Minnesota Wild Prospect Development 2015 July 9th-14th at the X Preview
Next Wave of Minnesota Wild Prospects on Display at the X
Last weekend General Manager Chuck Fletcher held to his guns choosing to keep both 1st and 2nd round picks. Assistant General Manager Brent Flahr and his scouts used the opportunity to add a couple high end young forwards to the fold which go along way towards reinforcing the prospect pool that was getting a bit shallow. At 20th overall in the 2015 NHL Draft, the Wild selected Joel Eriksson-Ek of Farjestad Sweden, this kid is a two-way center with size and skill. At 50th overall the Wild chose Jordan Greenway of the US National Development Program and incoming freshman at Boston University. Greenway is a huge kid that has flashed the ability to be a goal scorer.
I have seen it written in several places that the Wild has a weak group of organizational prospects right now but I tend to disagree with that assessment. I concede that the current group may be light on top end talent but I see several players in this group as having NHL futures should their development continue to trend positively. The strength position of the Wild's organizational prospects is the defensive corps. A close second though is their now plentiful supply of power forwards which has been an obvious area of focus for the front office.
The Wild Addressed Huge Need at Center Position Bolstering Prospect Ranks
The group that needed the most reinforcement was the center position, so the selection of Eriksson-Ek was something that many of us bloggers expected with the 20th overall pick. I think it was very relevant to wonder if the Wild went with the safe choice over the most talented when they bypassed center Travis Konecny of the Ottawa 67's. Konecny is the prototypical example of an elite talent Juniors kid that lacks ideal NHL size. Also still available when the Wild selected at 20th was the player many believed fits the mold perfectly of what the organization seeks out in Colin White.
Adding Eriksson-Ek to the center group that features Tyler Graovac (Iowa Wild), Christoph Bertschy (Iowa Wild), Avery Peterson (University Nebraska-Omaha), Adam Gilmour (Boston College), and Pavel Jenys (Sudbury Wolves). I see this group as being a diverse talented one even though it might feature more players with bottom six NHL futures. Bertschy specifically is a player that flashed great puck skills and electric skating during prospect camp last year before returning to SC Bern of the Swiss League. Bertschy thrived under Head Coach Guy Boucher, scoring 14 goals and 30 points. Bertschy has a great opportunity to earn a feature role in Des Moines with the Baby Wild this fall.
In Graovac the Wild has seen a tall skinny kid drafted in the 7th round of the 2011 NHL Draft, develop into the organization's top forward prospect at the professional level. Graovac could very well continue his trajectory of success this fall and break camp with the NHL squad. Fletcher has said that he does not want Graovac playing 4th line minutes so many have interpreted that to mean he needs to win a spot centering the 3rd line in Minnesota or it will be the top line with the Baby Wild.
The two college kids i listed above Peterson and Gilmour will again be heavily featured on their respective college teams this fall. Peterson is a big body skill kid that enjoyed a productive freshman season for Dean Blais. Peterson was selected in the 6th round of the 2013 NHL Draft, he was a Mr. Hockey in Minnesota for Grand Rapids so his tumble down the draft board was a bit puzzling. Peterson is a goal scorer and plays a very physical game for player considered to be skilled.
In Gilmour the Wild selected a kid with NHL family pedigree in the 4th round of the 2012 NHL Draft, who has a wealth of experience playing with other Wild prospects on his wings at different levels of hockey. Gilmour went from playing some very effective and skilled 4th line minutes his freshman season at BC, to centering a productive top 6 line with Alex Tuch. Gilmour is a kid that is always going to be under the radar in terms of prospect ranks but he should continue to get more experience in a top program in the nation.
The sneaky good first OHL season of Jenys was rewarded with a PTO stint in Des Moines where he continued his success. Jenys was an off the radar kid that Flahr and his scouts unearthed with the 199th overall pick in the 7th Round of the 2014 NHL draft. Jenys was said to be a kid with size and a nasty disposition in the corners when battling for the puck. When Jenys was selected in the OHL Import draft and came across the ocean to play hockey in North America it really was a game changer for the young Czech. Jenys will return to Sudbury where he amassed 15 goals and 45 points in a brutal season for the club.
On the Wings for the Wild Size has Been the Priority
In the Western Conference the size/skill combination at the forward position has become the necessity to compete. The Chicago Blackhawk and Los Angeles Kings have all provided the blueprint for the power forward heavy offense and style that has translated to 5 of the last 6 Stanley Cup Championships. The Wild has been stockpiling kids that fit the size/skill power forward category in a group that includes Alex Tuch (Boston College), Mario Lucia (Notre Dame), Kurtis Gabriel (Iowa Wild), Brett Bulmer (Iowa Wild), and Greenway (Boston University).
In Tuch and Lucia the Wild has #1 scoring option on two of the most talented Big East teams headed into this fall. Both of those kids will play in the NHL no doubt in my mind. Lucia chose to return to the Irish for his senior season which I believe will prove to be an important opportunity for him to put that team on his back and continue to develop his puck skills and scoring acumen. Lucia has improved his puck handle and skating every summer and I expect when he finally wears a Baby Wild jersey that he will immediately land on the top line there as well. Tuch might not be long for college if he continues on his current path development wise. I think everyone wanted to see how separating Tuch from his US National Development Team linemates Sonny Milano and Jack Eichel would affect his production and game last season. Tuch is a powerful kid at 6'4" 200lb but it is his hands and hockey IQ that make him a top prospect.
Gabriel and Bulmer both profile as bottom six forwards at the NHL, unfortunately neither one appears close to cracking the lineup in Saint Paul. I really loved what I saw from Bulmer when he earned an extended look from the Wild in 2011-12 before returning to Juniors and setting the world on fire that season with 34 goals and 62 points for Kelowna. Bulmer has been ravaged by injuries and ineffectiveness though in the past 3 seasons of AHL play. Gabriel was a tough guy leadership flier in the 3rd round of the 2013 NHL Draft. Gabriel is the type of player that is going to do most of his damage in the physical aspects of the game but he has some skill as well. Gabriel has an NHL ready body could very well be a callup this season.
The rest of the Wild's wing prospects is kinda rag tag bunch of specialized talent types like Michael Keranen, Raphael Bussieres, Jared Knight, Louis Nanne, and Zack Mitchell. I suppose Keranen may have a shot at the NHL roster out of camp or as a depth addition. Mitchell has shown a scoring touch that has translated from Juniors. Nanne is a kid playing at RPI who spurned the Gophers to make his own path which makes him an interesting follow.
Suddenly Loaded Blue Line Offers Healthy Competition for Top Prospects
The Wild has graduated several of it's top defensive prospects to the NHL roster in the past 3 seasons. I am confident in saying that the current group of young defenders playing for the Wild (Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin, Marco Scandella, Matthew Dumba, and Christian Folin) is among the most talented in the NHL especially given that all of them are under the age of 24 years old. Now with the free agent signing of Mike Reilly this summer and the return to health of top defensive prospect Gustav Olofsson, the Wild finds themselves loaded with size/skill combination blue liners.
I feel that Fletcher was genuine in his statement that Reilly is viewed as NHL ready and having an excellent chance to make the NHL roster. Reilly will either begin the season playing third pair minutes in Saint Paul or top pair minute with the Baby Wild. With Olofsson he made a huge leap from relatively unheard of Swede kid playing USHL hockey in Green Bay to huge minutes as a freshman at Colorado College. Olofsson was another Flahr special as a second round pick in the 2013 NHL Draft that went from an unknown type kid to the talk of the World Juniors with his excellent play for Team Sweden. Olofsson missed all but one game last year for the Baby Wild after leaving college because of shoulder surgery.
Several other kids in the system for the Wild deserve mention so I think the best way to do it will be to list and discuss them by the level of hockey they will playing 2015. The professional kids for the Baby Wild are highlighted by Dylan Labbe who will begin his first full professional season in Des Moines. Labbe is a kid that can do it all with the puck and has jumped out the past two summers during development camp with his end to end play. Labbe has NHL size at 6'2" 195lb and he has shown an ability to hold his own during two previous seasons of PTO appearances in the AHL after his Shawinigan seasons ended.
The Baby Wild should also get significant contributions this season from Guillaume Gelinas, Zach Palmquist, and Alex Gudbranson. Gelinas is a tiny fireplug who struggled a bit last year to translate his huge QMJHL production 23 goals and 69 assists with Val-d’Or before signing a free agent deal. Palmquist is a smooth skating puck mover who will be an AHL rookie this year after leaving Minnesota State Mankato. Palmquist scored 8 goals and 29 points for the Mavericks last season. Gudbranson is a solid stay at home type who is a kid that went through his Juniors career undrafted and overlooked. I suppose it doesn't help having a brother as a super prospect but still this kid has a chance to be a solid pair for one of the other offensive minded blue liners with the Baby Wild this year.
The NCAA defenders are an extremely diverse talented group for the Wild, I am most excited about the NHL futures of Louie Belpedio and Carson Soucy. Belpedio was a 3rd round selection in the 2014 NHL Draft, he was excellent as a freshman at the University of Miami-Ohio showing he was capable of contributing to the offense while playing stout in his own zone. Belpedio scored 6 goals 19 points while running the powerplay and playing top pair minutes. Soucy is a big kid at 6'4" 195lb who has been one of the best players for the University of Minnesota-Duluth the past 2 seasons. Soucy is a rangy defender who mixes it up physically but can also add some offense. Soucy should be in Des Moines next season if he continues on his current trajectory development wise.
The two wild cards at the NCAA level are prospects Nick Seeler and Nolan De Jong who will be matching up against each other this fall in the Big Ten for the Gophers and Wolverines respectively. Seeler left the university of Nebraska-Omaha just before the season was to begin last year which created a weird set of circumstances for the Wild which had reached it's 50 contract limit. Seeler was able to get a scholarship to join the Gophers this fall after having to sit out the season.
Seeler should have a great opportunity at ice time this season with the Gophers given the departures of Reilly and Brady Skjei to the pros. Seeler has a nasty streak to his play that should be a welcome addition for the Gophers and eventually the Baby Wild. De Jong took a step back last year in his sophomore campaign at the University of Michigan after a surprising freshman emergence. De Jong is a lanky offensive defensemen who must tighten up the defensive aspects of his game and take advantage of his role on special teams for the Wolverines.
John Draeger is kind the forgotten prospect in this NCAA group because he health has caused him to miss more games than he has played the past two season at Michigan State. Draeger is a stay at home defender who was selected in the 3rd round of the 2012 NHL Draft. Draeger will need a bounce back this season to spark his hockey career and that means staying healthy. Draeger is sound positionally and is often assigned to stifle the opponents most potent offensive threats as we have seen in Gopher games the past 3 seasons.
The Juniors and Overseas group includes some interesting prospects Tanner Faith, Hunter Warner, and Pontus Sjalin. I am most intrigued by Sjalin just because he seems to fit that Flahr find nobody has heard of category. Sjalin is supposed to be a fantastic skater with gifted hands and hockey IQ which surely sounds like another Swede defenseman already in the NHL with the Wild. Sjalin will play for Luleå this season against other adult professionals so it should be a good barometer for his skill and potential as a hockey player. Faith was a kid that went into his draft year oft-injured having played just 10 games for Kootenay. Faith only managed 19 games last season so he is a tough kid to evaluate development wise. Faith has shown some strong ability to compete but he must put together an entire season at the Junior level.
More Questions Than Answers Between the Pipes for the Wild
It is hard not to be discouraged by the turn of events surrounding the young netminders in the Wild's organizational prospects last season. Darcy Kuemper failed to launch as a #1 NHL netminder although I still believe he has the talent to compete as an NHL goaltender. The other top prospect between the pipes for the Wild last year was Johan Gustafsson. The young Swede backstop has returned to Europe after two seasons in the AHL in which he produced mixed results. Certainly the Baby Wild did not do the young netminder any favors being bottom of the AHL and talent bankrupt the past two seasons but Gustafsson took a large step back.
The Wild has now drafted large frame European netminders in the 4th round of back to back drafts in an attempt to strengthen the position in the organizations prospect ranks. Kaapo Kahkonen was selected in the 4th round of 2014 and Ales Stezka in the 4th round of 2015. The Wild has also signed both Brody Hoffman (University of Vermont) and Stephen Michalek (University of Harvard) to pair as the goaltending duo in Des Moines this season.
The goaltender position is so tough to figure out in my opinion because you see guy like Carey Price that are NHL ready as teens and other guys like Devan Dubnyk that wash out as top prospects only to find great success later in their twenties and early thirties. Even Niklas Backstrom didn't come over to North America until he was 28 years old.
Prospect Camp Scrimmages and things to Watch!
I will again this year be able to attend both Wild Development Camp Prospect Scrimmages scheduled for Saturday, July 11 at 2:30 p.m. and Tuesday, July 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the Xcel Energy Center. This group is a talented bunch featuring several top draft picks and an intriguing group of tryouts that should make for a highly spirited competition next week in both scrimmages.
Check this FlashBack prospect Camp pick haha
Things to Watch during Prospect Scrimmages:
1. Talented group of size/skill wingers versus very well rounded group of defensemen.
2. Center position is an area of need so the play of the pivots on long development path is interesting in guys like Eriksson-Ek, Peterson, and Jenys.
3. The netminders will all be worth a long look because two of them will be playing for the Baby Wild and the other two are considered to be long development types with NHL potential.
4. Lots of Gophers kids and Minnesota Kids involved in this camp which is something I have really appreciated.
5. All eyes on these five guys Mike Reilly, Gustav Olofsson, Alex Tuch, Mario Lucia, and Joel Eriksson-Ek.
Here are the rosters for Team White and Team Green
2015 MINNESOTA WILD DEVELOPMENT CAMP TEAMS
SUBJECT TO CHANGE
TEAM GREEN
FORWARDS HT WT SHOOTS BORN BIRTHPLACE 2014-15 TEAM LGE GP G A PTS PIM ACQ
24 Joel Eriksson Ek 6-2 190 Left 1/29/97 Karlstad, Sweden Farjestad Sweden 34 4 2 6 4 EN/15
27 Jordan Greenway 6-5 222 Left 2/16/97 Canton, New York USNTDP USHL 44 8 29 37 42 EN/15
37 Jared Bethune 6-0 174 Left 1/20/97 Warroad, Minnesota Prince George WHL 61 6 14 20 39 INVITEE
42 Ryan Graham 6-1 202 Left 5/6/96 Calgary, Alberta Saskatoon WHL 54 20 15 35 46 INVITEE
48 Jack Walker 5-9 170 Right 7/30/96 Edina, Minnesota Victoria WHL 70 18 37 55 65 INVITEE
59 Zack Mitchell 6-0 190 Right 1/7/93 Caledon, Ontario Iowa AHL 76 17 18 35 12 FA/14
61 Robin Hoglund 6-3 205 Left 6/11/93 Molndal, Sweden U. Minnesota Big Ten 5 0 0 0 4 INVITEE
62 Brady Brassart 6-1 200 Right 6/15/93 Vernon, British Columbia Iowa AHL 72 8 13 21 22 FA/14
72 Carter Rigby 6-0 220 Left 2/20/94 Penticton, British Columbia Kelowna/Swift Current WHL 62 18 28 46 91 INVITEE
74 Robert Rooba 6-3 198 Left 9/2/93 Tallinn, Finland Espoo Finland 48 5 3 8 6 INVITEE
75 Reid Duke 6-0 199 Right 1/28/96 Calgary, Alberta Brandon WHL 52 20 31 51 66 EN/14
76 Chase Lang 6-1 182 Right 9/13/96 Nanaimo, British Columbia Calgary WHL 63 25 31 56 61 EN/14
81 Pavel Jenys 6-3 190 Left 4/2/96 Brno, Czech Republic Sudbury OHL 63 15 30 45 45 EN/14
DEFENSEMEN HT WT SHOOTS BORN BIRTHPLACE 2014-15 TEAM LGE GP G A PTS PIM ACQ
23 Gustav Olofsson 6-3 194 Left 12/1/94 Boras, Sweden Iowa AHL 1 0 0 0 0 EN/13
34 Guillaume Gelinas 5-10 185 Left 6/14/93 Quebec City, Quebec Iowa AHL 37 2 2 4 22 FA/14
44 Nicholas Boka 6-0 197 Right 9/8/97 Commerce, Michigan USNTDP USHL 45 4 3 7 86 EN/15
45 Gustav Bouramman 5-11 184 Right 1/24/97 Stockholm, Sweden Sault Ste. Marie OHL 67 5 39 44 14 EN/15
47 Pontus Sjalin 6-0 168 Left 6/12/96 Ostersund, Sweden Leksands U20 Sweden 37 3 16 19 18 EN/14
60 Carson Soucy 6-5 200 Left 7/27/94 Viking, Alberta Minnesota Duluth NCHC 40 6 8 14 40 EN/13
73 Tanner Faith 6-4 214 Right 10/5/95 Terrace, British Columbia Kootenay WHL 19 1 5 6 29 EN/14
96 Jack Sadek 6-2 185 Right 4/19/97 Lakeville, Minnesota Lakeville H.S. 25 5 20 25 36 EN/15
GOALTENDERS HT WT CATCHES BORN BIRTHPLACE 2014-15 TEAM LGE GPI W-L-OT SO GAA SV% ACQ
84 Brody Hoffman 6-4 195 Left 2/18/91 Wilkie, Saskatchewan U. Vermont HE 22 13-6-2 1 2.06 .922 FA/15
85 Charlie Lindgren 6-2 190 Right 12/18/93 Lakeville, Minnesota St. Cloud State NCHC 38 19-18-1 2 2.26 .919 INVITEE
86 Ales Stezka 6-3 178 Left 1/6/97 Liberec, Czech Republic Liberec Jr. Czech 27 -- 1 2.74 .913 EN/15
TEAM WHITE
FORWARDS HT WT SHOOTS BORN BIRTHPLACE 2014-15 TEAM LGE GP G A PTS PIM ACQ
31 Logan Nelson 6-1 186 Right 9/9/93 Rogers, Minnesota Quad City ECHL 43 16 12 28 29 INVITEE
41 Collin Valcourt 6-2 216 Right 3/18/93 Red Deer, Alberta Hradec Kralove Czech 29 2 2 4 54 INVITEE
43 Mario Lucia 6-3 205 Left 8/25/93 Fairbanks, Alaska Notre Dame CCHA 42 21 11 32 22 EN/11
51 Andrew Black 6-1 190 Right 11/11/92 Buffalo, New York Colgate University ECAC 23 2 4 6 2 INVITEE
52 Alex Tuch 6-4 221 Right 5/10/96 Baldwinsville, New York Boston College HE 37 14 14 28 28 EN/14
58 Grayson Downing 6-0 200 Left 4/18/92 Abbottsford, British ColumbiaU. New HampshireHE 38 21 15 36 18 FA/15
63 Kurtis Gabriel 6-4 214 Right 4/20/93 New Market, Ontario Iowa AHL 67 7 9 16 125 EN/13
67 Louis Nanne 5-11 180 Left 6/18/94 Edina, Minnesota RPI ECAC 31 5 5 10 12 EN/12
70 Brad McClure 5-11 175 Right 8/13/93 Stratford, Ontario Minnesota State WCHA 39 15 14 29 10 INVITEE
77 Sam Warning 5-10 180 Left 9/29/92 Chesterfield, Missouri U. Minnesota Big Ten 39 12 12 24 30 INVITEE
82 Michael Vecchione 5-10 195 Right 2/25/93 Saugus, Massachusetts Union College ECAC 39 19 31 50 18 INVITEE
83 Avery Peterson 6-3 200 Left 6/20/95 Grand Rapids, Minnesota Nebraska Omaha NCHC 39 11 10 21 18 EN/13
DEFENSEMEN HT WT SHOOTS BORN BIRTHPLACE 2014-15 TEAM LGE GP G A PTS PIM ACQ
4 Mike Reilly 6-1 182 Left 7/13/93 Chicago, Illinois U. Minnesota Big Ten 42 6 36 42 44 FA/15
57 Nolan De Jong 6-2 188 Right 4/25/95 Victoria, British Columbia U. Michigan Big Ten 23 0 9 9 14 EN/13
65 Ori Abramson 6-3 210 Right 8/14/93 Toronto, Ontario U. Vermont HE 19 0 1 1 20 INVITEE
68 Alex Gudbranson 6-2 205 Right 9/3/94 Orleans, Ontario Iowa AHL 46 1 3 4 17 FA/14
71 Zach Palmquist 5-11 175 Left 12/9/90 South St. Paul, Minnesota Minnesota State WCHA 40 8 21 29 20 FA/15
78 Dylan Labbe 6-2 186 Left 1/19/95 St. George, Quebec Shawinigan QMJHL 63 15 36 51 43 EN/13
79 Hunter Warner 6-2 202 Right 9/21/95 Eden Prairie, Minnesota Prince Albert WHL 24 0 3 3 25 FA/14
80 Louie Belpedio 5-10 194 Right 5/14/96 Skokie, Illinois U. Miami (Ohio) NCHC 40 6 13 19 28 EN/14
GOALTENDERS HT WT CATCHES BORN BIRTHPLACE 2014-15 TEAM LGE GPI W-L-OT SO GAA SV% ACQ
87 Stephen Michalek 6-2 196 Left 8/6/93 Hartford, Connecticut Harvard ECAC 37 21-13-3 3 2.28 .924 EN/11
89 Kaapo Kahkonen 6-1 209 Left 8/16/96 Helsinki, Finland TUTO Turku Div1 Finland 47 -- -- 2.11 .925 EN/14
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