Riley Heidt Is Ready To Make A Calder Impact

If even half of these prospects pan out to the level we all hope for the future is very bright. Let's get MnFann a consulting contract for physical development!😎

You get any of these guys hitting, the scoring issues solve themselves.  Despite injuries and some lackluster play, the team hovered around the middle of the pack goals wise.  You have a top line with three 30-goal guys, Rossi, Faber, Hartman, and Zucc hovering around 40-55 points.  We don't know what Khusnutdinov will bring, but I will guess 30-40 (so pretty much Dewar and Duhaime's career production...).

Get that defense and goaltending in order, I think there is hope.

However, if he shows he’s not ready to play in the NHL in 2024-25, Heidt is set to take over a full-time role, replacing Marcus Johansson in 2025-26 or Mats Zuccarello in 2026-27. 

I was told all the prospects suxxx.

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Heidt is ready for the next step in his career. He’s done dominating the WHL but can't play in the AHL to develop like Boldy and Rossi.

This caught my eye in the article. I have to wonder. Is Heidt ready to move to the next step, or the next flight of stairs? I think that's the main question here. Heidt likes to play a rambunctious style, getting involved in scrums and taking the body when it presents itself. Doing that in the W and doing that in the N are 2 very different matters. So, when Kalisha says this:

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Trochek is 5-foot-11, 183 lbs., which is Heidt’s size. That means that Heidt has the opportunity to come in around 190 lbs this fall.

I see this as a very reasonable possibility, but it's still too small. I have not been able to place the eye test on Heidt's game, perhaps this is just reputation, but Trochek was not overly physical as a player. Don't get me wrong, he is effective, but he's not going to start stuff. For Heidt's own protection, 195ish is where I'd target him as a rookie, and 205 is where I'd want his playing weight. I also assume he has grown an inch or 2 along the way, most kids do. 

As for the line setup, I think sticking him with Boldy and Ek would be perfect. Obviously he has the point scoring knack like Boldy and Ek do, but also the sandpaper Ek's got. It seems like a really good fit. That would mean he'd break in as a wing (more need of beefing up). 

Kalisha also says he can go to Andy Ness' school of skating wizardry, and I'd say work on his edges is always welcome. If this team is going to come in shorter than most, they've got to have superior edges to win in the Central. It can be done, but their bodies need to be chiseled and a little stockier than most, and their east-west movement needs to be elite for the league. That will counter the size they're giving up. Leverage would be on the side of the Wild, yet reach on the side of the opponents. 

I expect Prince George to have a very deep playoff run, so I'm pessimistic he'll see much action in St. Paul to wrap up the year. But if he could, that would be a huge bonus and may encourage him to hit the weights this offseason hard.

In other news, Firstov got his first apple of the season for Iowa last night, and at 2 pm edt, Ohgren's Farjestad team tries to climb out of an 0-3 hole as the #1 seed in the SHL playoffs. Yurov's Metallurg team lost 1-0 yesterday, so their series is tied 2-2. 

28 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

I see this as a very reasonable possibility, but it's still too small.

But how is the weight built under that uniform?

Have to wonder if anyone will sign Hiedt's linemate, Zac Funk(6', 210 lbs, 20 years old), who has 67 goals in 68 games. His 123 points on the season trails only Moose Jaw's Jagger Firkus(5'11, 160 lbs, 19 years old) for the league lead. Firkus was a 2022 early 2nd round pick(#35 overall) by Seattle.

Actually, I just did a google search and found the answer that Washington added him back at the beginning of March. "The Washington Capitals have signed AHL prospect Zac Funk who will bolster the prospect pipeline for now."

Now we already got Riley Heidt winning the Calder? Haha Faber hasen't won it this year yet! Can we pump the brakes just a little?? 🤣

I would definitely buy a Wild jersey of Zac Funk if he took #49.

34 minutes ago, Will D. Ness said:

I would definitely buy a Wild jersey of Zac Funk if he took #49.

Taking on Rask's number does not show wisdom to me!

1 hour ago, mnfaninnc said:

Taking on Rask's number does not show wisdom to me!

You missed the James Gang reference...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_qHU_6Ofc0

Congrats to Heidt for a great season and his first step on the ladder to nhl.  Good for him. He’s got two more steps to go . Having not played a minute in the A he’s already been given a top 6 spot by the faithful.  Over hyping at its finest.  When people are projecting lineups 3 years down the road., do the same for Chicago and see what you get . 
     Judd seems to be doing well with drafting but no one has seen his draft picks do anything yet. Rossi is having a good season for himself but it hasn’t made the team better . Is Rossi a playoff player or a Michael granlund?  How is lambos doing? He was over hyped before he hit the A and now his hype came back to earth.  Im all for being excited about kids and celebrating their good work as they progress. However The over hyping I’m sick of. Following the wild from day one. It’s what they do every year an it’s never paid off .

     Real teams fan bases are getting excited for the playoffs. They talk about matchups, lineups , coaching , line combinations an if home ice is really an advantage.  We are still talking about over hyped prospects that might do something in years . I’m interested in what it’s going to take to make this a playoff team in the Here and Now . I enjoy playoff hockey and want to see it on minny. I saw nothing this year that gives me hope that playoff hockey is even close . Good teams are strong down the middle  we’ve wasted 6 years and still not strong down the middle . How does a few more undersized wingers help that? Can Rossi really be a top 6 center for a Stanley cup team?  He’s already proven he could be top 6 for the sharks or ducks . Can he be that center to get you through a playoff series? I don’t think he is and we’re wasting time finding out like with granny. How do the wild address the fact they can’t protect the middle of ice with there weak undersized d core and centers ?  
     Since Billy came I’ve watched this team go backwards. We used to be able to hang with the big heavy teams because we had a little size and snarl. Now we have a bunch of little darlings that like to play on outside and not get dirty . That doesn’t win sh_t ! Just like our standings show.  To me Billys tenure here has given us 5 years of Fred and a bunch of excuses.

13 hours ago, Dean said:

given us 5 years of Fred and a bunch of excuses

And Foligno

(my Foligno disdain is like mnfan’s obsession with thickness)

Dean - I agree and after all the disappointing hockey we've all watched, this teams window for a Cup is likely 4-5 years from now. Playoff hockey is a bonus, not the goal and leaves us to dream of better days. Days where Foligno, Fred, NoJo, Hartzy, and Zuccy are all gone. Four years from now Kaprizov will still be Kaprizov if we can keep him, Boldy and Faber will be in their prime. The way Ek plays he will likely be a consistent and reliable player with more confidence. Rossi is either gone, an absolute stud up the middle, or a very good 2/3C. If we hit well enough to turn 10 of these prospects into 2 studs, and 2-4 strong effective players. With a little draft magic / trades to find another impact rookie in a few years and a free agent or two, maybe we have a shot at a Cup. Looking at the talent level of top teams this year, we are far away but the pieces are starting to stack, and the picture beginning to focus. While Yurov and Heidt putting up the seasons they just did may only remind you of sliding down the rope in gym class, I have to hope this team keeps stacking players in hope of making an honest run.  

16 hours ago, Dean said:

Real teams fan bases are getting excited for the playoffs. They talk about matchups, lineups , coaching , line combinations an if home ice is really an advantage.  We are still talking about over hyped prospects that might do something in years . I’m interested in what it’s going to take to make this a playoff team in the Here and Now .

Dean, there will be 16 teams that are disappointed at the end of the regular season. We've been fortunate the past 3 years to not be one of those teams, though, our disappointment came about 2 weeks later. 

I don't think our prospects have been overhyped, well, at least by me. I had hoped that Lambos would be one and done in the A. But, it appears that year 1 was a learning year for him. There is excitement about Heidt, but I doubt he makes the team past 9 games next season. 

If your expectation was that all these prospects were magically going to be ready to go from jrs. to the N, you were delusional. They were always going to need some seasoning in the A. Just because the defensive prospects had a hard freshman year in the A, doesn't mean they're trash. It means they still have some work to do and they may have underestimated the level jump. 

If you want a playoff team in the here and now, then you would subscribe to gutting the prospect cupboard and trading for vets that are likely at best in their late 20s. I don't think that's a good idea.

Whenever you are trying to build from the draft, you've got to be patient. Things will look worse before they look better. That's just the way it works. Give these guys a chance. They won't be world breakers when they first come up, they will also need to learn in the N. 

As for Rossi, he's short, but he's not tiny. He needs another hard work offseason where he puts on more strength and weight. But to just discount him because he's short is, well, short sighted. Strength down the middle isn't necessarily brute strength, it's having solid centers, at least 4 of them. When you've got wings who can also play center as 1/2 of your centers, that's not strength down the middle. Dino and Rossi are real centers, not just ones who play centers on tv. Ek is also a real center. Heidt, Stramel and Kumpulainen are also real centers. Our center depth is getting stronger! 

With both of those guys now here, we're not talking way down the road, we're talking about making them better. I'd expect improvement from both next season. And that's how you have to build under this scenario. It may look rough with the kids for awhile until they figure it out. But, they need time to figure it out.

The proof is not yet there for sure. I had suggested Heidt for the Wild's first picks last Summer which I got ripped for. He had been a top player in the WHL with similar junior career path as Bedard, Point, Jarvis, and Barzal. 

I would say Heidt has potential, but we should be realistic. One thing that would be curious is if Heidt does become a good NHL player sooner than later, what does that tell us about Brackett and drafting. Their 3rd round guy makes an NHL team before the 1st? Is that a plan? Just help me understand what that's all about? Yurov looks pretty good but he was selected after Ohgren? 

1 hour ago, Protec said:

Yurov looks pretty good but he was selected after Ohgren? 

Judd took a calculated risk drafting Yurov after Ohgren. He wanted both but calculated that the league worries about drafting Russians would leave Yurov still available so they took Ohgren first. It was a very good draft move.

That's a good explanation for the moment or short-term. The more time goes by and the results are born out, do we still see everything the same? 

MN took Hunter Haight but Boston got Poitras from the OHL a handful of picks later who's already got 15pts in 33 NHL games. They're almost the exact same player from the same league but MN gets the guy who's having a tougher year in the OHL and Boston's guy is already making a statement in the NHL. 

MN just doesn't look that great when the rubber meets the road. Not the prospect pool rankings by writers.

2 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

Strength down the middle isn't necessarily brute strength, it's having solid centers, at least 4 of them.

Great point.  An effective nhl center can be an offensive threat (mcdavid) or a defensive savant (early Ek) and being high end in either category earns a nhl roster spot.  Very few 🦄 can do both (Bergeron, Crosby)

Rossi is really growing on me because it looks like he has offensive instincts that can’t be taught, but the granlund comparisons are still fair until he proves he can be effective in playoff hockey against the tall trees. I can still remember granny getting one arm manhandled by opponents

Just look at the results. Haight & Poitras for example. They were ranked by Central Scouting NA skaters 44 & 45. Almost identical players, both centers from the OHL. 

The guy Minnesota doesn't select makes the Boston Bruins out of camp. 

Haight isn't having a bad year in the OHL but it's not quite half as good as his first year in the OHL. What will we say a year from now? When we've had even more time to look at the results of Guerin & Brackett drafts? 

There's been some interesting choices. Will there be great results or will we continue to wonder what's missing and who will step up? Will Heidt be able to make the Wild next year? Is Guerin looking to trade Rossi to make room? Who will the Wild select 1st? Pretty interesting questions since the playoff one seems to be answered.

I'm about 90% sure all of the articles by this author are written by AI.

1 hour ago, Protec said:

Almost identical players, both centers from the OHL. 

The guy Minnesota doesn't select makes the Boston Bruins out of camp. 

Reason #1 why Boston is such a solid org.  plucking 2nd+ round NHL'rs out of the draft.  I realize this is sort of cherry picking the data with Pontius Pilot, but BOS always seems to have more than a few home grown players drafted after 1st round that are contributors (not passengers) in their lineup.  It appears that DET might be on that path too.  

Where does that secret sauce come from?  What are their scouts being taught to look for while scouting a junior game in Frost Crack, Alberta that consistently delivers NHL'rs 2-3 years later?  Is it analytics?  Is it personality testing?  Is it family interviews?  Are they talking to youth coaches?  Is it in the org's culture (ie higher standards)? because it's consistent enough that it's not dumb luck.

Yes, that's my point too. Why do other teams who pick late in the first round get big impact guys while othe clubs don't seem to have the equivalent.

It looks promising, like the Wild have impact guys they've picked on deck. That's great, but the at bat is the true test. I'm just assembling a zoomed-out view of what Brackett and Guerin have done and what was the availability at that time? What was the context of those off-seasons? What impact have the Wild seen as a direct result of the picks they've made so far? Next year too since it's close enough to make a better guess? 

Do the Rossi rumors tell us what GMBG might be thinking? 

On 3/27/2024 at 11:25 AM, mnfaninnc said:

This caught my eye in the article. I have to wonder. Is Heidt ready to move to the next step, or the next flight of stairs? I think that's the main question here. Heidt likes to play a rambunctious style, getting involved in scrums and taking the body when it presents itself. Doing that in the W and doing that in the N are 2 very different matters. So, when Kalisha says this:

I see this as a very reasonable possibility, but it's still too small. I have not been able to place the eye test on Heidt's game, perhaps this is just reputation, but Trochek was not overly physical as a player. Don't get me wrong, he is effective, but he's not going to start stuff. For Heidt's own protection, 195ish is where I'd target him as a rookie, and 205 is where I'd want his playing weight. I also assume he has grown an inch or 2 along the way, most kids do. 

As for the line setup, I think sticking him with Boldy and Ek would be perfect. Obviously he has the point scoring knack like Boldy and Ek do, but also the sandpaper Ek's got. It seems like a really good fit. That would mean he'd break in as a wing (more need of beefing up). 

Kalisha also says he can go to Andy Ness' school of skating wizardry, and I'd say work on his edges is always welcome. If this team is going to come in shorter than most, they've got to have superior edges to win in the Central. It can be done, but their bodies need to be chiseled and a little stockier than most, and their east-west movement needs to be elite for the league. That will counter the size they're giving up. Leverage would be on the side of the Wild, yet reach on the side of the opponents. 

I expect Prince George to have a very deep playoff run, so I'm pessimistic he'll see much action in St. Paul to wrap up the year. But if he could, that would be a huge bonus and may encourage him to hit the weights this offseason hard.

In other news, Firstov got his first apple of the season for Iowa last night, and at 2 pm edt, Ohgren's Farjestad team tries to climb out of an 0-3 hole as the #1 seed in the SHL playoffs. Yurov's Metallurg team lost 1-0 yesterday, so their series is tied 2-2. 

The size ( and weight ) does matter but not always. From top 15 points leaders in NHL this year:

Kucherov - 5.11 181 125 points 

 Panarin - 6.0 174 - 102 points 

Pettersson 6.2 176 - 84 points

Hughes 5.10 180 - 81 points

Point 5.11 180 - 81 Points

if Wild can get this type of production from Heidt I don’t think anyone will be worrying how big or small he is.

It should be right combination of skills and size I agree on this

23 hours ago, Dean said:

Having not played a minute in the A he’s already been given a top 6 spot by the faithful.

And they're looking to get rid of Rossi to make room for him...