i saw this pretty nifty move over this past weekend at the Wild's prospect development camp scrimmage. its one of those moves that at first glance looks awesome, until the reality sets in that the likelihood of it beating a NHL keeper in slim to none [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyFJm-lJMzk"]YouTube- Jarod Palmer Sick Shootout Goal (July 18 2010)[/ame] some guys that looked impressive during the prospect scrimmage included German goalie Endras, Haula, Salinnen, Wellman, and Prosser to name a few Mackasey named director of player personnel Fletch is deciding on whether to hire an additional North American scout or another assistant to help out Richards on the bench. If Fletch decides to hire a third assistant it is supposedly between former players Walz or Darbs
signed free agent center John Madden today. i like this move by Fletch for a couple reasons. For starters it makes Sheppard and Wellman earn their spots this coming year, so if they do make the Wild squad, we know they deserve to be here this year instead of in Houston. Also just like Russo said, it is a piece of the puzzle that fits a lot better than a Modano on our 3rd or 4th line. It also adds much needed center depth which we have lacked the last few years, so when the injury bug comes around this winter, we know the Wild will be ready. Welcome to Minnesota John Madden! also, Russo's latest... a pretty long talk with Fletch about the current state of affairs http://www.startribune.com/sports/wild/blogs/100154559.html?elr=KArksi8cyaiUBP7h_47cQiU47cQUU
long story short, Backs had a contest this past offseason for a kid to design his goalie mask for this upcoming season. i think as long as the kid was under 18 or 16, they would all be looked at. this is his winning design. i think it looks pretty cool, has the hockey like lettering on the chin, has the Wild logo up top on the forehead, and has the wolves and skylines of the Twin Cities (minneapolis and st paul) on each side. i think it is solid, i can't wait to see it finished. it should be presented at the start of training camp in about a month, more pics then http://wild.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=535593&navid=DL|MIN|home
since Rammer left his assistant's position this past offseason, a spot needed to be filled. Rick Wilson will fill that spot. i think Wilson will be a solid replacement for Ramsey, and should be a bit more on board than Rammer was... it seemed almost evident this past year that Rammer was used to the Lemaire ways, and just was out of place. a quality assistant none the less, just not right for the current situation. i also like the emphasis by Fletch on fitness this offseason since it seemed a handful of the guys no longer with us sort of slouched around last season and came in unfit figuring they could take the offseason off with a new coach coming in. we had a horrendous start at the beginning of the year last year, i think this year, we should start right out of the gates a lot better than this past year. i think we are capable finishing anywhere from 7-10, but if we have an injury plagued or simply inconsistent year like the last 2 years (which have been a combination of both), i think we could easily finish 10-15. with that said, I agree with the Wild's beat writer in the potential starting lineups this coming season http://www.startribune.com/sports/w...r=KArksi8cyaiUBP7h_47cQiU47cQUU#post_comments Forwards 1: Andrew Brunette-Mikko Koivu-Pierre-Marc Bouchard* 2: Guillaume Latendresse-Matt Cullen-Martin Havlat 3 or 4: Chuck Kobasew-Kyle Brodziak-Antti Miettinen 3 or 4: Eric Nystrom-John Madden-Cal Clutterbuck (I'm dubbing this the 'Keep Your Head Up' line) Brad Staubitz, James Sheppard Vying for spots: Casey Wellman, Robbie Earl, Cody Almond, Colton Gillies *Assuming Bouchard is healthy. Defenseman Nick Schultz-Brent Burns Greg Zanon-Marek Zidlicky Clayton Stoner-Cam Barker Vying for spots: Nate Prosser, Marco Scandella, Tyler Cuma, Justin Falk Goalies Niklas Backstrom Josh Harding Salary cap $56,652,693 against $59.4 million cap
some random offseason news, not player related... but the organization as a whole embracing the thinking green idea, reducing wastes, becoming more environmentally friendly, etc http://wild.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=535953&navid=DL|MIN|home
they have announced single game tickets go on sale: preseason - Aug 20th regular season - Sept 11th here are the single game ticket prices for Wild at the Xcel Energy Center this upcoming season in St Paul you can find more information here http://wild.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=536184&navid=DL|MIN|home
Unfortunately the most environmentally friendly thing an NHL hockey team can do is likely to miss the playoffs and not have to air-condition the rink or make ice in the late spring/early summer. That said every small bit helps and it's good to see the Wild doing their part.
haha, true... if that is the case. the Wild have been participating in the "green" movement the last two years without even knowing it same here... HC Sparta Praha has been holding me over until Wild start back up... i am really interested in these games on Versus in Finland. i think i might take those days off from work, or at least one of them or maybe just tivo it lol. as for games, i was thinking about going halloween weekend to either Chicago or Washington at the X, and also the day after Christmas game against Detroit. that should feed my hockey fix for the fall term. then hopefully in spring i will have more time for more games since i will be out of university when i graduate in december
I haven't been to a game since their first season. Now that I'm done with school and I'm working, I can actually afford it and have the time to go... just a matter of getting the dates figured out and whatnot.
NHL Premier is just around the corner The Wild will be taking on the Hurricanes in a two game set out in Finland