Minnesota Wild

MNWild Wild Ride Begins Now as Training Camp Fans Welcome Today at the X

Sep 20, 2014 • 11:38 am

WildHBcommunity: MNWild Wild Ride Begins Now as Training Camp Fans Welcome Today at the X

Minnesota Wild Open the Doors to the X Welcome Fans Today

Hoping to meet some WildHBcommunity members today at the X for the open to the public practice and scrimmage. Man time flies when you having fun and this summer was life changing for me so I have been spread very thin. Honestly I am so excited to move into fall because truthfully that is the benefit of living in Minnesota. The change in seasons allows the opportunity to close the door on a section of our lives and open the door to..............Hockey Season!

This team is loaded to bear so there is little doubt in my mind the BANDWAGON will be super crowded this season but truly this is the type of team the loyal die hard fans have deserved for so long. Even though the national media and NHL in general treats the 'State of Hockey' as flyover territory, I think people realize how capable of competing this team will be.

This is a fantastic time to be a Wild fan and I hope to engage in hockey discussion all year long with all of you. I again ask for your help in sharing our community here at HockeyBuzz with your fellow Wild fans. I venture to guess we will add a significant number of people to the community this year.

An Interesting Gamble by Kuemper Pays Off

I have seen many Wild fans all over the interwebs lash out at 23 year old netminder Darcy Kuemper for his long stalled contract negotiations this summer. Mostly from what I can gather people believe Kuemper to be a greedy spoiled brat that has yet to prove anything. I have never believed that to be the case though. Instead I have viewed Kuemper's point of view and point of contention in working towards a new pact with the organization as being about his role and opportunity at the NHL level.

The Wild really painted themselves into a corner with two veteran netminders under contract on one way deals without being able to be confident in their abilities to remain healthy and in the lineup. I think we all value and appreciate the contributions to the franchise Josh Harding and Niklas Backstrom have made over their careers. I think even beyond that Wild fans expect both of those guys to have a relationship/role with the franchise beyond their playing careers.

That being said the window of opportunity on both Harding and Backstrom is limited at best for this season and beyond. Obviously Kuemper is looking to solidify his place in the netminder hierarchy and advance in his personal development but the truth to be told is that making the NHL roster to begin the 2014-15 NHL season was going to be nearly impossible for him just a week ago.

With Harding and Backstrom believed to be healthy and under contracts with one way deals, Kuemper was going to be forced to begin the year in Des Moines regardless of how he performed in camp. The leveraging between his agent and the Wild was ALWAYS about opportunity not money. If Kuemper is greedy, it is fueled by his desire to compete at the NHL level not by the benjamins. I hope fans can come back to earth and see that this kid is doing everything he can to avoid being buried behind two vets that have most likely had their best hockey come and go.

Also I will just say it, I love Ilya Bryzgalov because he has honestly been a positive contributor and dynamic personality to the organization BUT I think we all can admit that maybe he caught lightning in a bottle last year. Bryzgalov will most likely get an opportunity elsewhere after camp or maybe it works out he returns should Backstrom fall victim to injuries again. He is here specifically because of his relationship with the organization and that is a benefit to both sides.

Vanek's Minnesota Return Going Smoothly

I am a bit relieved that other storylines have all but drowned out the backlash towards Thomas Vanek from either Wild fans that somehow decided Jarome Iginila or other free agents were the better way to go or the other fan bases around the league that enjoy lobby criticism and opinions.

I think Vanek proved in his pact with the Wild that his motivation to be a member of this organization was fueled by all the right reasons. I have been committed throughout this process and even before probably, to the idea that Vanek compliments perfectly the current core for the Wild. I am near positive Vanek is no longer a 40-goal type of player but he is a goal scorer still and playing on a line with say Mikko Koivu and Charlie Coyle will mean they can feed him.

Vanek is going to be the lightning rod for the fans there is little doubt of that in my mind. I think he realizes that as well though and he is capable of handling it. Vanek knows that if he is not scoring goals it will mean he gets savaged. Vanek will be afforded a great opportunity here though to put the puck in the back of the net because honestly this is a roster full of pass first types. It will be interesting to see how the relationship between Vanek and Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo develops. Storylines galore this year I bet between Yeo and Vanek if it goes wrong but honestly I trust the players to hold each other accountable for the type of 200 foot effort that nearly shocked the hockey world last spring.

I will be in the building at the X today so send me a Tweet or come say hello! I love talking hockey and putting a face to people's INTERWEB identities!

That's all for now thanks for reading!

I want to thank the Mayo Clinic's Sports Medicine Center for being a sponsor of the site this month. If you haven't already I encourage you to click below and check out their amazing performance training programs. They serve athletes of all levels and ages by providing comprehensive, individualized programs.