Tony Dean: MNWild: Early Observations My observations following last night's preseason opener versus the Bluejackets.

Officially, I welcomed Tony to the Wild HockeyBuzz columnist community last night in person. Today, I do it on here in writing. The coverage this year of the Wild will be more frequent and Wild fans will be getting double, triple and sometimes quadruple dosage as some have already witnessed so far this pre-season.

Keep in mind, it's not about us trying to be right or proven wrong. We are simply fans sharing our opinion and giving other HB-ers a chance to bat around a number of ideas. We always welcome constructive competing ideas. Our goal is to be a community for Wild fans and NHL fans to shoot the breeze about our favorite sport and/or NHL team.

That said, enjoy the season, whatever it holds for us as Wild fans or fans of any other NHL team. And welcome to the team, Tony Dean!

Officially, I welcomed Tony to the Wild HockeyBuzz columnist community last night in person. Today, I do it on here in writing. The coverage this year of the Wild will be more frequent and Wild fans will be getting double, triple and sometimes quadruple dosage as some have already witnessed so far this pre-season.

Keep in mind, it's not about us trying to be right or proven wrong. We are simply fans sharing our opinion and giving other HB-ers a chance to bat around a number of ideas. We always welcome constructive competing ideas. Our goal is to be a community for Wild fans and NHL fans to shoot the breeze about our favorite sport and/or NHL team.

That said, enjoy the season, whatever it holds for us as Wild fans or fans of any other NHL team. And welcome to the team, Tony Dean!
- Brad Ratgen

I appreciate the welcome and I look forward to contributing to building a strong #WildHockeyBuzzCommunity here. I look forward to being apart of the team this year! Also of note Brad called me out for missing a puck that came over the glass last night, that was an eagle eye savaging Sir!

Question I could not tell on the radio but did seem like a lot less dump and chase?

Question I could not tell on the radio but did seem like a lot less dump and chase?
- Nharris31

The Wild struggled to get the puck out of their own zone and looked very unsure of where it was supposed to be and who was responsible for what. Thats what preseason hockey is with a split squad and only 2 weeks of camp. The Wild has players that can carry the puck into the offensive zone which has not been the case previously leading to alot of dumping the puck in and chasing it down. Niederreiter specifically was strong with the puck entering the zone and Granlund was fast on his entries. All a work in progress ofcourse!

The Wild struggled to get the puck out of their own zone and looked very unsure of where it was supposed to be and who was responsible for what. Thats what preseason hockey is with a split squad and only 2 weeks of camp. The Wild has players that can carry the puck into the offensive zone which has not been the case previously leading to alot of dumping the puck in and chasing it down. Niederreiter specifically was strong with the puck entering the zone and Granlund was fast on his entries. All a work in progress ofcourse!
- Tony Dean

Thanks just curious really wish they would play these games on tv.

All good points in regards to Granlund and the comparison to Atkinson. Although he is still finding his North American legs, I think you're spot on in regards to the fact that he was packaged and purchased as a future NHL allstar (just add water).

This kid should clearly be ready to level up at this point of his life and career. I don't think there will be any excuses left if he doesn't ramp it up by the end of this season. I would think with the leadership and caliber of players already on the Wild roster that he should have more than enough positive influence and experience in his corner to allow him to flourish as a top 6 Nhl player.

All good points in regards to Granlund and the comparison to Atkinson. Although he is still finding his North American legs, I think you're spot on in regards to the fact that he was packaged and purchased as a future NHL allstar (just add water).

This kid should clearly be ready to level up at this point of his life and career. I don't think there will be any excuses left if he doesn't ramp it up by the end of this season. I would think with the leadership and caliber of players already on the Wild roster that he should have more than enough positive influence and experience in his corner to allow him to flourish as a top 6 Nhl player.
- MnGump

Which leads me back to a very real issue with the current Wild coaching staff. Its clear Chuck Fletcher doesnt want to have to pull the plug on Mike Yeo and Craig Leopold is firmly entrenched in the Fletcher adminastration so what happens when the Wild sputters out of the gate this season? What happens if those prized prospects fail to fullfill their potential and make good on added responsibility and ice time? Storylines that became relevant before the Wild backdoor'd its way into the playoffs last year. Main stream media is dependant on at minimum a politically correct working environment with coaches and players so there tends to be some hesistance to commit until the dismisal is already in motion or the season is a lost cause. They way last season ended definitely reinforced rather than dismissed the feeling fans of the Wild had with regard to Yeo and the style of play/system in place for the Wild.

Believe me I never want to categorized as a troll or negativity dealer especially since there is a month before the beginning of the season but I will be focused intently to see why this season is going to be a different set of circumstances than what occured during last 2 seasons.

Which leads me back to a very real issue with the current Wild coaching staff. Its clear Chuck Fletcher doesnt want to have to pull the plug on Mike Yeo and Craig Leopold is firmly entrenched in the Fletcher adminastration so what happens when the Wild sputters out of the gate this season? What happens if those prized prospects fail to fullfill their potential and make good on added responsibility and ice time? Storylines that became relevant before the Wild backdoor'd its way into the playoffs last year. Main stream media is dependant on at minimum a politically correct working environment with coaches and players so there tends to be some hesistance to commit until the dismisal is already in motion or the season is a lost cause. They way last season ended definitely reinforced rather than dismissed the feeling fans of the Wild had with regard to Yeo and the style of play/system in place for the Wild.

Believe me I never want to categorized as a troll or negativity dealer especially since there is a month before the beginning of the season but I will be focused intently to see why this season is going to be a different set of circumstances than what occured during last 2 seasons.
- Tony Dean

With the literal bi-polar like characterstics this team has displayed over the last 2 seasons, one does have to wonder how much of that falls on Yeos shoulders.

I honestly don't know how much credit or blame Yeo should get for the ups or downs this team has experienced. It's not even so much the ups and downs but more so the vast ends of the spectrum that they've managed to touch all within the same seasons.

I don't know what the answers are, and I don't want to be a constant danny downer when it comes to Yeo, but this is his 3rd season, he's had plenty of time to acclimate to the NHL game and he's got some very decent players to work with. If he can't get this team to where it needs to be this season and that is anything that doesn't fall short of the playoffs, he has to go. The fans and organization can't continue to give him the benefit of the doubt. Richards only got a 2 season window and he legitimately out performed Yeo as far as regular season goes so I don't think Yeo should get a 4th year to prove himself. JMO

Welcome, Tony. Good work on the blogs. Looking forward to more.

Agree on Ballard. I like the signing. He has always been a competitor and has good offensive ability. I thought he showed some good spurts of creating offense in the game against Columbus, particularly in the offensive zone, not just on the rush.

The one thing I noticed about Dumba that is a huge plus for the Wild - he gets shots through to the net from the blueline. It just seems like very few of the Wild's defensemen have ever consistently got shots to the net.

Agree on Ballard. I like the signing. He has always been a competitor and has good offensive ability. I thought he showed some good spurts of creating offense in the game against Columbus, particularly in the offensive zone, not just on the rush.

The one thing I noticed about Dumba that is a huge plus for the Wild - he gets shots through to the net from the blueline. It just seems like very few of the Wild's defensemen have ever consistently got shots to the net.
- Chinaski

Dumba was the best guy on the ice tonight against the Jets. He logged just under 25 minutes and looked great, second star. You can see how great this guy is going to be down the road and also I think he will make the team this year.

Dumba was the best guy on the ice tonight against the Jets. He logged just under 25 minutes and looked great, second star. You can see how great this guy is going to be down the road and also I think he will make the team this year.
- flyerdude17

Fans here in MN have learned to be very skeptical of things until they occur kinda just engrained in our fan DNA. Dumba is a kid Wild fans NEED to be successful because of how entertaining he is on the ice. As such I think everyone has tempered theur expectation that this kid would be ready and the make the team this year out of camp. If he continues to perform like he has thus far though he will force Fletcher and Yeo to scramble which is exactly what the Wild and the fanbase needs to happen. The hang up is one way contracts at the bottom of the depth chart as that could also squeeze the young forwards too. Here is to hoping the young guns make Fletcher scamble to make it work!