Minnesota Wild: The Battle Still Not Over for Remaining Roster Hopefuls
After some significant roster cuts the Wild are much closer to filling their final forward spots on the roster. The four players left will have a few more practices and one more game to prove they are good enough to earn one of the three spots left.
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Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher put the warning out fairly early in the summer that contracts would not mean anything and that players would need to play for their spot on the roster. The initial and collective reaction from the State of Hockey was pretty much I’ll believe it when I see it. Fast-forward to yesterday and we saw it. The demotion of Tyler Graovac to Iowa proves that mantra to be gospel, as it was widely expected that he would make the team partially because of his contract situation.
Additionally, the new philosophy of Head Coach Bruce Boudreau has made it clear that no one is immune to having to play hard and produce if they want to continue to be in the lineup. This entire training camp he has continued to drop the hint that he was underwhelmed with the group of roster hopefuls trying to make the team. That was largely dismissed as hyperbole until yesterday when some of those players thought to be seriously contenting for roster spots were told their camp was over and to report to Iowa.
Four players are left competing for what seems to be three forward spots, and the struggle is far from over. Right now left in Wild camp for those forward spots are Joel Erkisson-Ek, Zac Dalpe, Christoph Bertschy, and Ryan Carter. Each player has their strengths and has shown some flashes of greatness this preseason, but Boudreau has still wanted to see more from this group.
Oct 2, 2016; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek (54) looks on during the third period of a preseason hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild defeated the Hurricanes 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
The surprising leader of pack right now among this group of hopefuls is the youngster Erkisson-Ek. If you would have asked me after the loss in Winnipeg if he was going to make the roster, I would have said the chances were low. Since then he’s stepped up his game showing a lot of pop in his step and smart plays that have made a difference in the score.
My main theory as to the improvement is the inclusion of the veterans. Now that Eriksson-Ek is playing with players that have excellent hockey sense like him, he seems to have more of an ability to make plays. When he stole the puck deep in the offensive zone to set up Zucker’s goal in the Carolina game, that was a thing of beauty, but it really only resulted in a goal because Zucker had the sense to look for the pass and go to the net. Eriksson-Ek is a playmaker pure and simple, and if you put him with guys who can finish that’s when his potential is unlocked.
I see him in prime position to make the team because of his play, and the flexibility the Wild have with him. Eriksson-Ek can play up to nine games with the Wild without burning the first year of his deal. That’s really important because it offers an additional evaluation period that will be much more telling than preseason as he’ll be in real-time regular season action. If at the end of the nine games (or sooner) the Wild can send him back to Sweden for further seasoning.
Zac Dalpe has been player that has been on the Wild’s radar to possibly make this team, even before Boudreau’s arrival. He’s a heart and soul hard worker who has caught the eye of his new coach on more than one occasion. Boudreau likes his experience and knows he can play the fourth line if need be.
Dalpe describes his approach as that he wants “Just show them what I can do as far as working hard. I’m more of a utility guy, I think, as my career’s progressed. [I] take care of the defensive side of the puck and get stronger, and I think I did that over the summer. I think I showed that in the games I’ve been playing in.” It’s statements like this that endear him to Boudreau and make me think he’s going to make this team.
Christoph Bertschy has largely been under the radar to the most of us, but not to the coaching staff. While it might not be flashy he’s done everything the Wild have wanted, and Boudreau has taken notice. “He’s a young guy that keeps getting a little bit better each day,” Boudreau said of Bertschy. “He blocks shots, he plays the price. Another guy that can play a fourth-line role and give you some minutes.”
Nov 7, 2015; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Christoph Bertschy (47) in the second period against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
For the same reasons I think Dalpe is going to make the roster, I think Bertschy will make the roster as well. Boudreau is a fan of players who work hard because he feels like mold them into his system and count on them for energy. I think in the case of Bertschy he saw someone who actually was going to step up, and that’s what he wanted all along.
Finally, right now if the Wild are only taking three forwards Ryan Carter is going to be the odd man out. It’s hard to say that considering the fact that he’s been a part of this club for two seasons, but for a player that was brought in on a tryout he really didn’t play like he was trying to earn his spot. No points certainly hurt him, and lack of consistent play really didn’t win him any points with Boudreau.
For me there was a comment that Boudreau made about Carter after the Winnipeg game that made me think he might not be impressing the Wild’s bench boss. “He works hard,” Boudreau said in an underwhelmed tone, according to Michael Russo. “I’m not going to build him up when I don’t think he deserves to be built up. I’m not going to put him down because you know what you get from him. He’s a 10-year vet.”
That quote told me two things about what Boudreau thinks about Carter. First is that he feels that Carter needs to be playing better for someone who has been in the league as long as he has. And second that he’s not going to mince words to motivate him, because a player like him should be able to motivate himself especially given that he’s playing for his job.
There’s only way Carter will make the roster is there is an injury to between now and the end of camp, or the Wild take a good look at their depth chart and decide his NHL experience is needed. My thought though is he just didn’t play well enough to make the team.
It’s been a long three weeks for all of these players, but these next two to three days will be even longer. All of them have a chance to make the roster, but not all of them are. There seems to be indicators as to who can do it, but a lot can happen. The one thing these players will need to do though is work hard for every second they are on the ice. That’s really all Boudreau has wanted all along.
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