Minnesota Wild 2014-15 Season Primer

The Minnesota Wild will be in a battle this season to get back into the playoffs in the tough Western Conference. They added Tomas Vanek this offseason, but will it be enough?

Use the below Tabs to view Wild info for this upcoming season, as well as some numbers from last year.

2013-14 Record: 43-27-12, 98 points
Where they finished: 4th in the Central; 7th in the Western Conference; 11th in the NHL

Player Salaries: $67,283,000
Cap Payroll: $59,413,006
Bonuses: $3,137,500
Cap Space: $9,586,994
Forwards: $37.4 million (13)
Defensemen: $15.92 million (8)
Goalies: $5.32 million (2)
Source: CapGeek.com

In: Brett Sutter C/LW, Guillaume Gelinas D, Joel Rechlicz RW, Jordan Schroeder C/RW, Justin Falk D, Michael Keranen C/RW, Stu Bickel D, Thomas Vanek LW/RW

Out: Clayton Stoner D, Cody McCormick W/C, Dany Heatley LW/RW, Jon Landry D, Kris Foucault LW, Matt Moulson LW, Nate Prosser D, Steven Kampfer D

2014-15 Team Outlook:

It’s taken some time, but the Minnesota Wild are heading in the right direction towards contender status.

After a pretty good regular season while playing in the far superior Western Conference, the Wild managed to take out the 2nd seeded Colorado Avalanche in seven games.

The Wild had no problems keeping pucks out last season regardless of who was in net – Darcy Kuemper, Ilya Bryzgalov, Niklas Backstrom or Josh Harding – but they struggled to fill the net with consistency.

Wild GM Chuck Flutcher looks to have addressed that this off-season when he signed one of the league’s best goal scorers in Thomas Vanek to a three-year deal.

The team lost some depth and scoring punch in Matt Moulson and Dany Heatley, but both struggled in Minnesota, so Vanek’s production should be able to outweigh what they lost.

With Zach Parise and Vanek they have some star power up front, and they have a nice collection of forwards to surround them.

Jason Pominville is quite capable of putting up big numbers, Mikko Koivu is a very good centerman and Mikael Granlund looks to be on the path to stardom.

When you add Jason Zucker, Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter to the mix, the Wild have a nice collection of young forwards; many of which are still getting better.

Their defense core isn’t overly sexy, but Ryan Suter, Jonas Brodin, Marco Scandella and Jared Spurgeon make up for a solid top-4.

Regardless of who is in the crease for Minnesota next season, they should win their fair share of games and at least contend for a playoff spot.

Written by Todd Cordell, who can be found on twitter @ToddCordell.

The depth chart listed below was taken from NHL.com’s 30-in-30. 

FORWARDS
Zach Parise – Mikko Koivu – Charlie Coyle
Thomas Vanek – Mikael Granlund – Jason Pominville
Matt Cooke – Erik Haula – Nino Niederreiter
Jason Zucker – Kyle Brodziak – Justin Fontaine
Cody Almond – Stephane Veilleux

DEFENSEMEN
Ryan Suter – Jonas Brodin
Marco Scandella – Jared Spurgeon
Keith Ballard – Christian Folin
Justin Falk

GOALTENDERS
Darcy Kuemper
Niklas Backstrom

Forwards POS HT WT DOB BIRTH PLACE
Cody Almond C 6′ 2″ 199 24-Jul-89 CALGARY, AB, CAN
Kyle Brodziak C 6′ 2″ 208 25-May-84 ST. PAUL, AB, CAN
Matt Cooke L 5′ 11″ 208 7-Sep-78 BELLEVILLE, ON, CAN
Charlie Coyle C 6′ 3″ 221 2-Mar-92 E. WEYMOUTH, MA, USA
Justin Fontaine R 5′ 10″ 177 6-Nov-87 BONNYVILLE, AB, CAN
Mikael Granlund C 5′ 10″ 186 26-Feb-92 OULU, FIN
Erik Haula C 5′ 11″ 192 23-Mar-91 PORI, FIN
Michael Keranen L 6′ 1″ 191 4-Jan-90 TUKHOLMA, SWE
Mikko Koivu C 6′ 3″ 222 12-Mar-83 TURKU, FIN
Nino Niederreiter R 6′ 2″ 209 8-Sep-92 CHUR, CHE
Zach Parise L 5′ 11″ 197 28-Jul-84 MINNEAPOLIS, MN, USA
Jason Pominville R 6′ 0″ 185 30-Nov-82 REPENTIGNY, QC, CAN
Joel Rechlicz R 6′ 4″ 220 14-Jun-87 BROOKFIELD, WI, USA
Jordan Schroeder C 5′ 8″ 175 29-Sep-90 LAKEVILLE, MN, USA
Brett Sutter L 6′ 0″ 200 2-Jun-87 VIKING, AB, CAN
Thomas Vanek L 6′ 0″ 217 19-Jan-84 VIENNA, AUT
Stephane Veilleux L 6′ 1″ 200 16-Nov-81 BEAUCEVILLE, QC, CAN
Jason Zucker L 5′ 11″ 188 16-Jan-92 NEWPORT BEACH, CA, USA
Defensemen HT WT AGE DOB BIRTH PLACE
Keith Ballard 5′ 11″ 199 31 26-Nov-82 BAUDETTE, MN, USA
Stu Bickel 6′ 4″ 210 27 2-Oct-86 CHANHASSEN, MN, USA
Jonathon Blum 6′ 1″ 188 25 30-Jan-89 LONG BEACH, CA, USA
Jonas Brodin 6′ 1″ 194 21 12-Jul-93 KARLSTAD, SWE
Justin Falk 6′ 5″ 215 25 11-Oct-88 SNOWFLAKE, MB, CAN
Christian Folin 6′ 3″ 215 23 9-Feb-91 GOTHENBURG, SWE
Marco Scandella 6′ 3″ 207 24 23-Feb-90 MONTREAL, QC, CAN
Jared Spurgeon 5′ 9″ 168 24 29-Nov-89 EDMONTON, AB, CAN
Ryan Suter 6′ 1″ 200 29 21-Jan-85 MADISON, WI, USA
Goalies HT WT AGE DOB BIRTH PLACE
Niklas Backstrom 6′ 2″ 197 36 13-Feb-78 HELSINKI, FIN
Josh Harding 6′ 2″ 194 30 18-Jun-84 REGINA, SK, CAN
Darcy Kuemper 6′ 5″ 205 24 5-May-90 SASKATOON, SK, CAN

 

A look at the Minnesota Wild top prospects heading into this season. Each source may use different classifications as to if a player is deemed a prospect or has graduated on from a prospect.

RK NHL.com ESPN
Corey Pronman
Dobber Prospects Hockeys Future The Hockey News
1 Mathew Dumba Mathew Dumba Darcy Kuemper Mathew Dumba Mathew Dumba
2 Christian Folin Jason Zucker Jason Zucker Alex Tuch Alex Tuch
3 Gustav Olofsson Alex Tuch Mathew Dumba Gustav Olofsson Gustav Olofsson
4 Brett Bulmer Gustav Olofsson Erik Haula Erik Haula Darcy Kuemper
5 Tyler Graovac Louis Belpedio Christian Folin Jordan Schroeder Brett Bulmer
6 Alex Tuch Christian Folin Zack Phillips Jason Zucker Mario Lucia
7 Johan Gustafsson Tyler Graovac Michael Keranen Michael Keranen Tyler Graovac
8 Mario Lucia Zack Phillips Alex Tuch Darcy Kuemper Kaapo Kahkonen
9 Zack Mitchell Johan Gustafsson Mario Lucia Mario Lucia Zack Phillips
10 Kurtis Gabriel Brett Bulmer Johan Gustafsson Kaapo Kahkonen Kurtis Gabriel

* Dobber Prospects – Prospects based on relevance in a fantasy-hockey keeper league, not actual talent on the ice.

Minnesota Wild Draft History from the past five years

2014 Draft
Rd. Draft # Player Pos. Team Ht. Wt.
1 18 Alex Tuch RW USA (NTDP-18) 6′ 3″ 213
3 80 Louis Belpedio D Usa U-18 5′ 10″ 193
4 109 Kaapo Kahkonen G Blues Jr. (FIN) 6′ 1″ 209
5 139 Tanner Faith D Kootenay (WHL) 6′ 3″ 211
6 160 Pontus Sjalin D Ostersunds IK (SWE) 6′ 0″ 168
6 167 Chase Lang C Calgary (WHL) 6′ 1″ 176
6 169 Reid Duke C Lethbridge (WHL) 5′ 11″ 189
7 199 Pavel Jenys C Brno (CZE) 6′ 2″ 192
2013 Draft
2 46 Gustav Olofsson D Green Bay (USHL) 6′ 3″ 185
3 81 Kurtis Gabriel RW Owen Sound (OHL) 6′ 3″ 205
4 107 Dylan Labbe D Shawinigan (QMJHL ) 6′ 1″ 180
5 137 Carson Soucy D Spruce Grove (AJHL ) 6′ 4″ 191
6 167 Avery Peterson C Grand Rapids HS (MN) 6′ 2″ 195
7 197 Nolan DeJong D Victoria (BCHL) 6′ 1″ 165
7 200 Alexandre Belanger G Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL ) 6′ 0.5″ 170
2012 Draft
1 7 Mathew Dumba D Red Deer (WHL) 6′ 0″ 175
2 46 Raphael Bussieres LW Baie-Comeau (QMJHL) 6′ 1″ 195
3 68 John Draeger D Shattuck St. Mary’s (HS) 6′ 1″ 186
4 98 Adam Gilmour C Nobles HS (MA) 6′ 2″ 193
5 128 Daniel Gunnarsson D Lulea (Swe) 6′ 4″ 191
6 158 Christoph Bertschy C Saskatoon (WHL) 5’10” 170
7 188 Louis Nanne LW Edina HS (MIN) 5’10” 162
2011 Draft
1 10 Jonas Brodin D Färjestad (SWE) 6′ 1″ 170
1 28 Zack Phillips C Saint John (QMJHL) 6′ 0″ 180
2 60 Mario Lucia LW Wayzata ( HIGH-MN ) 6′ 2″ 185
5 131 Nick Seeler D Eden Prairie HS (Min) 6′ 0″ 170
6 161 Stephen Michalek G Lommis-Chaffee HS (CT) 6′ 2″ 183
7 191 Tyler Graovac C Ottawa (OHL) 6′ 3″ 180
2010 Draft
1 9 Mikael Granlund LW HIFK (Fin) 5’10” 180
2 39 Brett Bulmer RW Kelowna
2 56 Johan Larsson RW Brynas Jr. 5’10” 200
2 59 Jason Zucker F USA U-18 5’11” 174
6 159 Johan Gustafsson G Farjestad jr. 6′ 2″ 202
7 189 Dylen Mckinlay RW Chilliwack 5’11” 162
Player GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S%
Jason Pominville 82 30 30 60 3 16 7 0 5 226 13.3
Zach Parise 67 29 27 56 10 30 14 1 5 245 11.8
Mikko Koivu 65 11 43 54 0 24 2 0 4 147 7.5
Ryan Suter 82 8 35 43 15 34 3 0 0 150 5.3
Mikael Granlund 63 8 33 41 -3 22 2 0 2 104 7.7
Nino Niederreiter 81 14 22 36 12 44 2 0 1 143 9.8
Charlie Coyle 70 12 18 30 -7 33 2 0 2 135 8.9
Matt Cooke 82 10 18 28 8 54 0 1 3 104 9.6
Dany Heatley 76 12 16 28 -18 18 4 0 2 110 10.9
Jared Spurgeon 67 5 21 26 15 16 2 0 1 91 5.5
Kyle Brodziak 81 8 16 24 0 61 0 1 1 115 7
Justin Fontaine 66 13 8 21 6 26 1 0 1 79 16.5
Jonas Brodin 79 8 11 19 0 22 3 0 0 74 10.8
Marco Scandella 76 3 14 17 10 20 0 0 1 80 3.8
Erik Haula 46 6 9 15 14 29 0 1 1 56 10.7
Matt Moulson 20 6 7 13 7 8 1 0 3 43 14
Keith Ballard 45 2 7 9 -7 37 0 0 0 29 6.9
Torrey Mitchell 58 1 8 9 -3 21 0 0 0 47 2.1
Nate Prosser 53 2 6 8 2 58 0 0 2 30 6.7
Clayton Stoner 63 1 4 5 -6 84 0 0 0 48 2.1
Jason Zucker 21 4 1 5 2 2 1 0 1 40 10
Stephane Veilleux 34 3 0 3 -2 21 0 0 0 26 11.5
Cody Mccormick 14 1 1 2 2 7 0 0 0 6 16.7
Zenon Konopka 36 1 1 2 -5 55 0 0 0 15 6.7
Matt Dumba 13 1 1 2 -5 2 1 0 0 12 8.3
Mike Rupp 13 0 1 1 1 23 0 0 0 6 0
Jonathon Blum 15 0 1 1 -1 0 0 0 0 11 0
Christian Folin 1 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jake Dowell 1 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 0 1 0
Carson Mcmillan 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Brett Bulmer 5 0 0 0 -2 2 0 0 0 7 0
Goalie GPI GS MIN GAA W L OT SO SA GA SV%
Josh Harding 29 26 1668 1.65 18 7 3 3 690 46 0.933
Darcy Kuemper 26 25 1480 2.43 12 8 4 2 702 60 0.915
Niklas Backstrom 21 19 1094 3.02 5 11 2 0 546 55 0.899
Ilya Bryzgalov 12 11 679 2.12 7 1 3 3 269 24 0.911
John Curry 2 1 80 3.00 1 0 0 0 57 4 0.930

Performance and Usage Charts for the Minnesota Wild from last season, from Extra Skater.

Minnesota Wild 2013-2014 cumulative 5v5 close FF

Minnesota Wild 2013-2014 game-by-game 5v5 close FF

Minnesota Wild 2013-2014 rolling 10-game 5v5 close FF

Minnesota Wild 2013-2014 rolling 10-game 5v5 PDO

Minnesota Wild 2013-2014 player usage

Minnesota Wild Media guide was submitted by Tom Jaede who can be found on twitter @tEjaede

National Sites/Blogs

Bleacher Report
SBNation
Hockey Wilderness Blog
Hockey Wilderness Podcast
Site Managers

Local Newspapers

Star Tribune
Pioneer Press
Twin Cities Blog

Writers

Mike Russo (Star Tribune)
Russo’s Rants Blog
Twitter

Rachel Blount (Star Tribune – handles team when Russo is out)
Twitter

Chad Graff (Pioneer Press)
Twitter

Tom Witosky (IA Wild News)
Twitter

Sites/Blogs

State of Hockey News
Gone Puck Wild
KFAN (Offiicial Radio Affiliate)

Misc. Twitter

Minnesota Wild MN
Russo’s Filter (parody of Mike Russo)

Team

MN Wild
IA Wild

Player Sites

Thomas Vanek
Ryan Suter  

Player Twitter

Stu Bickel
Jon Blum
Jonas Brodin
Charlie Coyle
Justin Falk
Christian Folin
Justin Fontaine
Josh Harding
Erik Haula
Darcy Kuemper
Nino Neidereitter
Jordan Schroeder
Ryan Suter
Thomas Vanek
Jason Zucker

Prospect Twitter

Alexandre Belanger
Raphael Bussieres
Tyler Cuma
Nolan De Jong
John Draeger
Reid Duke
Kurtis Gabriel
Guillaume Gélinas
Adam Gilmour
Johan Gustafson
Steve Kampfer
Dylan Labbe
Jon Landry
Mario Lucia
Kyle Medvec
Lou Nanne
Avery Peterson
Zach Phillips
Carson Soucy
Alex Tuch