Can Zach Bogosian Fill the Void On Minnesota's Blue Line?

John Hynes worked overtime in the offseason to create depth and condition the Minnesota Wild, which has helped the team rank third in the Western Conference despite an onslaught of injuries. However, with Brock Faber, Jonas Brodin, and Jared Spurgeon out, there is still a major gap in the defense. Zach Bogosian may be playing his first full season with the Wild, but as a 16-year veteran, he must step up.

The problem is that Bogosian can’t just be good at keeping pucks out of the net; he needs to score more points to compensate for Minnesota’s injured scoring defensemen. Faber has 5 goals and 15 assists over 41 games, Brodin has four goals and 12 assists in 31 games, and Jared Spurgeon has four goals and nine assists in 32 games. Additionally, forward Kirill Kaprizov, who has 50 points this season, is also on injured reserve (IR). 

Jacob Middleton and Declan Chisholm have partially made up for the injured defensemen. Middleton has been a core defenseman for the Wild for the past 2 seasons and has 15 points in 33 games this season. Chisholm has also added depth, with 11 points in 38 games, respectively. 

Bogosian, 34, only has 4 goals and 6 assists in 44 games this year. That’s disappointing for a defenseman of his caliber and experience. However, he has been more productive offensively. He scored back-to-back goals against the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche last week and assisted on Ryan Hartman’s goal Sunday against the Vegas Golden Knights. 

Of course, Bogosian’s increased ice time due to Minnesota's Injuries plays a part. Bogosian has regularly played 20+ minutes in the new year, compared to almost always getting less than 20 previously. 

If a few more minutes on the ice makes Bogosian a regular goal scorer, the Wild is in luck. 

However, even if Bogosian can’t offer more offensively, he could play more disciplined hockey. Bogosian has 27 penalties in minutes (PIM) this season, while Faber, Brodin, and Spurgeon have only 13, 6, and 12, respectively, despite playing more. Penalties are tricky because time spent in the box can harm the team, but it doesn't necessarily mean a player isn’t driving wins. 

Matt Boldy has 33 PIM but 37 points. Marcus Foligno only has 15 points and 44 PIM. The difference is that Foligno plays an enforcer role and picks fights to ensure the safety of the team’s stars, as he did with Keegan Kolesar after his dirty hit on new Wild defenseman David Jiricek.

Whether penalty minutes are detrimental also depends on the team you’re playing. Bogosian had 2 penalties against the Knights on Sunday, one for holding during a footrace to the puck, which was unnecessary. Vegas has a 25.7% power play, which ranks 6th in the league, so he was lucky the Knights didn’t capitalize on the man advantage. 

His second penalty was for delay of game after he dumped the puck a little too well, and it hit the safety netting. While it wasn’t a bad penalty, it was poorly timed. The Wild were down 3-1 with 2:58 minutes left, and Vegas scored, eliminating any chance of Minnesota making a comeback. His mistakes were minor, but they still can make a difference in a game. 

Bogosian also needs to be more physical. He may pick up sticks out front and get pushy, but he should make it much harder to camp out in the slot. Against Vegas, he was picking up the stick of forward Kolesar but lost him for a moment, and the Knights forward capitalized and scored. 

Covering a player until he has the puck and then letting him go is not helpful. In the postgame interview, Bogosian noted that the Knights are “a big team” and they’re physical, but size wasn’t why he lost this struggle out front. Kolesar might be 6-foot-2, 216 lbs., but Bogosian is 6-foot-3, 231 lbs. Bogosian should have been able to force Kolesar away from the net or at least keep him from scoring.

However, the Wild defenseman did take accountability after the loss to Vegas and said that “[he] has gotta be better than [he] was in a few of those plays.”

At 34, Bogosian can also temporarily assume leadership. While Joel Eriksson Ek and Foligno are undoubtedly strong team leaders, another league veteran role model can always help. 

Beyond helping rally the team while Kaprizov and Spurgeon are on IR, Bogosian could be vital later in the season. Playoff hockey can be a different mental game, and Bogosian is one of the few players on the Wild who has won a Stanley Cup. He could be an important leader for Minnesota in the playoffs. 

Bogosian has had an underwhelming season but has recently produced more offense. If he can stay out of the box, he could help Minnesota secure more wins while their best defensemen are out.