By Bryan Reynolds -
Then, he got another shot, and broke his finger. All in all, not good. The injury ninja strikes again. How did all of this end up looking on a grade sheet? Let's find out.
GRADES
JS- GRADE: C+ We only got 20 games of Pizza, but I love how his game seemed to grow each and every game. We didn't see much of that offense that made him a QMJHL star, but we can't ask for him to magically become an amazing goal-scorer as a rookie. With time, he should become a good puck-mover on this squad. It's a shame injuries derailed what could've been a decent rookie campaign as he had pretty much won his spot, but his injuries helped in the discovery of Jared Spurgeon, so let's say he took one for the team. Again, decent presence around his net, solid rookie, can't wait to see what he can do in the long run. 20 games is a small sample for a player we never actually saw in a Wild uniform before.
Elise- GRADE: B Didn't put up a lot of points but adjusted to the NHL game very well and showed a lot of promise before going down with injury. Stepped up big for the Wild when they needed it and I'm looking forward to see how he comes into camp next season.
Dan- GRADE: B No one knew what to expect from the rookie defenseman, but he came in and played with confidence and poise. Mobile, smart, phyiscal. Hopefully he can turn his game into a top four defenseman
Bryan- GRADE: C Pizza looked good, and played some sound defense, but was sporadic. He needs to work on evening out his game a little bit, stay in position, and stay with the pace of the game before he gets too excited about the big hit, or jumping into the play. He has the makings of a very good d-man, if he can lock down the mistakes.
Cumulative GPA: 2.40 C+
Final Thought
It will be interesting to see how Chuck Fletcher manages the one area of the organization where there is true depth. Could Scandella be called up and never leave? Could he be traded as part of a package for a goal scorer? Could he ride it out in Houston? Only Fletcher can know that for sure.
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