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The Minnesota Wild are eliminated from the playoffs and playing out the string for the next four games while moving their focus to the future. After the Colorado Avalanche stomped out the last embers of the Wild's playoff hopes, The Athletic's Joe Smith asked coach John Hynes what was needed to make up the gap between them and the Central Division's playoff teams. Presumably, this is both head-to-head as well as in the standings. Hynes laid out the goals for next year. "Some size, some speed, some depth," he answered. "When you look at the top teams in the Central, they're big teams, they're fast teams, they're deep teams. And they play a heavy game." That sounds oddly like the kind of team Bill Guerin tried to build in Minnesota. "I think it's simple here: We're just not a pretty team," he told the media back in October 2022. "When we don't play hard, heavy, physical... we struggle. And when we are, we're good." Dean Evason, their former coach, preached the virtues of banging down low and getting hammered. Minnesota could play that way because they had the personnel to do it. Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno formed the core of that identity, but they had plenty of help. Jordan Greenway, Nico Sturm, and Brandon Duhaime were all big-bodied forwards who skated well, and contributed to the banging and getting hammered in the bottom-six while Minnesota's stars shone. As the squeeze of the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts intensified, though, size was the first thing Guerin threw overboard to stay under budget. Minnesota traded Sturm to Colorado at the trade deadline in 2022, where he helped the Avs win a Stanley Cup. The next season, Guerin flipped Greenway to Buffalo for a second-round pick that became Riley Heidt. And once again, the Wild shipped size to Colorado in Duhaime at March's trade deadline. Eriksson Ek and Foligno are still around, yes, and Ryan Hartman and Kirill Kaprizov will mix it up despite not being the biggest players. But that identity of heavy hockey, molded by and in the image of former, old-school power forwards like Guerin and Evason? That's gone. It's gone, and more importantly, isn't coming back. The Wild don't have the cap space to add size on the trade or free agent market. Nor do they have a prospect pool that is equipped to replace players like Greenway and Sturm. Minnesota's top prospects -- Danila Yurov, Liam Öhgren, Heidt, and Marat Khusnutdinov -- all fall in between the 5-foot-11 to 6-foot-1 range. Big enough, but hardly the imposing team the Wild were two years ago. It's easy to be a fatalist about Minnesota's lack of size. Looking at the NHL's average height and weight by team shows the Vegas Golden Knights at the top of those, and Minnesota way down in last place. Vegas is a lot better than Minnesota, so size mattering checks out. Until you spend about 15 seconds looking a touch deeper. Look at that, the Cup-contending Avalanche are 28th in the NHL in average weight, just two pounds above the Wild. Their Central Division rivals, the playoff-bound Nashville Predators, who've eaten Minnesota's lunch for the past three years, are 24th. The going-nowhere New York Islanders and the cellar-dwelling Montreal Canadiens are the second and fourth-heaviest teams in the league. If Colorado and Nashville play heavy -- and they do -- it doesn't seem like size is the main component in doing so. That's good news for the Wild, but not if they go out and try to chase the size they lost. Not if they try to impose their old identity on this new club. What's Minnesota's identity now? Nominally, it's that hard-working, physical style, but again, they arguably don't have the personnel to embrace that anymore. More importantly, that hard-working/physical style shown by someone like Hartman reads differently to the referees. Minnesota's accrued the fourth-most penalty minutes in the NHL -- not bad for the smallest team in the league! -- and that's because players like Hartman have a reputation for reckless play. That turns heavy play into a liability pretty fast. So what's left? The Wild are going to have to reorient their team around offensive punch to succeed in the future. They have one of the most lethal top power play units in the NHL with Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek, Mats Zuccarello, Matt Boldy, and Brock Faber. That top line of Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek, and Matt Boldy is good enough to be an identity in itself, in the way that Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak set the tone for the Boston Bruins for many seasons. Their incoming wave of prospects may not be the biggest or fastest crop of players, but they fit into the high-octane offensive mold of Minnesota's top players. Marco Rossi is 5-foot-9, but gets to the net like Eriksson Ek and has 21 goals (18 at 5-on-5) to show for it. Heidt is the kind of smart, heady distributor Zuccarello is today. Yurov surpassed Kaprizov in scoring as a 20-year-old in the KHL. Öhgren brings a combination of size, possession-driving, and dual-threat offensive ability that can remind you of Boldy. If Minnesota can successfully bring those players along in a relatively quick fashion and have them be a 1B unit for their power play, they have a chance to have elite special teams. It can't hurt to have that influx of offensive skill at 5-on-5, either. There's no shame in the Wild diverting from the identity of those Guerin/Evason teams. There might even be an upside to it. We've seen those Wild teams built on playing heavy hockey flame out in the opening round of the playoffs several times. How high was their ceiling? What did Guerin-ball get them, exactly? The Wild are at the start of a turnover that will be intensified as more of their most talented prospects start filtering onto the team. It's not time to impose an old, outdated identity on them, but to find a new mantra that adapts to their strengths.

Danila Yurov and Metallurg Magnitogorsk are in the KHL finals. Playing for the Gagarin Cup isn’t like playing for the Stanley Cup because the NHL is a much higher level of hockey. Who was the last Russian prospect to play for the Gagarin Cup and win? Kirill Kaprizov for CSKA Moskva in 2018-19. Kaprizov lived up to the hype. However, Yurov is showing signs that he will be as good or a better goal scorer than Kaprizov. Yurov is showing to be the NHL’s 2022 draft steal. Yurov would be a perfect fit next to Marco Rossi. Bill Guerin shouldn’t move Rossi in the offseason, but he reportedly is thinking of moving on from the rookie center. However, Rossi can play behind Joel Eriksson Ek, who has evolved into the team’s top center. Why can’t Rossi use the opportunity to learn from Eriksson Ek? He represents Guerin’s “Grit First” identity but implements it with skill. Rossi’s a year behind in his development because of a life-threatening heart issue. But he played a full season, indicating he’s fully recovered. Now he’s gotten a full year under his belt. What if his sophomore season starts with a future Russian superstar in Yurov? Kaprizov played 57 regular season games, scoring 11 game-winning goals in 17:15 time on ice (TOI), which led the KHL in 2018-19. Yurov played 62 regular season games, scoring seven game-winning goals in 15:12 TOI, tied for second this year. Imagine if Yurov played up to 17 minutes a night. Kaprizov became the most clutch player in the KHL, and Yurov has proven to be Metallurg’s best player. Yurov’s clutch goal-scoring has translated to the playoffs this year. He’s been less productive in the playoffs but has out-scored Kaprizov in less ice time played in their Gargain Cup seasons. In 19 playoff games for CSKA, Kaprizov scored 14 points (4 goals and 10 assists) in 17:43 time on ice (TOI). In 19 playoff games for Metallurg, Yurov scored 9 points (6 goals and 3 assists) in 14:42 TOI. Kaprizov’s assists were tied for fifth in the playoffs; Yurov’s goals are tied for third in the KHL playoffs. Yurov’s nine points are tied for sixth in the playoffs, and Kaprizov’s 14 points are tied for sixth. Yurov, 20, is two years younger than Kaprizov, 22. Still, he’s scoring more goals than Kaprizov did in the KHL and is nearly productive with a lower TOI. Kaprizov is a former 5th-round pick, while the Wild took Yurov in the 1st round. That may explain why Yurov has achieved as much as Kaprizov has at a younger age. Despite the age difference, Yurov is showing 1st-round value at its finest, playing 163 KHL games as he’s gained more experience. Regardless of what happens in the Gargain Cup finals, Yurov has momentum heading into the offseason. Guerin needs to get Yurov over to North America because Rossi deserves Yurov. What happens if Riley Heidt makes the team? Now Rossi has wingers who can help support him. Yurov’s maturity can help him adapt to the NHL and provide a clutch game instead of immediately becoming a point-per-game player. Yurov is scratching the surface of being a future point-per-game producer, but we shouldn’t expect him to make that kind of impact unless he becomes Kaprizov 2.0. By playing with Yurov, Rossi should be able to improve his assist totals because he isn’t playing with Mats Zuccarello and Marcus Johansson, who aren’t goal-scorers. The Wild shouldn’t trade Rossi because they lack goal-scoring wingers. Rossi has 40 points (19 assists) in 81 games. What if the Wild had another goal-scoring wing? I’m sure he’d be knocking on 60 points. Because Yurov is so skilled, Rossi can creatively set him up. Matt Boldy, Eriksson Ek, and Kaprizov are a dynamic first line, but they don't have a true second line. Rossi is the second line’s foundation. If the Wild are concerned about Rossi’s size (5-foot-9)”, then they can't have Mats Zuccarello (5-foot-8) playing alongside him. Slotting Zuccarello with Marat Khusnutdinov (5-foot-11, 176 lbs.) doesn’t solve that issue, either. If anything, the Wild should keep Liam Ohgren with Zuccarello to make another scoring line. Zuccarello will move Khusnutdinov to the fourth line with Marcus Foligno and Ryan Hartman. Yurov looks like a game-changing player. Winning the Gargain Cup would be a massive achievement for Yurov to carry momentum in 2024-25. Guerin should have second thoughts about trading Rossi now that scoring wingers like Yurov and Heidt are emerging. Yurov has a bright future in Minnesota, and Kaprizov needs to persuade him to come to the Wild because Kaprizov is a free agent after the 2025-26 season. The Wild can’t afford to miss the playoffs again in Kaprizov’s prime years. Yurov can help Minnesota get over the hump.

In Nashville, musicians and songwriters have a saying: “No money is made above the fifth fret.” Now, that doesn’t mean that Eddie Van Halen's might-as-well-be-an-opus-at-this-point guitar master class, Eruption, isn't amazing, even though most of what he did was way above the fifth fret. The true understanding of this statement, forgetting about the obvious existential virtue, is that if you want to make it as a musician (which is arguably tougher than a pro hockey player), you've got to keep it simple. Find your most basic, honest identity – the meat and potatoes, if you will – of what you do. Then get really good at those few things. And that, my friends, is where the money is made. The same can be said in hockey. A team's success depends on how quickly it can define and assume its team habits – the meat and potatoes of what you do well as a team. Teams will adopt these from the beginning of a season and attempt to manifest these “core principles” as the season advances. Hopefully, these will run the length of the season, which in turn will become the team's identity over time. It could be, for example: skating, turnovers, conditioning, strong forecheck, shots from everywhere, Rush D, Rush O, speed, transition, D men joining, etc. There are many habits a team can consider adopting. The trickier part is taking into account your personnel on hand and the player/position skill sets that you have. Adapting to your players is imperative, not the other way around. You can’t make players who don’t defend well suddenly become elite defenders. Eventually, those habits will define your team (good or bad), and it’s impossible to sell your soul at the Crossroads to be great at all of your habits. This isn’t the Islanders of Stanley Cup yore, a team that did all of the habits really well. In my experience, with all credit to St. Olaf Head Coach Eddie Effinger, we have a phrase: Middle is Life. Meaning the basis for success in our game is largely dependent on the game within the game: the game happening in the middle of the rink. Part of what that means to me is that to be successful, you must win the areas in front of both nets every night. If you get good at doing those two things, you will not get scored on as much as the other team and score more goals than the other team. Win the middle, and you will win more games. Where are snipers most dangerous? The middle of the ice – not on the flanks. Minnesota Wild fans have seen it. Give Kirill Kaprizov the middle, and he will get a high-quality scoring chance on most of those opportunities. Even Alexander Ovechkin, with his amazing one-timers, is scored at or inside the dots. Those are hard to stop, even for NHL goalies. The effectiveness of a team offensively and defensively is played in the middle of the ice, not on the flanks or behind the net. Might seem like a simple concept, but the application and execution of that is the difference between teams that win and teams that don’t. Meat and potatoes. Practically speaking, winning the middle starts with the players who occupy the middle of the ice: goalies, defensemen, and centers. Concerning the Wild, their lack of defensive and center depth isn’t an open secret, but the middle of the ice needs to be a top priority for the Wild. Eight out of Minnesota’s top 10 prospects in 2024 are either a goalie, defenseman, or center. Through it all, the Wild somehow have goalie depth, and they should get kudos for that. However, defense and center depth have been and still are major issues for this club. The Wild need to shore up the middle of their lineup to be a consistent playoff team. They are flush with decent wingers, but Joel Eriksson Ek, Marco Rossi, and Jake Luchini? Those are the only centers they’ve rostered. The Wild need to get tougher up the middle in addition to more secondary scoring from their centers. Perhaps Rasmus Kumpulainen and Marat Khustindov will be the upgrades they need. They are actively building defensive depth with young players on the back end with Brock Faber, Declan Chisholm, and Carson Lambos, and by signing Jack Peart recently. Those are good signs that the Wild understands that, as we say, middle is life, and you need to prioritize those areas of the ice to be a consistent winner. It seems like a clawback is happening. And that is a good thing. Hockey, like music, is finding your identity and doing that really well. The money will follow. That’s life below the fifth fret.

The Minnesota Wild ran a “Grit First.” promotional video before last year’s playoff series against the Dallas Stars. “I want our team,” Bill Guerin said in the opening seconds, “to be able to play their best game in the most hostile environment.” There were shots of players working out and Xcel Energy on a chilly morning with a dramatic musical backdrop. Playoff hockey doesn’t need hype, but the marketing team did everything possible to ramp up the drama. Filip Gustavsson made 51 saves in Game 1, and the Wild stole a 3-2 double-overtime victory in Dallas. Dean Evason perplexingly turned to Marc-Andre Fleury for Game 2, and the Stars won 7-3 despite only outshooting Minnesota 31 to 26. The Wild outhit Dallas 45-22, but they also racked up 52 penalty minutes. Evason accused the Stars of diving. “There’s a hockey term for that,” DeBoer responded. “It’s called deflection. You know what, if I were coaching one of the most penalized teams in the league, I’d probably be doing the same thing. That’s good coaching.” DeBoer outcoached Evason in the playoffs again last year, just as he did with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2021. Minnesota’s “grit” really was just code for reckless play. They bought into their marketing campaign too much. The Wild won Game 3 at home, but Dallas beat them by a combined 11-3 score in the final three games. Minnesota failed to reach the second round for the seventh straight season. In a press conference after the season had ended, Guerin felt it was unfair that a reporter brought up Minnesota’s first-round woes. He highlighted that the Wild have “one hand tied behind their back” because he bought Zach Parise and Ryan Suter out and incurred dead cap space. But Guerin dismissed Evason after Minnesota started 5-10-4 to start the season. DeBoer handed the Wild their worst loss during the seven-game losing streak that ended Evason’s five-year run, an 8-3 blowout before Minnesota went on their Sweden trip. Minnesota had an opportunity to redeem themselves against the Stars this week. But they routed Jesper Wallstedt and the Wild in his debut, 7-2, and rookie goalie Matt Murray shut them out, 4-0, on Monday. Minnesota has lost six of their past six games. “We gotta learn to play in these tight games,” three-time Stanley Cup champion Pat Maroon said after Monday's game, “and learn to shut teams down when it’s a 1-0 hockey game and try to get one there.” The Wild started 11-3-0 under John Hynes, but injuries have hampered them recently. Kirill Kaprizov, Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin, and Gustavsson are out. For those keeping score at home, that’s Minnesota’s best player, top defensive pair, and starting goalie. Therefore, Maroon’s sentiment is fair at this moment. They were fortunate to come back and win in Columbus on Saturday. But they will need to take any wins they can get until their stars come back. Let’s not confuse effort and grit, though. The Wild should always give maximum effort, especially in the playoffs. But grit is a marketing slogan that turned into detrimental play. It’s something that undertalented teams that sneak into the playoffs rely on to pull off an improbable run. When fully healthy, Minnesota has a generational talent in Kaprizov and a No. 1 center in Marco Rossi. Spurgeon and Brodin are elite defensemen, and Brock Faber is one of the most impressive young blueliners in the league. Gustavsson is a solid young goalie, and they just called up their top goaltending prospect. The Wild will struggle to build a contender with their limited cap space. As strange as it is that the NHL punished Minnesota’s ownership for spending on their roster, Guerin knew the league’s rules when he bought Parise and Suter out. He played both sides in his infamous press conference last year. Guerin mentioned, unsolicited, that the limited cap space hampered Minnesota’s roster, then quickly said it wasn’t an excuse. This year, he said he’s never seen the number of injuries the Wild have endured. Both sentiments are fair, and they’re also related. The Wild haven’t been able to build a team talented enough to go on a playoff run because of limited cap space. They also haven’t been able to add depth to cover for their stars. Few teams could endure the injuries Minnesota has and win. Still, if those injuries linger and they continue to lose, they can use a high draft pick to add another talented, young, and cost-controlled start to the mix. Guerin decided to buy Parise and Suter out and go all-in, knowing the cap restraints. There’s no turning back now. He has his star player, top goalie prospect, a No. 1 center, and a minutes-eating young defenseman. He’s also locked multiple veterans into long-term deals. The next step this group needs to do once it gets healthy is to drop grit from their vocabulary and establish an identity built around skill and scoring.

No matter how people feel about TNT broadcaster Anson Carter, he was right about one thing. The Minnesota Wild don’t have the depth to make a sustainable playoff run. However, general manager Bill Guerin is still managing the team like they’re not far away from winning the Stanley Cup. He extended Mats Zuccarello, Ryan Hartman, Marcus Foligno, Marcus Johansson, Frederick Gaudreau, Marc-Andre Fleury, Zach Bogosian, Jon Merrill, and Alex Goligoski because he believed they could make an impact until their mid-to-late 30s. Guerin was an impact player for 22 seasons of his Hall of Fame career and retired at 39 years old. He created the Wild to be “untouchable” during cap hell. He wanted to make them the NHL’s most irritating team. Some Wild fans are hanging on to the 2002-03 season and the 2007-08 Northwest Division title as a blueprint for how Minnesota can win with Kirill Kaprizov. Although they haven’t won a playoff series since 2014-15, they still retired Mikko Koivu’s No. 9 into the rafters. How do they cater to fans? By creating Hockey Day Minnesota, Wild Fans No. 1 banner, the 2015-16 Stadium Series, and the 2021-22 Winter Classic. The team of 18,000 will always stand behind the Wild, including attacking Carter for being honest about the team on TNT. The Wild are playing for a wild card spot in the playoffs which isn’t anything new. That’s the Wild’s ceiling. A borderline playoff team. What do borderline playoff teams do? They end up finishing outside of the two wild card spots, falling into the mushy middle. The Wild love to blame injuries and referees blowing games instead of owning up to their mistakes and taking responsibility. Why not show a 60-minute effort on a consistent basis? These players are human, and it’s impossible to play 60 minutes every game. However, the Wild are still finding their identity. They market themselves as “Grit First” and “It’s About Winning,” but Guerin hasn’t built a contender around Kaprizov. Guerin didn’t draft Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Brock Faber. But he used a first-round pick on Marco Rossi, who he’s considering trading. He also drafted Marat Khusnutdinov, Jesper Wallstedt, and Daemon Hunt, who haven’t made a championship-level impact in the NHL. More prospects are on the way, but what we’ve witnessed so far suggests that the prospects aren’t ready. Guerin is depending on Judd Brackett to bring in young, cost-effective talent, but he almost always prioritizes high-floor veterans over young players with upside. When he was in Vancouver, Brackett drafted Elias Pettersson fifth overall in the 2017 draft and Quinn Hughes seventh overall in 2018. Brackett took Pettersson as a top-five pick and Hughes as a lucky seven pick. Brackett needs the opportunity to get a cornerstone player within the top-seven of a draft. Rossi is a ninth overall pick (2020), but the Wild aren’t prioritizing him like Kaprizov, Boldy, and even Eriksson Ek, even though he’s been their most consistent 5-on-5 forward this season. The Wild took Danila Yurov 24th overall in 2022, but he’s performing as a top-seven draft pick in the KHL. Riley Heidt is also out-performing his draft stock. The Wild got him in the second round, and he has first-round skill. Guerin’s making Brackett’s job harder by wanting to win now. Therefore, Yurov and Heidt must become first-round caliber talents for Minnesota to have enough skill to compete in the playoffs. Guerin was an impactful veteran later in his career, but he was also an outlier. Zuccarello, Jonas Brodin, Fleury, and Bogosian have been veteran performers who belong on championship teams. Any winning team would value Hartman’s versatility. The same goes for Foligno’s leadership and Jared Spurgeon’s longevity. But that’s where the cutoff begins. Johansson’s speed and No-Trade Clause (NTC) keep him on the team, and Dean Evason is the reason they signed Gaudreau through 2027-28. Guerin has prioritized veterans, which makes it more difficult for him to build a younger core around Kaprizov, Boldy, Eriksson Ek, and Faber. Guerin has won four Stanley Cups as a player and may not understand Minnesota sports fans' desperation. Many people here would rather see him lean into the upside of young, cost-effective players than build a roster full of high-floor, low-ceiling veterans who are easy to coach. By building teams that are good enough to make the playoffs but lose once they get there, he’s making it more difficult for Brackett to do his job. It would be easier for the Wild to get high-end players if they had better draft picks. The Wild are wasting the opportunity to win with the core of Kaprizov, Boldy, Eriksson Ek, and Faber. Fans will have to wait for the veteran contracts to expire and prospects to mature into impact players on a contending team. However, there’s a way for Guerin to build a Cup-winning team as soon as 2024-25, but he can’t assume that most veterans will make an impact in their mid- to late-30s as he did. He needs to invest in a winning core that will support his cornerstones. He needs to build a team with an identity that will give him winning results.

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]

The Minnesota Wild’s identity becomes more apparent as the team begins its playoff push. With the season's trade deadline in the rearview mirror, the team prepares themselves for the toughest and most crucial time of the season. The Wild have called up a few prospects to the NHL in the last month. Mason Shaw is returning from his fourth ACL tear, and they’ve signed Marat Khusnutdinov and called up Adam Beckman. All three have the potential to make an impact immediately. This is the best time for a team that was sellers at the trade deadline to get some new faces, some experience, and opportunities to gel with the already established players. It's a low-risk, high-reward situation for Minnesota. If the Wild continue on this winning trajectory (12-4-3 record since the All-Star Break), they will be in the playoffs this season, especially with the boost that Shaw, Beckman, and Khusnutdinov can bring to the organization every night. Minnesota added a handful of younger players on expiring contracts at the trade deadline. The moves were highly anticipated, with no surprise departures. Future draft picks in upcoming drafts compensated for many of these moves. Looking at Bill Guerin's trades cumulatively, we can begin to decipher his vision for the Wild. The Wild staff has continued on a path that starts formulating a more identifiable future strategy. Bringing Khusnutdinov in is part of it. So is bringing Vladislav Firstov from overseas into Iowa. Even a move as small as trading Connor Dewar to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Dmitry Ovchinnikov hints at this. Minnesota’s identity has started to form into a hybrid style of hockey. The team's future is headed towards two lines with different focuses. One will focus on a North American style of play centered on speed, physicality, and toughness. The second will be a Russian style of play, focused more on speed and puck control. The Russian style of play is really the most potent, with small, faster, highly skilled players who tend to be shorter and smaller in stature. Their size and pure speed will frustrate opponents trying to contain such elusive world-class athletes. These players will wear the opposition down quickly, especially the ones who don’t skate all four lines evenly. When you start setting up your team for the playoffs, you must take into account that you can possibly play each team seven times within 14 days, with thousands of miles of travel in between. Therefore, building a team that plays multiple styles means being able to set the tempo and not allowing the opposition to dictate anything. As you look at Minnesota’s current roster, the team seems to have close to four solid, productive lines. When building a roster, you will have a successful team year every year if you can get three of the four lines to be positive in plus/minus and one dominant line with +20-+25. The Wild have always emphasized a defensive style of play, and transitioning to a new style isn’t easy. Evolving your identity involves acquiring players with the history and/or skills needed to execute successfully in the NHL. Let’s separate the team into three categories to highlight this hybrid style. The first is the Russian style, with Kirill Kaprizov joining Khusnutdinov and top prospect Danila Yurov. The Wild emphasizes the offensive players constantly circling, always m, making presumably unpredictable playstyle. They have designed it for faster and smaller players who can be elusive and explosive. The second is the North American style, which involves bigger guys like Matt Boldy, Ryan Hartman, and Joel Eriksson Ek. Minnesota’s North American-style players who play at a high level in this system are 6-foot-0 to 6-foot-2. The Wild have packed their roster with promising, explosive, and talented young men with the skills to become a winning team. The third is a group of reliable, dependable, rather healthy, defensively sound d-men who do an excellent job keeping the opposition's scoring opportunities to a minimum. Brock Faber is a potent defenseman who has become a potent quarterback on the power play as a rookie. Winning is the ultimate goal every day, and entering the playoffs is important — except to the diehard Wild fans who don’t want that this year. We have lived that life for too many years, knowing deep down inside that we don’t have what it takes. A second line focusing on speed, skill, and toughness that the Wild can juggle depending on the opponent that night complements Kaprizov and the insanely talented group of Russians already in the system who are ready or not far off. They should have a third and fourth line that can score while containing the opposition’s top line. The Wild will put the veterans in a position they haven’t had: being out there to impose their style of play on the game instead of just trying to keep the score close. The young Russians will be something we haven’t seen in Minnesota, a group that will set the pace each night. That will cause many older teams to realize they are dealing with a team that can dictate the game in many different facets while complimented by defensemen who keep the opportunities to a minimum while in the defensive zone. The future looks bright in the State of Hockey.