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  • What Should We Expect From Liam Öhgren?

    Image courtesy of © Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
    Thomas Williams

    By Thomas Williams -

    The Minnesota Wild's season is all but over, having already been kicked out of playoff contention. Now, we are just riding out to complete all 82 games -- but, fortunately, there are some reasons to still tune in. For instance, something like former first-rounder Liam Öhgren making his NHL debut after being recalled from the SHL this week.

    But, what should we expect from the 20-year-old winger? Öhgren is set to start his North American pro career on the Wild's third line centered by fellow rookie Marat Khusnutdinov -- forming this ultra-competitive, hard forechecking duo that should carry a lot of the Wild's drive for the next decade.

    Öhgren might not score right away, and with four games remaining in the season, there won't be much opportunity to really get rolling after he makes his debut. But, we should at least expect to see some solid two-way play from the young forward. He has that tenacity that the Wild's front office loves to have in every player, but also has the skill to potentially be a top-six contributor for a long time.

    Patience might be needed, but who knows? Öhgren could very well start on a heater after coming back from injury and being able to finish off his SHL season well, scoring 12 goals and 19 points in just 26 games played.

    Nevertheless, it's always exciting to see a draft pick come to fruition.

    That's Wild

    • The Minnesota Wild are closing out their season soon and are going to have a transitional summer. Lots of young talent is coming up to the surface, but with loads of veterans still on the books. They will simply have to forge a new identity. [Hockey Wilderness]
    • And speaking of the roster, it sure does seem like the Wild are about to run it back for next season but expect different results for some reason.[Hockey Wilderness]
    • Wild prospect Rieger Lorenz and the rest of Denver is in the National Championship game after winning in overtime over Boston University. [The Hockey News]

    Off the trail...

    • The standings over in the East are getting pretty tight. A few teams are all battling for that second Wild Card spot and with every game, things change. [Sportsnet]
    • Will Auston Matthews hit 70 goals? He is currently at 68 and is red-hot. [TSN]
    • Preparations are being made for the NHL to move the Coyotes from Arizona to Salt Lake City. [CBC]
    By Thomas Williams  

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    Pewterschmidt

    Almost feel bad for this kid as the fanbase has considered him a lead part of the prospect cavalry, due to his first round draft status. 
    I’m expecting a physical winger who owns the board battles.  Think GREEF 2.0.  I hope he’s more Trent Frederic than Jordan Greenway.  Welcome to the league young man. 

    Edited by Pewterschmidt
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    MrCheatachu
    1 hour ago, Pewterschmidt said:

    Welcome to the league young man. 

    Indeed.

    Wild face VGK, SJS, LAK and SEA.  Vegas coming off a 3 game losing streak, and with 3 games left they're 3 points behind catching LAK but also only 3 points ahead of STL of dropping out of a playoff spot.  VGK and LAK should be playing some inspired hockey in these remaining games.

    I'm not expecting much from Marat/Liam other then having them experience NHL level hockey, in hopes it gives them a sense of what they're in for, and the work they still need to put in...and they can have a 'Rossi-esque' off season rather than a 'Addison-esque' offseason.

    I saw that both Freddy and Zucc didn't travel to Vegas for 'Personal Reasons' so it'll be interesting to see what line blender we get tonight.

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    Citizen Strife

    I'm happy Ohgren and Khusnutdinov are together.  See if they can build some defensively responsible rapport, without the "need" to be a scoring line.  If Ohgren shows scoring touch, putting him with Rossi over Hartman is possible.

    The main thing is having someone young who takes the Letteri's, Lucchini's, and such out of the lineup.  Hopefully next year, you can have an Ohgren/Khusnutdinov/Foligno line and put Mojo and especially Freddie on mop up duty.

     

    Edited by Citizen Strife
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    mnfaninnc

    Any idea who the other wing is? I'm hoping it's Beckman. Would love to have Firstov get a look too. But, alas, it'll probably be Johansson. 

    Quick note, Johansson and Dino have similar speed. I'd like to see them try to exploit that together. I think they could click. 

    So, I started looking last night to see Ohgren's debut. Of course, I just assumed we were playing on a Thursday night like usual. Oops, it's tonight!

    For those who might care, with the tight race in the East, and our schedule, we could be moving up the draft board. We were in 13th place last I looked. Maybe we just play San Jose, pulling the goalie at 19:00 of the 1st and see what happens!

    This team is definitely due some ping pong luck!!!!!!!

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    raithis

    We may not be in the playoffs, but I won't deny that I'm hoping we do our part in helping Knights get the 16th pick.  With the sketchy LTIR BS, it would be fun to see their shenanigans cause them to miss the playoffs.

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    mnfaninnc
    3 hours ago, raithis said:

    We may not be in the playoffs, but I won't deny that I'm hoping we do our part in helping Knights get the 16th pick.  With the sketchy LTIR BS, it would be fun to see their shenanigans cause them to miss the playoffs.

    It's already happened to them once!

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    Protec

    Ogie got ice. Last night against VGK he got more TOI than Beckman. Similar stats. Couple shots, couple hits. 

    I just can't stand to see NoJo play hockey. Every game he plays is a greater reduction in respect for MN's front office and coaching staff. 

    I mean I don't expect Hynes to say in the presser, "Yes, we play NoJo to help lose games and make other guys look even better by comparison." Or, "we just wanna have some neck-beard in the lineup." At least that kinda makes sense. The NoJo thing is a total pencil-neck Chuck Fletcher move and neck-beard is an additional sign of ultra-lazy aloofness...

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    mnfaninnc

    I only got through the 1st period. Ohgren didn't look out of place, but to get in this lineup, you've got to do more than that.

    Fleury looked terrible. IMO, it's time. I can see pebbles falling off the cliff already.

    In elimination action last night:

    Oshawa won 4-3, Kumpulainen no points, but good faceoffs

    Moose Jaw lost 7-2, Parker -2

    Prince George won 4-0, Heidt an apple.

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    mnfaninnc

    Also, Metallurg lost today, 5-3. No data released yet on how Yurov did. Series is tied at 3. Winner gets to the finals. I would think Metallurg is favored to get to the finals.

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