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MNWild: Wild Observations & Rantings |
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MNWild: Wild Observations & Ramblings
Tonight in Tampa Bay, the Wild will look to be rewarded for the aggressive pressure filled system after a loss in Toronto. I think for the Wild to break through their goal scoring issues it is going to take players like Mikko Koivu, Nino Niederrieter, and Mikael Granlund shooting the puck to open up opportunities for the more traditional shooter to get better looks. The power play specifically has been an area where opponents will shade away from the Wild’s more complimentary by nature players to take away shooting lanes.
Pierre-Marc Bouchard last season was such a great example of this as defenders would give him so much room on the man advantage it would force him to step up and shoot the puck. I think Koivu has felt the pressure to contribute and as result he has been shooting the puck a ton which is uncharacteristic for his game. In the case of Niederrieter and Granlund both entered this season with much to prove and a need to show consistency in their overall game to keep their roster spot. I think the natural progression for both now after displaying very solid overall play is to get more aggressive and decisive with their offense and shooting the puck. Granlund has been a virtual pez dispenser for setting up Pominville and others on the second line with scoring chances since taking over for the injured Charlie Coyle.
What Granlund has yet to do is show the killer instinct and offensive repertoire that saw him scoring highlight reel goals in Finland. I argue that both Granlund and Niederrieter need a kick in the pants and some reassurance from the Wild and their line mates that it is time to shoot the puck and be creative going to the net. Confidence for both players will be the determining factor pushing them over the edge in the next step in their development. It is so interesting to see two players that were absolute stars and goal scorer in international play come to the Wild and become distributors and defer first types.
Josh Harding and Niklas Backstrom is a backstop combo that just 2 years ago would be consider formidable and among the NHL’s most stout. It’s amazing how different the view and perception of this duo is now just a season or two later. Harding so far has been very good and it seems as though he has worked out a system to manage his MS and the rigors of the daily grind as a goaltender. Backstrom is return from injury which is very good for the Wild but before the injury he looked very shaky giving up soft goals and looking like a goalie in the twilight of his career. Backstrom traditionally is very streaky and also requires defensive support.
I wonder about the future for certain players in the Wild organization a lot as I find myself gravitating towards prospects and young players and their career development and trajectory. Two players specifically keep coming up in my mind as players that could find their future being outside of the Wild organization. Obviously I don’t have access to General Manager Chuck Fletcher or his front office staff, so I am speaking directly from how I interpret the cause and effects of current and past performance in addition to opportunities afforded to these players for playing time and career development.
The first player is Jason Zucker, as it stands now he was a relatively unknown kid out of California and then Nevada. His speed and scoring abilities at the University of Denver against WCHA competition catapulted him from relative unknown to top prospect. Zucker then arrived in Minnesota scored a couple flashy goals and played very well in Houston of the AHL. Zucker personality and mentality play on the emotions of Wild fans who crave the exciting goal scorer type the team has been missing since Marian Gaborik left via free agency. Zucker’s speed is a weapon that the Wild is currently lacking and being honest I am little lost why there is so much emphasis for him to change his game in the defensive zone. Sure Zucker could be better at back checking or creating turnovers but being honest his goal scorer mentality and crash the net personality is exactly what the Wild need right now. Instead Zucker is in Iowa where he is clearly frustrated and it showed as he made a poor decision destroy OKC’s Linus Omark with a check to the head.
Marco Scandella is a player that has experienced a pretty significant amount of success only to completely fall apart. The Wild has suffered from a lack of talent on their blue line for the better part of the last three seasons and a player with Scandella’s two way ability should have secured his spot in the Top4 2 seasons ago. Instead Scandella spent the majority of his season last year in Houston after he was in capable of getting out his own head to avoid turnovers and lapse to begin the season for the Wild. There had to be a strong sense that Scandella was struggling to remedy his issues last year because he was only added to the Wild’s roster when they had extra spots to begin the playoffs. Then Scandella comes out and plays significant minutes in the Wild’s first round series against the Blackhawks. Scandella is a player the Wild desperately needs to fulfill his potential and be consistent every night and yet he again this season has been a healthy scratch.
I mention Zucker and Scandella as players I believe will find their success outside of the Wild’s organization because I think both have been victims of circumstance. For Zucker I am not sure if he ever becomes a two way forward at the NHL level and as result I think the emphasis to change his game has been misguided. Sure Zucker has been on the ice for some brutal shifts and as a young player with less hockey experience than players his age he still needs to learn the game. I think that some other franchise will be the benefactor in what could develop into a rocky relationship between Zucker and the Wild. I think Scandella is very responsible for his struggles but I think Spurgeon has brutal at times too especially in the defensive end but the repercussion haven’t been the same for the two because of the offensive Spurgeon adds . Scandella is a player very reliant on confidence and trust and I am not sure he has that either with the Wild staff or with himself.
Just My Take,
Tony Dean
@AWKD
Minnesota Wild Blogger • 
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