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  • Two Wild Prospects In WHL Are Going Off During Playoffs

    Image courtesy of © James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images
    Thomas Williams

    By Thomas Williams -

    That's Wild

    The Minnesota Wild are in the middle of trying to survive long enough to get the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, but that's just the present. It's the future where we can all get very excited.

    Sure, Zeev Buium is looking great and appears to be a killer talent on the blue line for years to come. But it's all about depth and we're seeing a glimpse of some future scoring depth for the Wild in a few years, all in the Western Hockey League playoffs right now.

    Both Ryder Ritchie, the Wild's 2024 second-rounder, and Riley Heidt, a second-round pick in 2023, have been really producing for their respective teams up there in the WHL. Ritchie has four goals and eight points in just five games for a very good Medicine Hat Tigers team -- featuring the projected 2026 top pick Gavin McKenna -- and Heidt has five(!) goals and eight points in just five games, as well. Real solid stuff from two players who we should be hearing more about than we currently are.

    Heidt will be part of the AHL Iowa Wild next season, while Ritchie has one more year left of junior eligibility which he will most likely pursue.

    • A look into why Gustav Nyquist's production has dipped in Minnesota. [Hockey Wilderness]
    • And we're trying to answer even more questions here. Does Marcus Johansson really have a future beyond this season with the Wild? [Hockey Wilderness]

    Off the trail...

    • How Matvei Michkov embraced a "boring process" to become an even greater scorer. [NBCSP]
    • It's always a struggle to get American players overseas to play in the IIHF World Championships after their NHL season wraps up. The Canadians always get the stars (or at least very good players) of non-playoff teams -- could Team USA finally do the same? [ESPN]
    • With Alex Ovechkin breaking Wayne Gretzky's record to become the NHL's all-time leader in goals scored, the question of who else could possibly do it naturally came up. Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews is one of the players who could be on-pace to do it if he plays until he's 40 years old. But, the Leafs captain doesn't even want to be a part of the conversation. [TheScore]

    By Thomas Williams  

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    Imyourhuckleberry

    Ryder Ritchie's teammate, Gavin McKenna, has tallied 14 assists in just 5 playoff games so far. That would be a fun team to watch!

    Liam Ohgren continues to lead the Iowa Wild in points per game and is above zero in the +/- category, which is good for a team that's allowed so many goals. Luke Toporowski leads the Iowa Wild with a +7, but Carson Lambos(who I assume leads the Iowa squad in TOI) is right behind him with a solid +6.

    For the NHL squad, the Friday night game in Calgary should be an intense matchup. Calgary will be fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive and the Wild will be looking to slam the door shut, locking in their own playoff ticket.

    Edited by Imyourhuckleberry
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    M_Nels
    36 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

    For the NHL squad, the Friday night game in Calgary should be an intense matchup. Calgary will be fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive and the Wild will be looking to slam the door shut, locking in their own playoff ticket.

    Absolutely HAVE to take care of business against the Sharks tomorrow night, need those 2pts for a little more distance. A win against Calgary would seal it I think but they are 2-0 against the Wild this year and are playing very motivated hockey right now, 6-2-2 in their last 10. The Nucks game isn't one to overlook either, series is tied 1-1 with them this year. 

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    mnfaninnc
    1 hour ago, Citizen Strife said:

    I'm hopeful next year that Ohgren takes that step beyond, "too good for the AHL, not good enough for the NHL" and forces himself to stay up.

    With OgZ, I think it is all about confidence and knowing he belongs. I see him up here and see a slot hockey player who is more worried about not making a mistake than he is about playing aggressively. This happens with 200' players who care about the defensive end. Once he gains that confidence, I think we'll see a Nino clone.

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    M_Nels
    32 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

    With OgZ, I think it is all about confidence and knowing he belongs. I see him up here and see a slot hockey player who is more worried about not making a mistake than he is about playing aggressively. This happens with 200' players who care about the defensive end. Once he gains that confidence, I think we'll see a Nino clone.

    Saw the exact same thing with Rossi in his early stints, I'm not too worried about Ogzyt right now. See how he does next season after a full camp and a chance to get out the gate with legit players and not bottom 6 FA's.

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    Scalptrash
    4 hours ago, M_Nels said:

    Absolutely HAVE to take care of business against the Sharks tomorrow night, need those 2pts for a little more distance. A win against Calgary would seal it I think but they are 2-0 against the Wild this year and are playing very motivated hockey right now, 6-2-2 in their last 10. The Nucks game isn't one to overlook either, series is tied 1-1 with them this year. 

    The Canucks would LOVE to play spoiler. If the Wild lose to SJ, Friday's game is the championship for WC2.

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    Enforceror
    5 hours ago, M_Nels said:

    Absolutely HAVE to take care of business against the Sharks tomorrow night, need those 2pts for a little more distance. A win against Calgary would seal it I think but they are 2-0 against the Wild this year and are playing very motivated hockey right now, 6-2-2 in their last 10. The Nucks game isn't one to overlook either, series is tied 1-1 with them this year. 

    Ducks beat the Oilers last night in regulation so let's not look past them either. 

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    Up North Guy
    1 hour ago, mnfaninnc said:

    Perhaps Thomas spoke too early, Prince George got knocked out of the 1st round last night in game 7. Heidt did record an assist. Does he head straight to Iowa on a PTO?

    That would be beneficial i believe. Get him a head start on what he will need for next year.

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