Toronto on May 7. The shots cluster in front of the net, the highest danger area. Note that Toronto is blue. The Frost’s follow-through kept shots to the outside, effectively minimizing high-danger scoring chances. Game 4 was a 0-0 stalemate until 10:10 into the second period, when Claire Thompson picked up the puck in the corner and walked it out front. She then hit Kelly Pannek, who was waiting back door, and went top shelf on Philips. Ottawa exploited a break in Minnesota’s defense 10:09 into the third period and evened the score. Charge’s Danielle Serdachny drove the puck into the zone and was kept outside by Jaques. However, Serdachny slid the puck out front to Tereza Vanišová, who was completely uncovered and scored. The final goal was 12:00 into overtime. Katy Knoll battled against Ottawa’s Aneta Tejralová in the corner, knocked it to Klára Hymlárová, who sent it right back. Knoll then sent it out front to Liz Schepers, who batted it at Philips. Philips made the save, but the rebound went straight back out. Schepers shot it again, scoring a goal and winning the game. Defenseman Lee Stecklein was Minnesota’s unexpected point leader throughout the playoffs, with 4 goals and 4 assists. Jaques and Taylor Heise tied for runner-up, with 7 points each. The championship win was hard-fought but unsurprising because the Frost largely didn’t change last season’s roster. In the PWHL’s inaugural season, the Frost beat Toronto in the first round and battled through 5 games against the Boston Fleet to bring home the cup. Minnesota did not make many roster changes since last season because the league is so new, and there was no expansion draft. Key players Kendall Coyne Schofield, Heise, Jaques, and Cava returned for a second year. However, the Frost added rookies Klára Hymlárová and Knoll. While they only had 2 points each over the season, they were integral to the Walter Cup win with 5 points each. One major change was in management. Minnesota unexpectedly removed general manager Natalie Darwitz shortly after their first Walter Cup win and chose Melissa Caruso to replace her in September. Ken Klee remained head coach through both playoff runs. While Dartwitz’s removal was a surprise at the time, Frost has built a cohesive, winning team and is unlikely to change management going into the 2025-26 season. Management may be secure, but the roster will change due to the PWHL’s expansion into Seattle and Vancouver. The standard size for each PWHL team is 23 players, with up to 3 in reserve because there are no minor league affiliate teams. Each team will be able to protect 4 players and will have to give up 4 players. They will protect an initial 3 players, and get to protect another player once they have relinquished the first 2. The expansion teams will have an exclusive signing window from June 4 to 8, and then there will be a special expansion draft on June 9 for the new teams. Minnesota will have a chance to sign new players during the regular draft on June 24. They can also make trades and sign free agents over the summer. Unfortunately for the Frost, this draft process heavily favors the expansion teams. While the league hasn’t announced an official draft pick order, Minnesota will likely be 6-8 in the regular draft.

At the end of the Minnesota Wild's season, Bill Guerin gave the State of Hockey little reason to speculate about the team's blueline. "Our [defense] core is set, I'd like to focus on forwards," the general manager flatly declared. In a sense, the Wild's defense is indeed fairly locked in. Jon Merrill and Declan Chisholm's contracts will expire, but Minnesota is set to return Brock Faber, Jonas Brodin, Jared Spurgeon, Jake Middleton, and Zach Bogosian next season. In addition, the team has top prospects Zeev Buium and David Jiricek waiting in the wings, potentially ready to make the team next year. That's a lot of stability on the roster. Still, next season will feel like a crossroads for a Wild defense that has been as constant as it gets in the NHL. Spurgeon will be entering his 16th season in a Wild sweater, and Brodin will take the ice for his 14th. Both have been massive contributors from the start, with each averaging over 20 minutes per night in all but one season. Still, it seems like the Wild's defense is at the precipice of an enormous crossroads. Faber gave the group their first true taste of transition in a decade, displacing ten-year veteran Matt Dumba and becoming a Ryan Suter-esque minute-muncher. That's a shake-up, but Minnesota had no succession plans for Brodin and Spurgeon. Now, those succession plans are arriving imminently. Buium and Jiricek aren't just two NHL-ready prospects ready to push to take playing time from in-their-30s vets. They've each got the potential to exceed Faber in talent and importance. Of course, the latter is a tall order -- Elite Prospects ranked Faber 13th in the NHL on their Top-100 Under-23 Skaters list in March. But Buium sat at No. 20 in their list, between NHL blueliners Lane Hutson (18) and Luke Hughes (22). David St-Louis underlines the parallels further, saying, "In the offensive zone, he shares a striking resemblance to Hutson with his fast-twitch fakes and handling." Jiricek's failure to launch with the Columbus Blue Jackets has the former sixth overall pick further down the list at 66. Still, there's a ton to love about him. He's got a big shot and physicality, with both ranking a 7 on Elite Prospects' 2-to-9 scale. "Minnesota will have to continue working with him to develop his defensive awareness, risk management, and most of all, his skating," writes St-Louis. "If those facets of his play improve, he could become one of the team's best defensemen." Jiricek will be training this offseason to fully realize himself as a player. That means Minnesota could have a new Big 3 on the blueline as soon as next year: Buium, Faber, and Jiricek. But when will it happen? And what does that mean for the old guard? Buium and Jiricek are arriving at an interesting time relative to Brodin and Spurgeon's contracts. Brodin's full No-Movement Clause expires on July 1, allowing the Wild to trade him as they see fit for the last three seasons of his contract. Spurgeon's NMC turned into a modified No-Trade Clause last year (10-team no-trade list), but the odds of a team trading for a 35-year-old defenseman coming off a 16-game series were slim. There's more flexibility than ever after he proved he's back with a 66-game, 32-point season. Of course, there's a difference between flexibility and expendability. That's the question the Wild must ask with both players this summer. And that's not an easy one to answer, either. On paper, maybe, but in practice? We have no idea. Last season, the Wild played 42 games while missing Brodin, Spurgeon, or both. They went 24-16-2 during those games. That record more or less matches their 82-game pace of 97 (technically, 97.6). But those games weren't equal when you look at the following breakdown. Missing Brodin: 17-15-1, minus-18 goal differential Missing Spurgeon: 9-5-1; plus-7 goal differential Missing Brodin + Spurgeon: 2-4-0; minus-10 goal differential Losing Brodin on the left side -- where his backups were Jake Middleton, Declan Chisholm, and Jon Merrill -- was much more impactful to the Wild. True, they had a winning record without Brodin, but they tended to get buried alive against top teams. Turns out, his defensive presence still makes a big impact. You may be tempted to look at the Wild's record without Spurgeon (7-1-1 in games with Brodin, and no Spurgeon), and conclude that he's expendable. Even then, it might be one of those not-so-fast scenarios. Spurgeon's absence often took a massive toll on Faber, who wore down as the season went on. In 15 games without Spurgeon (not counting the game he left to a concussion, playing just 4:33), Faber averaged 27:28 of ice time. That's almost two more minutes of TOI than when Spurgeon was available (25:31). Remember, Faber doesn't play like Suter, who (thanks to having partners like Spurgeon) could conserve his energy on both sides of the ice and play 29 minutes a night. With the sheer amount of hard skating Faber does as-is, 25-plus minutes might already be too much to ideally use him. Even with Jiricek in a regular role next season, Spurgeon would help keep Faber's minutes in check, letting him maximize his game on both sides of the ice. Those are reasons not to think the Wild will look to trade those two. But could Buium surpass Brodin in terms of minutes on the left side of the defense? Or could Jiricek do the same to Spurgeon on the right? That'll be interesting to see. Of course, a lot will depend on those prospects and how ready they are. Buium continues to show that all the guy does is win, helping the United States win World Championship Gold for the first time since (this is not a joke) the Herbert Hoover administration. He had a goal and four points in the tournament, despite Team USA being conservative with his workload in the final. Meanwhile, Jiricek is essentially the Wild's first-round pick this season... and its third- and fourth-rounders. They paid a premium to get him because he's got the size and talent to deliver on a much faster timetable than those picks would. He might not turn 22 until August, but he's already on his second organization, so it's getting close to put-up-or-shut-up time for him to show he can be a valuable NHL regular. Jiricek has every incentive to get ready to blow the doors off at training camp. Seeing how high those two might rise in training camp -- and the ripple effects that could come from them establishing themselves -- might be the most exciting storyline surrounding Minnesota entering next season.

Very rarely do I take off my Wild Analyst Pince-Nez and put on my Wild Fan Sweatpants at Hockey Wilderness, but hey, it's the offseason. You gotta wear sweatpants sometimes, and today's that day. The NHL is down to its final four teams: The Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, and Florida Panthers. It's hard to tell where the allegiance of the State of Hockey generally is in this field, but it's not hard to narrow it down to three. No self-respecting Minnesota Wild fan is rooting for the Dallas South Stars. We don't need to rehash this -- they know what they did. As for me, though, one of the many things I lack is self-respect. And while I'm not super-proud of it, I'm not gonna be sad if I see the Dallas Stars lift the Cup this year. In fact, I kinda want them to. That brings up a crucial question: Why? And even I'm kinda interested to drill down to find the exact reason. The easy answer is that Wild alumni Mikael Granlund and Matt Dumba would lift the Cup, and sure, that would absolutely be rad. Dumba might be hurt this postseason, but he's an All-Time Dude for me when it comes to Wild players, and getting to see him be a Stanley Cup Champion would kick ass. It'd be a satisfying reward after a decade-long career that was unfairly derailed just as he was making a star turn. Same for Granlund, who got a bad rap from being around a lot of failed Wild playoff runs. A lot of people came to believe he was the kind of player you can't win with. 14 games, four goals, and nine points later, it sure doesn't seem like the Stars are having any issues with that. Maybe the problem wasn't with him, after all. But that doesn't explain it all. Because if you look at Carolina, they've got Brent Burns, who's like if a cartoon character was also a Hall of Fame defenseman. I'm not an NHL jersey/merch guy, but Burns is (along with Joe Thornton) the subject of one of the few shirts I own. Burns also has the "One of Us" thing going, having rocked in Minnesota, even if his full potential didn't get fully unleashed until he teamed up with Thornton, Joe Pavelski, and Patrick Marleau's power play. He's also great, and Carolina is a team that, even if they're not "fun" to "watch," they are at least good players to root for. Still, I don't have much attachment to the Canes, even if I can respect the organization. And if it's not Carolina I'd pull for at this time, who is it? Florida's had theirs. Great run, but let's see something new. It's extremely funny to me that Canada hasn't won the Stanley Cup since the early '90s, and I want that streak preserved at all costs. Sorry, Connor McDavid. So, that just leaves Dallas. Totally understand why it's a non-starter for Minnesota fans, especially those older than I am. But outside of a beef from a generation ago, I just can't harbor much ill will toward the Stars. That's not the case for other teams in the Central Division, once I put my Fan Sweatpants on. I have friends in the Colorado Avalanche fanbase, and it gives me glee to twist the knife on them when things go wrong for their team. I fiercely hate the St. Louis Blues. If you think the "No. 1 Wild Fans" banner is embarrassing (and it is), it could be worse. Just remember: the Blues retired the number of a guy who played 18 games for them and effed off. It'd be like if the Wild retired Ryan O'Reilly's number. Loser energy, get outta here. If St. Louis lost their team, I'd spike the football in their face for weeks. Maybe months. Maybe years. Try as I might, I can't summon those feels for Dallas, even after two playoff series in recent memory, which normally produces hard feelings. The worst anyone can say about the Stars is that they baited Marcus Foligno and Ryan Hartman into taking bad penalties and dived. But let's be honest: it's not like it was taking an unbelievable amount of effort to get Foligno and Hartman heated and losing their cool. They played the game within the game, and it worked. But mostly, I think it's just the fact that I really respect the teambuilding Jim Nill's done, and has for a decade-plus now. Dallas' GM raised his team's profile on the backs of two fifth-rounders (Jamie Benn and John Klingberg) and a bold trade for a former-top-10-pick, 60-point center in their early 20s (Tyler Seguin) whose team didn't want him for... reasons??? He took a boring also-ran and made them one of the most fun teams in the NHL. Getting a Draft Lottery win in 2017 to move up to third overall to take Miro Heiskanen was a great break for them, of course, but Nill has made his own luck, too. Thomas Harley (18th overall in 2019) and Wyatt Johnston (23rd overall in 2021) are both bona fide star players. So are Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson, who make up the backbone of Dallas' forward group as Benn and Seguin have aged. They successfully drafted and developed their own goalie in "One of Us," Jake Oettinger. Then, of course, they were opportunistic in doing a roundabout theft of Mikko Rantanen from a division rival. If you're not impressed by that, I'm not sure what will get you on board. Looking at all this, I think the heart of why I'm rooting for Dallas is because I look at them as something the Wild could be. Other than Heiskanen, the Stars didn't build their empire on top-three picks the way that Edmonton and Florida did. They drafted smart and developed from within, making smart deals to supplement their team (Rantanen, yes, but also Matt Duchene, Mason Marchment, Evgenii Dadonov, and Granlund) en route to becoming a juggernaut. That could be the Wild if they play their cards right. They already have Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy on board. They have Marco Rossi in the fold (if they're smart), scoring 60 points for them at center. The fruits of Minnesota's drafting and talent acquisition are about to hit the NHL -- Zeev Buium, Danila Yurov, Liam Öhgren, Jesper Wallstedt, and David Jiricek, to just name the headliners. There's no reason this team can't soon look a lot like the Stars do right now. And that's exactly what Fan Sweatpants Tony wants: a team bursting with talent that's ready to make a deep playoff run. If we have to see Dallas lift the Cup, don't fret too hard. The Wild might be poised to follow in their footsteps.

Danila Yurov’s journey to the NHL has been a long time coming, and his career in North America is only beginning. Yurov set the record for most points in a single season by a KHL skater 20 or younger with 49 points in the 2023-24 season. That’s only one of the many highlights of the young Russian’s career. He’s also a Gagarin Cup champion and a first-round draft pick. Now, the young forward will try his hand in the NHL, something he’s been dreaming about since he was a teenager. “It’s a new chapter,” Yurov said. “I’ve been working toward this goal and this dream since I was a kid. I really started believing I could make it to the NHL when I was about 13, around the time I started playing for the national team and got experience on the international stage. That’s when I realized I’d be willing to do whatever it takes to get to the NHL.” Injuries played a big part in Yurov’s lack of production last year. After setting career highs in all major categories two years ago with 21 goals, 28 assists, and 49 points, Yurov recorded just 13 goals and 25 points last year. While it hindered his development, Yurov is still ready to make a big impact for the Wild this season. https://twitter.com/ByronMBader/status/1923397445418918221 “I knew I was going to make the move about a year ago,” Yurov explained. “I felt it was time to leave my comfort zone and head somewhere where I don’t know anyone, where I’ll have to start from scratch and prove myself all over again. I wanted to be in a place where I can train with and compete against the best players in the world. I’m excited to experience all of it – not just imagine it, but live it.” Yurov has all the tools to be a great player in the NHL. He’s a 200-foot player who can skate, shoot, and pass. He’s got the Hockey IQ that gives the Wild brass confidence that he can also play center in the NHL. It would be great if he could do things like this on the Wild roster next season: https://twitter.com/Mattymar89/status/1923402241605607583 “People often talk about adapting to the defensive side of the game, but to be honest, that’s not something I’m too worried about,” Yurov noted. “I’ve had great coaches both at the club and national level who’ve helped me grow in that area. Even though I’ve always played as an offensive-minded center, I’ve never ignored my responsibilities in other zones.” That will be crucial in Yurov’s ability to stick with the NHL club immediately. John Hynes needs his forwards to be responsible on both ends of the ice. Teams often burden rookies with being more responsible on the defensive end than veterans. “The main goal is to earn a spot on the roster and stay there,” Yurov explained. “I want to improve in every area – get stronger physically, better understand the game, and develop all of my skills. My focus is just to get better every day and work on myself. We’ll see where that takes me by the end of the season. I’m taking things one day at a time.” Yurov will spend the summer between Russia and North America. Still, he’s set to put on a Wild uniform and start training at Tria Rink in St. Paul sooner rather than later. “I’m training in Magnitogorsk for a couple more weeks while I finish getting my visa,” Yurov said. “Then I’ll head to the U.S. in mid-June to keep training – on the ice and in the gym – with a personal coach. I’ll also take care of things like housing and transportation.” Yurov’s contract contains the option to loan him back to his KHL team. However, if the Wild want to give him some time in Iowa, Yurov will welcome the move. “Absolutely,” Yurov said regarding whether he’d play in the AHL. “I’m ready to face whatever challenges come my way. If I wasn’t, then there’d be no point in making the move.” Yurov will wear No. 22, last worn by former second-round pick Marat Khusnutdinov, another Russian. Coincidentally, Yurov has worn that number since he was a teenager, and it’s worked out pretty well for him. “It’s my birthday, and I’ve been wearing No. 22 since I was 12,” Yurov said. “It worked out perfectly that the number was available here, too. I wore it in Russia as well. Funny enough, they didn’t even ask me about it – it was just assigned right away.” At the conclusion of his interview, Yurov had an encouraging message all Wild fans like to hear. “Thank you for all the excitement around my signing,” Yurov said. “I’ll do my best to make you proud with my play from Day 1. Come to the arena – we’ll work hard to give you wins and some highlight-reel goals.” Putting butts in seats and getting more eyes on Wild hockey, two things that Danila Yurov can deliver now that he’s stateside. All stats and data via HockeyDB and CapWages unless otherwise noted.

In 2012, the State of Hockey celebrated the Minnesota Wild signing two coveted free agents to 13-year, $98 million deals. Part of that celebration was understanding that by the time those deals wrapped up, Zach Parise and Ryan Suter would be in their 40s and not worth the $7.54 million cap hit. Who cares? Minnesota collectively said. Let's deal with that when we get to it. Those contracts wound up, predictably, becoming an albatross by the end. Was it worth it? Probably. But that's the thing with most long-term contracts to players approaching their 30s: You will likely have the deal turn bad at some point. Similarly, Wild fans are about to celebrate another long-term contract, this time for Kirill Kaprizov. After 185 goals and 386 points in 319 games during his first five years, Kaprizov's gonna have the closest thing to a blank check as we've seen in the NHL. If he wants eight years, $120 million, he's gonna get it. Heck, he might be able to get $16 million per year without the Wild blinking. His age is the one area for hesitation. Kaprizov's no ordinary sixth-year player. If he arrived in his age-19 season, the Wild would be handing this deal to a 23-year-old, and that contract wouldn't expire until his age-31 season. Instead, Kaprizov debuted at 23, and he'll be getting a contract that (likely) will take him through his age-35 season. Is it going to go badly at the end? It's not as slam-dunk a proposition as, say, Parise and Suter, but that threat is there. Even last year, you won't find a shortage of players who've gone on the decline as they entered their mid-30s. Two-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner Steven Stamkos (34) had his worst season since his rookie year, with 27 goals and 53 points in 82 games. Former Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall (age 33) had 18 goals and 42 points last season. Chris Kreider (33) went from scoring 39 goals and 79 points in 82 games to 22 and 30, respectively, in 68 games. Six-time 30-goal-scorer Vladimir Tarasenko (33) had just 11 goals and 33 points last season -- or in Wild terms, Marcus Johansson-type numbers. But all Kaprizov needs to do to find hope that fate won't befall him is turn his head right. That's where he'll see Mats Zuccarello, who just wrapped up his age-37 season. Once upon a time, it looked like Zuccarello was headed for a mid-30s free-fall. He only scored 37 points in 65 games in his first year with the Minnesota Wild. Still, after forming his bond with Kaprizov the following year, he put any concerns to rest almost instantly. At 34, 35, and 36, he scored 79, 67, and 63 points, more than he'd ever had in a single campaign beforehand. Even last season (54 points in 69 games) was impressive, especially considering he spent half the season without his wingman. Sure, there's no doubt that Kaprizov drove that bus, but Zuccarello is the eighth-most productive player between ages 34 and 37 of the post-2004-05 lockout era. That's incredible, and you have to wonder why Zuccarello has aged so well. The hypothesis is simple: Zuccarello's longevity is partly due to a lack of wear-and-tear that comes from being a late bloomer. There are plenty of players who make the NHL by age 21. Zuccarello wasn't one of them. Instead, he made his SHL debut at 21, after dominating Norway's top league. Zuccarello finally made his NHL debut two years later, playing 42 games for the New York Rangers. He struggled to crack the NHL lineup the following season, and a lockout and injuries limited him to 15 games in 2012-13. By the time he entered his age-26 season (where he finally played 77 games), Zuccarello had a grand total of 67 NHL games under his belt. That's insane, especially compared to some of the contemporaries we've listed as starting to fall off the cliff in their mid-30s. Here are those players' games played through age-25: Stamkos: 569 Hall: 453 Tarasenko: 341 Kreider: 323 For a No. 1 overall pick like Stamkos or Hall, forget about it. They're gonna have hundreds of games more worth of wear and tear than Zuccarello did. But even Tarasenko and Kreider, who didn't debut until turning 21 and with the 2012-13 lockout depressing their early-career totals, had 150 to 200 games more miles on them than Zuccarello. Kaprizov's not entirely at Zuccarello's extreme, but debuting at age-23 and having COVID shorten his rookie year have kept his games played totals down. He had just 203 games of experience through age-25, and even at 27, has fewer career games played than Tarasenko or Kreider had at 25. We're not looking at a universal rule here. Alex Ovechkin logged more games through age-23 (324) than Kaprizov has through 27, and the dude just had 44 goals in 65 games. Meanwhile, someone like Jason Pominville had just 222 games of experience through age-25, but still saw his goal production decline hard in his mid-30s. So, games played aren't everything, but Kaprizov has another quality that's helped Zuccarello age beautifully. His playmaking skills. Players not named Ovechkin tend to age out of having an elite shot. Beating the best goalies in the world requires elite reaction time and some extra oomph, to use a scientific term, when shooting the puck. Those two things fade as you get older. Meanwhile, passing requires a much different skill set -- the vision to see plays develop and the ability to manipulate space being the primary ones. Sure, you have to get the puck from your stick to someone else's, but that requires a lot less top-tier physical gifts than beating a goalie one-on-one. Kaprizov won't score 40 goals forever, but it's hard to see him losing his playmaking chops at 34. He's got an Old Man Skill to fall back on as his career goes on, and he's always been as crafty as he is talented. Nothing is a slam-dunk when it comes to long-term contracts, but the players who age best tend to have a strong answer to the following question: What are you when you're not at your physical peak? Kaprizov's fastball is a 50-goal/100-point type MVP-caliber player. But if that slows down, you can bet he'll find a way to create offense. He can play Zuccarello's game and has been similarly shielded from early-career wear-and-tear. Those parallels to his best friend are primed to keep him productive through whatever length of contract he'd sign in Minnesota.