For many sports fans out there, they are getting excited about the start of college and the NFL’s regular season. As a high school football coach, news of football’s return is old news as I’ve been at practice for 5 weeks already. The sound of the shoulder pads crashing against one another, the rhythm of a quarterback’s cadence makes many football fans instantly nostalgic. Especially for those of us who played the game, but as we all know that window to play this game is very small. Today, with temperatures in the mid 80’s it may be tough to think about hockey yet it too is close to starting up again. For the National Hockey League it means the opening of training camp is less than a month away. In the few weeks before training camp, NHL prospects get together around the league for a series of tournaments where they are put through their paces. For those that are drafted its a chance to prove to the organization that selected them that they made the right choice, while for undrafted tryouts its a chance to earn a professional contract. Last year; Josh Caron, Colton Jobke and 2010-11’s surprise in Jared Spurgeon earned professional deals with their solid performances in last year’s Traverse City Tournament where the Wild youngsters earned 1st place honors.
This 8-team tournament has become an annual tradition for the Wild, and a valuable training ground. Dallas, St. Louis, NY Rangers, and Carolina will make up the Gretzky division while Minnesota, Buffalo, Columbus, and tournament host Detroit in the Howe Division. Aeros’ bench boss John Torchetti and assistants Sebastien Laplante and Mike Van Ryn will be putting the Wild youngsters through their paces at the tournament. The Wild will dress 8 draft picks including 1st rounders Zack Phillips and Tyler Cuma. For most of these prospects they will return back to their junior clubs; but one or more may surprise and earn the most coveted prize of them all. A pro contract and a spot at the Wild’s training camp? Who will be the one this year?
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So which tryout may earn that elusive prize? If I had to wager, I’d put my money on Somerset, Wisconsin’s Sam Lofquist. Lofquist looked very poised, and stood out at the Wild’s prospect camp in July. If he can turn in a strong performance at the tournament I would be shocked if the Wild didn’t offer him a professional contract. The former Golden Gopher has improved his shot and his confidence level is far higher than it was when he was playing at Mariucci (Arena) where he was a bit erratic and struggled to get much going offensively. Another few tryouts I am hopeful for are WHL’ers Tyler Maxwell (Everett) and Dylan Willick (Kamloops). Both were relatively decent scorers coming out of junior and in the case of Willick I didn’t feel he really stood out at Wild prospect camp. I had heard lots about Willick’s hustle and expected him to shine; but he was barely a blip on the screen compared to Norwich (Div. III’s) Kyle Thomas who seemed to be everywhere during the scrimmages. If Maxwell can prove he’s a solid finisher at the tournament he may earn himself a minor league contract in Houston where the Aeros could use some more goals in their lineup. Hopefully someone can channel a little Jared Spurgeon this year because it never hurts to haves someone surprise and make the organization that much stronger.
If the Wild’s prospects struggle, it should be noted that the tournament lacks virtually all of the team’s European prospects like 1st rounders Jonas Brodin and Mikael Granlund, as well as Johan Larsson in addition to the team missing its top college prospects like Charlie Coyle, Jason Zucker, Erik Haula and Sean Lorenz who in order to maintain their amateur status for the NCAA would have to pay their own way. Minnesota will soldier on with some recently graduated college players like Mike Kramer, smallish offensive defenseman Chay Genoway, 6’6″ monster blueliner Kyle Medvec and the offensively gifted Justin Fontaine. These graduates should provide some solid leadership as well as maturity to go along with the group of junior-aged talent being sent into battle in Traverse City. Between the pipes the Wild should be very strong with Matthew Hackett coming off a very solid first season as a pro, and the reigning CHL goaltender of the year in Darcy Kuemper.
I really wish the NHL Network would consider televising this tournament. As many NHL afficionados who regularly watch NHL Network know, they are desperate for orginal programming and I personally think fans would love to watch the prospects showcased in this franchise vs. franchise tournament. So c’mon NHL Network, step up to the plate and televise these games!
Apart from the Wild’s championship last season, the tournament has always made for some interesting memories. Whether it was some of the dramatic comebacks, or perhaps my favorite this glorious missed body check by Derek Boogaard which sent him right over the boards. Hopefully the Wild’s young talent performs well and gives an already pumped up fan base just another reason to be excited about its future. You can follow the tournament’s games and box scores here.
Rangers’ roster
Hurricanes’ roster
Blues’ roster
Sabres’ roster
Wild’s Traverse City Roster
Forwards:
#73 Joe Broda – Bakersfield (ECHL) ~ 32GP 17G 13A = 30pts 39 PIM’s
#54 Brett Bulmer – Kelowna (WHL) ~ 57GP 18G 31A = 49pts 109 PIM’s
*#38 Nathan Burns – Vancouver (WHL) ~ 59GP 14G 9A = 23pts 52 PIM’s
#52 Justin Fontaine – Minnesota-Duluth (WCHA) ~ 42GP 22G 36A = 58pts 42 PIM’s
#72 Kris Foucault – Calgary (WHL) ~ 65GP 25G 23A = 48pts 60 PIM’s
#53 Tyler Graovac – Ottawa (OHL) ~ 66GP 10G 11A = 21pts 10 PIM’s
*#81 Mike Kramer – Princeton (ECAC) ~ 31GP 13G 18A = 21pts 4 PIM’s
#73 Joey Martin – Nebraska-Omaha (WCHA) ~ 39GP 11G 24A = 35pts 14 PIM’s
*#75 Alex Belzile – Rimouski (QMJHL) ~ 64GP 27G 40A = 67pts 78 PIM’s
*#57 Tyler Maxwell – Everett (WHL) ~ 68GP 41G 25A = 66pts 59 PIM’s
#34 David McIntyre – Syracuse (AHL) ~ 78GP 12G 18A = 30pts 51 PIM’s
*#83 Taylor Peters – Portland (WHL) ~ 72GP 8G 11A = 19pts 47 PIM’s
#61 Zack Phillips – St. John’s (QMJHL) ~ 67GP 38G 57A = 95pts 16 PIM’s
*#80 Carter Sandlak – Belleville (OHL) ~ 34GP 9G 7A = 16pts 44 PIM’s
*#82 Dylan Willick – Kamloops (WHL) ~ 72GP 24G 20A = 44pts 53 PIM’s
Defenseman:
*#56 Dylan Busenius – Medicine Hat (WHL) ~ 63GP 7G 14A = 21pts 33 PIM’s
#68 Josh Caron – Kamloops (WHL) ~ 27GP 1G 1A = 2pts 47 PIM’s
#26 Tyler Cuma – Houston (AHL) ~ 31GP 1G 3A = 4pts 15 PIM’s
*#59 Kris Friedheim – Houston (AHL) ~ 66GP 3G 6A = 9pts 24 PIM’s
#65 Chay Genoway – North Dakota (WCHA) ~ 36GP 6G 31A = 37pts 26 PIM’s
#74 Colton Jobke – Kelowna (WHL) ~ 51GP 1G 9A = 10pts 84 PIM’s
*#62 Sam Lofquist – Guelph (OHL) ~ 62GP 8G 28A = 36pts 57 PIM’s
#67 Kyle Medvec – Vermont (H-East) ~ 29GP 2G 4A = 6pts 28 PIM’s
Goaltenders:
#31 Matthew Hackett – Houston (AHL) ~ 45GP (23-16-4) 2.37GAA .916%SP
#35 Darcy Kuemper – Red Deer (WHL) ~ 62GP (45-12-5) 1.86GAA .933%SP
*- denotes tryout players
Tournament Schedule
Sept. 10th – 2:30PM Wild vs. Sabres ~ Wild lose 6-3
Sept. 11th – 5:30PM Wild vs. Red Wings ~ Wild win 4-2
Sept. 13th – 5:30PM Wild vs. Blue Jackets ~ Wild lose 3-1
Sept. 14th – 3:30PM Wild vs. Stars ~ Wild win 4-1
Wild finish in 5th Place!
Tournament Updates:
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