The leaves start to change color; the wind starts to feel a little colder are all signs of the changing of the season. For me, it also involves football season and the grind of the school year. Yet for the NHL, the annual NHL Prospect Tournament played in Traverse City, Michigan is a sign of another season around the corner. On September 12-16th, the Wild prospects will be put through their paces against the young talent of other NHL organizations. The Wild are going to be in the Gordie Howe Division along with Columbus, Detroit, and St. Louis while Buffalo, Carolina, Dallas and the New York Rangers will be in the Ted Lindsay Division. The tournament is a round robin until the final day where team’s play their opposite place holder in the other division. It will be a good test of the Wild’s young talent and give them a chance to light up players from another organization. Here is the team’s schedule for the tournament.
Friday, Sept. 12th @ 2:30PM vs. Columbus
Saturday, Sept. 13th @ 3:00PM vs. St. Louis
Monday, Sept. 15th @ 6:00PM vs. Detroit
The Minnesota Wild are certainly attending the tournament with one of the biggest teams’ its ever had, as you can see with the official tournament roster here. There is only one forward and one defenseman that are under 6 feet tall, many are 6’2″ or taller. This is a reflection of the Wild’s drafting the last few seasons where it emphasized size as it tried to stay competitive in the Western Conference which seemed to feature teams like Chicago and Los Angeles that had a plethora of big-bodied mobile forwards. The question is whether it has enough offensive punch to compete against some of the other prospect-rich squads in the tournament. It will be up to Iowa Wild Head Coach Kurt Kleinendorst and Assistant Coach Steve Poapst to direct the youngsters in the tourney. So what players should the Wild expect to see shine in Traverse City?
G – Johan Gustafsson ~ The goaltender ended up becoming the default starter for the Iowa Wild once the big club called up Darcy Kuemper. Gustafsson had his share of struggles with consistency, although it didn’t help that Iowa’s offense was virtually non-existent throughout most of the 2013-14 season. Either way, he had 40 starts in the AHL last season and will most likely be given the heaviest share of the workload in Traverse City. A solid showing here will certainly help his confidence going into training camp.
D – Christian Folin ~ The big-bodied defenseman is hoping to gain a roster spot with the Wild, so I am sure the Wild brass will be hoping to see a dominant or at the very least a confident performance in Traverse City from the former UMass-Lowell star. Folin should demonstrate a strong two-way game and a willingness to be physical in his own zone. If the Wild really are expecting Folin to be that young player that steps up to contribute on the big club; you would expect him to be a huge source of strength for Minnesota.
D – Mathew Dumba ~ Another strong hopeful for a roster spot is the high-risk, high-reward offensive defenseman. His skating puts him at a different level than most other players in the tournament, but can he bring the physical element that the Wild are really in need of? We didn’t see him throwing his body around at the prospect camp this summer but perhaps that will change by playing against players from other organizations. In my opinion, his rambunctious physical style was a major reason we drafted him and its important for him to demonstrate he can play that way against adults and not just against teenagers. A good showing will help his chances of achieving of his goal of a spot on the big club.
D – Guillaume Gelinas ~ The reigning QMJHL Defenseman of the Year gave a few flashes of his outstanding offensive ability at the Wild prospect camp earlier this summer. Gelinas has that innate instinct to know when to jump into the play and his wickedly quick release can catch a goaltender by surprise. The Wild signed the diminutive defenseman as a free agent and it will be interesting to see if he will be among the team’s top performing prospects at the tournament.
RW – Kurtis Gabriel ~ An unquenchable work ethic and a big frame with raw athletic ability has really taken off since being drafted by the Wild last summer. Gabriel uses his big body well to protect the puck and does not hesitate to move it towards the crease. The physical strength is matched by a tremendous attitude and solid character that makes him a natural leader. He may be a darkhorse to make the big club right now but a strong performance might make the brass feel he’s worthy of a spot on the 4th line. If Gabriel plays well he might just slip into that spot vacated by the departure of Cody McCormick.
C – Reid Duke ~ Duke surprised many at camp with his speed and offensive skills, and he ended the prospect camp with 3 goals scored during the scrimmages. He has announced he’ll be staying with Lethbridge squad that won just 12 games last season where he’ll now be the go-to player offensively. Duke was a highly touted player when the Hurricanes drafted him 4th Overall as a 16-year old. So can he show some of that potential with another strong showing in this prospect tourney?
C – Tyler Graovac ~ The lanky center battled with injuries in his first professional season in Iowa but he also showed glimpses of some great offensive talent as well. Graovac can dangle as well as use his 6’3″+ frame to protect the puck. He has the most notable AHL stats of any player the Wild are sending to the tournament. The Brampton, Ontario-native ended the 2013-14 season on a hot streak; hopefully he can find that again next week.
I wouldn’t say I have high hopes for this roster making major waves but it will be interesting to see if their collection of big-bodied forwards means the team has more offensive punch in and around the crease. We do not quite have the star power of some of the other clubs; like Buffalo, Detroit and Dallas can muster. You can see some the other rosters for the other clubs down blow.
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