Every Wednesday, FOX Sports North takes a look at which athletes' stock is trending up and whose is trending down.
In other words, who is heating up (think Zach Parise against Calgary) and who is cooling off.
With that in mind, let's "take stock" of the current Minnesota sports scene.
Zach Parise, Wild forward
The Wild's leading scorer has been red hot over the last few weeks, and is on pace to become the highest-scoring Minnesotan in NHL history next season. Parise exploded for a first-period hat trick against the Calgary Flames last week, before scoring twice in a big win over the Colorado Avalanche.
Ervin Santana, Twins starting pitcher
The Twins named Santana their opening-day starter last week, the first time that the former all-star has gotten the nod. Santana has had a strong showing in spring training, logging a 1.13 ERA starts and tossing 15 strikeouts through four starts and 16 innings pitched.
Ricky Rubio, Timberwolves guard
It's been a solid week for Rubio, who finished just short of a triple-double on Monday against Phoenix, after scoring 23 points, his second-highest total of the season, against Utah, Saturday. The loss to Utah was a strong night from the field for the typically shooting-averse Rubio, who connect on nine of his 15 attempts.
Tyler Duffey, Twins pitcher
The Twins named veteran Ricky Nolasco the team's fifth starter this week, optioning Duffey to Triple-A Rochester. The right-hander appeared to be a lock for the starting rotation after going 5-0 with a 2.25 ERA through nine starts to finish the season last year, but a sluggish performance in spring training, during which he racked up a 7.30 ERA through four starts, has Duffey headed to the minors.
St. Cloud State men's hockey team
After a wild run to the NCHC tournament title SCSU entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 overall seed and a heavy favorite to advance to the Frozen Four. However, SCSU's title run lasted just a few hours, as Ferris State's Jared VanWormer scored just 18 seconds into overtime to oust the Huskies in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Adding to the Huskies woes is the departure of starting goaltender Charlie Lindgren, who Wednesday opted to forgo his senior season, signing with the Montreal Canadiens after posting a .925 save percentage and a 2.13 goals-against average as a senior.
Minnesota Duluth men's hockey team
The Bulldogs won a double-overtime thriller against Providence College last week to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament when Karson Kuhlman tipped a shot past Friars goaltender Nick Ellis. His heroics weren't quite enough to power UMD past Boston College in the follow-up, as the Bulldogs cut a 3-0 BC lead to just one goal in the third period on goals by Kuhlman and Austin Farley but couldn't complete the comeback. Duluth is now dealing with losses of its own after sophomore goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Monday.
