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  • Wild Heavily Represented On 4 Nations Rosters

    Image courtesy of © Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
    Thomas Williams

    By Thomas Williams -

    The four rosters of Sweden, Finland, United States, and Canada for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off tournament were announced throughout Wednesday. While we already know that Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin was instructed to build the whole Team U.S.A. roster and we have head coach John Hynes behind the American bench, the players of the Wild will also be present at the tournament that begins on Feb. 12.

    Matt Boldy and Brock Faber of course made the United States' roster -- as two of the hottest up-and-coming and underrated stars in the league. It also certainly helps when your general manager is also the general manager of the international side.

    And as the Wild always do, they have some representation over in Europe, too. Joel Eriksson Ek, Jonas Brodin, and goaltender Filip Gustavsson were named for Team Sweden. All three of those players have had lengthy experiences representing their country and with them all playing well This season (when healthy) it comes to no surprise that they will suit up for Tre Kroner.

    Obviously, Eriksson Ek and Brodin are currently out with injuries but there is hope that they can play.

    Both Canada and Finland will feature no members of the Wild so we can actively cheer against them. Although there might be some hesitation with Finland since we are so used to supporting them with a Koivu in the lineup.

    That's Wild

    • John Hynes wanted a culture shift and Marcus Foligno is really the one that took it to heart. [Hockey Wilderness]
    • If David Jiricek fulfills his promise of being a top-pairing defenseman, what will it tell us about the Wild's thinking? [Hockey Wilderness]
    • The Wild decided to knock us down a peg by giving us a significant injury update. All three of Mats Zuccarello, Brodin, and Eriksson Ek are out week-to-week; and Jakub Lauko is considered out day-to-day. Still, the Wild press on. [Wild]

    Off the trail...

    • Grading the 4 Nations rosters and considering who each team left home. [ESPN]
    • Philadelphia Flyers winger Joel Farabee spent his Wednesday night tweeting at a hockey stats account to "watch the games". [Broad Street Hockey]
    • Alex Tuch is big mad about his Buffalo Sabres collapsing after going up 4-0 over the Avalanche. Don't worry big guy, you can come back to Minnesota. [TheScore]
    By Thomas Williams  

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    MacGyver

    If the Russians were allowed to play it would be tournament over. Imagine the team they could put on the ice. Without them the field is watered down imo. A chance for your best players to get hurt while most others are sitting at home getting rest and nursing injuries. These tourneys should be played after the season. Let the regular NHL season which is long and brutal enough as it is play out without the interruption. 

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    mnfaninnc

    Ek finished the game, right? Was he on the ice in OT? 

    If he's out week to week, kudos to the guy for finishing. We face Vancouver again in March and April. Mark those down on the calendar as potentially "spirited" affairs. IMO, Hughes should get run. Open ice or corner, I don't care, he needs to be run.

    Quote

    Alex Tuch is big mad about his Buffalo Sabres collapsing after going up 4-0 over the Avalanche.

    An angry Tuch is the best Tuch in the lineup. What happens if some Sabres start asking out? That kind of collapse could cause some mutiny.

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    mnfaninnc
    49 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

    Anyone else notice a little more FU in Boldy’s game against VAN.  We’re watching this kid evolve before our eyes.  Future looks bright 

    I am sorry, I did not. My eyes were fixed on Rossi and how slow, small, and lacking explosion he was. Everyone with size played with an edge. If the Ek crosscheck isn't going to be called, well then boys, fire up the lumberjack theme. At least Midsy took Petterson hard into the boards afterwards.

    I want to see some Hanson Bros. hockey!!!!!

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    mnfaninnc

    MacG said it right, the less players going to the tournament from the Wild, the better.

    There is a tradeoff in this. 2 exciting stars like Boldy and Faber can make an impact and maybe help influence some guys to want to come to MN. Guerin can't really do this, Heinzy can through compliments. 

    Then, the other side says, rest up, the season is a long season. And as was pointed out, this means nothing without the Russians being there.

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    MacGyver
    31 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

    I want to see some Hanson Bros. hockey!!!!!

    Haha! Those days are gone for good. I watched the Bob Probert documentary last night. Dude was a absolute beast. Opposing players said he was in their heads a week before they would even play against the Wings he was so feared. One scene in the doc was him with the Hanson bros. Probert was wearing the signature Hanson bros glasses with the tape holding them together while the Hanson bros were kneeling on the ice paying homage to the heavy weight champ. If you haven't seen this doc it's really worth the watch. It's on Prime right now. 

    I remember watching him play but there were a lot of tough guy fights in those days but he was the champ. Amazing how long the refs would let some of those fights go on. Sorry for the thread drift.

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    mnfaninnc
    2 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

    I remember watching him play but there were a lot of tough guy fights in those days but he was the champ. Amazing how long the refs would let some of those fights go on. Sorry for the thread drift.

    Wasn't this also the Ty Domi era? You're right, there were a bunch of tough guys roaming the rinks around then.

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    MacGyver
    Just now, mnfaninnc said:

    Wasn't this also the Ty Domi era? You're right, there were a bunch of tough guys roaming the rinks around then.

    Yep Tie Domi was interviewed in this doc. Him and Probert had some epic battles. Domi was actually pretty sullen in the end of the interview. The subject of how all these fights and hits to the heads effected them not so later in life. Domi said he won't go see a doctor for testing because he doesn't want to know. He knows he has issues. Most likely early onset of dementia and Alzheimer's which Proberts wife said he was already showing symptoms of before he died. Probert died at 45

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    mnfaninnc
    25 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

    Most likely early onset of dementia and Alzheimer's which Proberts wife said he was already showing symptoms of before he died. Probert died at 45

    Just going off of memory, wasn't Probert convinced he had CTE? I thought he was the guy who shot himself in the chest to preserve his head for testing? I also think I remember reading he was a heavy drinker.

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    MacGyver
    1 hour ago, mnfaninnc said:

    Just going off of memory, wasn't Probert convinced he had CTE? I thought he was the guy who shot himself in the chest to preserve his head for testing? I also think I remember reading he was a heavy drinker.

    They didn't refer to anything about CTE in the documentary. Probert was a heavy drinker and heavy cocaine user and just a off the rails wild party guy all the time. He had serious addiction problems. He was involved in car and motorcycle wrecks. His career was pockmarked by arrests and rehabilitation efforts. He died at the age of 45 of a massive heart attack. 

    I think you are thinking of the ex NFL guy who shot himself and donated his brain to study. 

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