Minnesota Wild: Questions for the Wild at the World Cup
Training camps for all eight World Cup of Hockey teams started yesterday. Here’s what you should watch for from the six Minnesota Wild players in their respective camps and during the tournament.
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Hockey is back officially…sort of. The World Cup of Hockey training camps began yesterday for all eight teams, and as they say no news is good news. With six different Minnesota Wild players playing for three teams, it’ll give the first glimpse into how ready some of the Wild’s best players are for the season. More simply though the tournament will be just fun to watch as NHL level hockey makes its debut.
Six Wild players will be playing for three different teams, that’s fairly solid compared to most other NHL teams. Team USA will feature Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, Team Europe will have Nino Niederreiter, and Team Finland will have three Wild players Erik Haula, Mikko Koivu, and Mikael Granlund.
Heading into camp each Wild player seems to have a few questions to watch for during training camp and in the tournament. With some of players getting over injuries, some looking to position themselves for the upcoming season, and some just looking to have a good showing for their country the Wild players in the World Cup will bring a ton of story lines. So here’s what to look for from each of the Wild players in the tournament.
Feb 19, 2014; Sochi, RUSSIA; USA forward Zach Parise (9) controls the puck against Czech Republic defenseman Tomas Kaberle (7) in the men’s ice hockey quarterfinals during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Shayba Arena. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Zach Parise– Coming off a back injury that cut his season short last year, everyone is going to be looking to see if Parise is indeed 100%. By all accounts he looks great skating in practices around the Twin Cities, and has told Michael Russo of the Star Tribune on a few occasions that he feels ready to play. The tournament will give Wild fans the perfect opportunity to see if his back can hold up to extended game action before the season starts.
The other issue for Parise will be if he can rebound from his last international performance in Sochi. While captaining Team USA in the last Olympics, Parise struggled to put points on the board as he only tallied one goal on the entire tournament. He’ll need to contribute more to this USA team as they look to overcome expectations that really have them placing 4th or 5th in the tourney. Also, with no captain named yet, I’d look to see if Parise plays well enough to earn the “C”.
Feb 15, 2014; Sochi, RUSSIA; USA defenseman Ryan Suter (20) leads his teammates to the ice before a men’s preliminary round ice hockey game against Russia during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Bolshoy Ice Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Ryan Suter– Unlike his teammate Ryan steps on the ice for Team USA healthy and coming off a career season. His position among the talented defensemen of the US squad is a bit of a question, but still he looks to be a strong contender to be on the first defensive pairing. The big question for Suter is can he step up his offensive game like he did last season and lead a US defensive corps that seems to be on paper offensively challenged?
Nino Neiderreiter– The Swiss winger will be playing on the conglomerated Team Europe alongside a bevy of talented forwards. As I’ve pointed out before the thing to watch for with Nino will be where he falls in the forward lines of Team Europe. He’s looking like a third or fourth liner on paper, but anything can happen and it could be that he breaks camp with one of the higher lines. Also with it being a long tournament, could injuries or performance knock him up the lineup as well?
Swiss forward Nino Niederreiter (#22) forces his way around a Latvian defender in Switzerland’s 1-0 shutout win.
Perhaps most of all with Neiderreiter will be can he start his preseason strong with a great tournament, because it could have serious implications as to where he breaks camp with the Wild. Boudreau is hinting that Zucker on the second line is not a for sure thing and Nino would be the logical choice to move up if he can prove he’s up to it.
Erik Haula– Haula was not a lock to play on a talented team Finland. Still he’s headed to Toronto with the Suomi on his chest and he’s going to be looking to prove that the second half of last season was the real Haula. If he has a strong tournament, he can do a lot to solidify the idea that Haula is the player we all hoped he could be and ready to do a full season worth of damage in 2016-17.
Feb 14, 2014; Sochi, RUSSIA; Finland forward Mikael Granlund (64) controls the puck against Norway in a men’s preliminary round ice hockey game during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Shayba Arena. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Mikael Granlund– The 24-year old forward is looking to improve on a World Championship back in May that saw him as one of the top performers in the tournament. Granny has seemed to find a scoring explosion since being moved to the wing for both Finland and the Wild. The chemistry he has playing with fellow Finn Mikko Koivu has been outstanding. Another strong performance on the wing at the World Cup could ensure that Bruce Boudreau has no choice but to play the two together on a line again this season.
Mikko Koivu– The Wild captain will be leading a different team as he’s set to captain Team Finland. He’s stepping on the ice with one of the most diverse teams because the Finns are composed of players from the NHL, KHL, and Finnish elite leagues so he’ll have his work cut out for him leading this group. Still it he’s up to the challenge and the Finns should be one of the tournament’s favorites.
Just like Granny, I’m going to be paying special attention to see if the chemistry with Koivu playing up the middle with Granny will continue. If it’s where it was at the beginning of the summer chemistry wise, the two playing together could form the nucleus of what could be the Wild’s best scoring line this season.
So lock yourself in to ESPN and pay special attention because the Wild’s preseason really started yesterday. The Wild players in the World Cup will make a difference for their teams and should be fun to watch. But remember their performances could be the best early indicator of how the Wild will perform next season.
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