Minnesota Wild: Stalock Begins His Road Back to the NHL
The Minnesota Wild had a great game last night winning their opening preseason tilt against the Sabres 2-1 on the back of some excellent goaltending by Alex Stalock. For Stalock this win represents the first step in a long journey back to the ranks of an NHL netminder.
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Alex Stalock was well on his way to earning a spot as a starting goaltender in the NHL. After the 2013-14 season he looked like a star in the making with the San Jose Sharks. That season he posted excellent numbers with a 12-5-2 record, a 1.87 goals against average, and an excellent .932 save percentage. Those are excellent numbers for a back-up and normally signals that backup netminder is ready to take on a starting job and Stalock looked ready to take the reins of the Sharks goaltending corps.
That was the pinnacle for Stalock though who saw a slight step back the next season in 2014-15, and an even bigger step backward last season that saw him demoted to the AHL and traded to Toronto. In a contract year that was certainly not a great thing, and after a few games with the Maple Leafs’ AHL affiliate Stalock found himself seeking a new home for this season.
As they say you can always go home and that’s been true for Stalock this season. The St. Paul native and UMD Bulldog is a well-known and respected hockey player who the hometown Wild have decided to bring in to add some much needed depth to the goaltending roster of the club. As Chuck Fletcher told the Pioneer Press back in July after his signing “To have (Devan) Dubnyk, (Darcy) Kuemper and Stalock, that’s the best depth we’ve had since I’ve been here.”
But for all that excitement there seems to be some reservation about Stalock and his abilities. He was only signed to a one-year contract, which says that the club is looking to have Stalock prove something to them before they will make a longer investment in his services. There seems to be a sense that the Wild are trying to see if he can find his game in the AHL before they will commit to him.
Stalock knows the environment he’s in. He said it himself back in July addressing the prospect of playing in Iowa saying “It’s a way to get my game back on track, feel good about my game, and also improve on things that need to be improved.” So Stalock knows he’s got work to do if he wants to stay in the league and not fade into obscurity.
Sep 26, 2016; State College, PA, USA; Buffalo Sabres forward Zemgus Girgensons (not pictured) scores a goal on Minnesota Wild goalie Alex Stalock (32) during the first period at Pegula Ice Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O
Last night in State College, PA Stalock started that journey to get his game back on track. By all accounts it was a strong start, as he faced 40 shots and allowed only one to pass for a 2-1 win over the Sabres. That’s good enough for a 0.975 save percentage, and he did it against a lineup that was largely made up of the Sabres’ regular lineup. Not a bad start to his road back.
It’s a road back that will be hard, but Stalock seems to be willing to work hard to move down that road. Granted a neutral site game win in the preseason doesn’t mean too much, but it’s a start for a player who needed a big start.
Why is his future so important to the Wild? The quick explanation is he can step in if Kuemper decides to head for greener pastures and more money this upcoming offseason. The Wild’s insurance policy if that happens is Stalock, who with hard work will be NHL ready and back to the form he displayed in 2013-14 with the Sharks. Also, the Wild will need to need to sign another goaltender at the end of this season to protect Dubnyk in the expansion draft, and I get the impression the Wild want to sign Stalock to fix that situation but they want him to earn that contract.
So as Stalock continues with camp and more importantly the upcoming season he’s’ got a huge opportunity. An NHL career is something that takes many twists and for Stalock he’s’ in the middle of coming out of a big one. In Iowa he’ll find a lot of playing time for a team that needs a solid guy between the pipes. Stalock can find his game there for sure if he’s willing to work.
I’m sure he’s up to the task of playing better, but getting back to his former self is a long journey he may not be able to make. But if he does the Wild will have great options in net and Stalock will be back to where he knows he always could be.
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