Staying connected is always important. Whether in business or in your personal life, staying connected to people makes you aware of your strengths and weaknesses as well as gives you a valuable insight into what others are thinking. I think this especially true when you’re talking about fans of sports teams. Fans know their team, and in the State of Hockey they know the game too. In the Hockey News‘ 2014-15 Season Yearbook noted the raised expectations around the team after advancing to the second round just for the 2nd time in franchise history. With so many of the team’s key players in the prime of their careers, the fans, media and organization sense the time is now to move forward towards contending for a Stanley Cup.
To get a pulse on what Minnesota fans are thinking at this point just prior to the start of Wild training camp I contacted a few members of the Wild.com message boards; Huff5328, DaveyJ, and 1Green. I asked each of these fans 5 questions regarding the future season to get an idea of their expectations, their concerns and where they felt the team would finish. The responses below will be precisely what they shared with me and we thank them for their contribution. So what did these fans have to say?
1. What are you most excited about in regards to the 2014-15 Wild season?
Huff5328: I’m most excited to see what progress the kids have made, especially Zucker, Nino, Granny, Coyle and Brodin. I’m also very intrigued to see guys like Folin, Dumba and Almond. Basically we know what we have with several of the vets, the improvement will come from the kids.
DaveyJ: This year’s Wild team has more depth and more skill than any team in Wild history (by far) and I’m excited to watch a team with 3 legitimate scoring lines instead of a team with one decent line and a bunch of ham and eggers.
1Green: The new potential line combinations, seeing Harding play again, and to see what Granlund is gonna do in a full season now that we know he’s that good.
2. What are you most concerned about in regards to the 2014-15 Wild season?
Huff5328: I’m most concerned with the PP and healthy goaltending.
DaveyJ: Most people will probably say goal tending here, but I’m not all that concerned about the Wild’s goal tending. I’m most concerned about blue line toughness! I think this is an area where this team can be most easily exposed…especially in a playoff environment.
1Green: The health of our goaltenders, an unchecked injury to a kid like Granlund or Brodin, Ryan Suter experiencing burnout, and general team toughness.
3. What Wild player comes into training camp with the greatest amount of pressure? Do you think that player will live up to expectations or not?
Huff5328: I’d think Zucker has the most pressure after not making the team out of camp last year and having some issues with injuries. He has to know he’s running out of chances to impress and become part of the future.
DaveyJ: Probably Thomas Vanek. A year and a half ago, this hockey market was very excited about the possibility of the Wild signing Vanek this summer. But, after a so-so playoff showing, the locals aren’t nearly as enthusiastic as they once were about him wearing a Wild sweater. He needs to score early in the year to prove the fans wrong.
1Green: The kids Brodin, Granlund, Coyle and Haula, along with Scandella and Brodziak are all playing years that will dictate how much money they’ll get and having all 4 playing great could mean the best year yet for the Wild. Vanek knows he has to score, but all 3 goalies know that the team needs one of them to be great.
4. What aspect of the team’s play must be improved if the team is going to maintain or move forward in a deeply competitive Western Conference?
Huff5328: Back to the PP on this one, we have got to score more with the man advantage. I know a lot of people say Defense, but looking at the numbers I’d say they were pretty good at keeping the puck out of the net. We definitely need to score more goals!
DaveyJ: You only asked for one, but I think there are two areas where the Wild need to improve on to go deeper in the playoffs this season: blue line toughness and special teams (especially the power play). With Vanek in the fold, and Spurgeon and Brodin and Granlund and Niederreiter and Coyle another year older, I don’t see why the power play won’t be considerably better this season.
1Green: The powerplay, penalty kill, depth on defence, and goaltending. The captain has to step it up a notch, too, competing for pucks as hard as Parise does.
5. Where do you think the team will finish 2014-15 season; in the playoffs (if so, how far will they go) or will they take a step back?
Huff5328: I don’t have a lot of confidence in predicting where the team will end up in the final standings, not in this crazy division. I think they’ll make the playoffs but can’t say if that will be a 1-3 seed or wild card spot. If you held a gun to my head I’d say 3rd and they’ll win one round of the playoffs again. As much as the team should be improved, so is every other team in the division.
DaveyJ: I actually think the Wild have a better chance of going further in the playoffs this coming season than improving their upon their finish in the regular season. I can see them getting to round 3 in the playoffs this year. With a hot goalie, they could go even further!
1Green: I think the last game of the season will be a battle for the Central banner with Chicago. In the playoffs they’re gonna beat a team in 5 or 6 games to start off, make the semifinal and then all bets are off!
We’ve heard what these Wild fans think, what do you think? Leave a comment and tell us what you expect from the Wild in 2014-15!
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