The Minnesota Wild have a solid group of young players who are just beginning turn professional this summer. First amongst them is Mikael Granlund, a smallish forward who has played in the last three years in the Finnish Elite League and been a dominant player. The next most touted prospect is Charlie Coyle (W), a player who transferred from Boston University to the QMJHL in the middle of the 2011-2012 season and was acquired as a part of a trade that sent Brent Burns to San Jose. He has been described as a "man amongst boys" since his move to the "Q". Additional players include Johan Larsson (C), Jason Zucker (W), Zack Phillips (C), Brent Bulmer (W) and, the lone player who isn't a forward, Jonas Brodin, a defenseman from Sweden. All of these players are considered to be NHL players -it's just a matter of when and to what extent they will be productive players while they are there.
On the Houston Aeros, their minor league affiliate, they have two goalies, Matt Hackett and Darcy Kuemper. Both are considered talented prospects. They also signed their 2010 6th round draft pick, Johan Gustafsson, a Swedish goalie who had quite a good season in the Swedish Elite League and is expected to return there for the 2012-13 season. While Hackett has had an appearance in 12 NHL games, it does remain to be seen which one will be the inheritor of Nick Backstrom in the 2013-2014 season.
Beyond the goalies, there hasn't been much in Houston to get excited about. The forwards are potential grinders, at best, and the defensemen don't offer much excitement, either. There may be, at most, a couple defensemen who might develop into NHLers with Tyler Cuma and Steven Kampfer.
Now, it certainly is possible other players like Chad Rau, Jarod Palmer, Nick Palmieri and perhaps a few others could be productive, however, there isn't enough of a likelihood of it happening that it would alter the "needs" the Wild may consider when selecting in the draft.
The most stark need for Minnesota is on the blue line. Beyond Brodin, there isn't a single highly touted prospect either in Houston or elsewhere in the system. It's current defensecorps is made up of Prosser, Scandella, Spurgeon, Falk, Gilbert and Stoner. Every player except Gilbert is relatively inexperienced. Spurgeon has been a pleasant surprise since he was signed a couple of years ago and likely will have a role on the team into the future. He moves the puck very well, is very smart and it seems his small stature isn't a particular liability. Scandella, often considered a potential top-two defenseman, has been very erratic and, in my view, not as promising as others suggest. I'd consider him a 3-4 defenseman -though he is certainly young. Defensemen are generally thought of as slower to develop than forwards. Stoner is physical and solid defensively. Prosser is a bit of an agitator who will have to continue to grow to be more than a 5-6 defenseman and Falk is a big player who really doesn't use his size much and offers no offensive upside. Next year I expect Falk to be a member of some other team via trade, waivers or in Houston. Another D may be moved as a part of a trade, though I expect Spurgeon, Gilbert and Stoner to remain.
Considering that the team's most stark weakness in its prospect pool is at defense, it would seem that it would be the target of their moves at the draft. I use the phrase "target of their moves at the draft" because while I expect them to draft at least two defensemen -indeed, possibly three- I consider it also possible that a trade occurs that nets them a prime defensive prospect from other team.
On the Houston Aeros, their minor league affiliate, they have two goalies, Matt Hackett and Darcy Kuemper. Both are considered talented prospects. They also signed their 2010 6th round draft pick, Johan Gustafsson, a Swedish goalie who had quite a good season in the Swedish Elite League and is expected to return there for the 2012-13 season. While Hackett has had an appearance in 12 NHL games, it does remain to be seen which one will be the inheritor of Nick Backstrom in the 2013-2014 season.
Beyond the goalies, there hasn't been much in Houston to get excited about. The forwards are potential grinders, at best, and the defensemen don't offer much excitement, either. There may be, at most, a couple defensemen who might develop into NHLers with Tyler Cuma and Steven Kampfer.
Now, it certainly is possible other players like Chad Rau, Jarod Palmer, Nick Palmieri and perhaps a few others could be productive, however, there isn't enough of a likelihood of it happening that it would alter the "needs" the Wild may consider when selecting in the draft.
The most stark need for Minnesota is on the blue line. Beyond Brodin, there isn't a single highly touted prospect either in Houston or elsewhere in the system. It's current defensecorps is made up of Prosser, Scandella, Spurgeon, Falk, Gilbert and Stoner. Every player except Gilbert is relatively inexperienced. Spurgeon has been a pleasant surprise since he was signed a couple of years ago and likely will have a role on the team into the future. He moves the puck very well, is very smart and it seems his small stature isn't a particular liability. Scandella, often considered a potential top-two defenseman, has been very erratic and, in my view, not as promising as others suggest. I'd consider him a 3-4 defenseman -though he is certainly young. Defensemen are generally thought of as slower to develop than forwards. Stoner is physical and solid defensively. Prosser is a bit of an agitator who will have to continue to grow to be more than a 5-6 defenseman and Falk is a big player who really doesn't use his size much and offers no offensive upside. Next year I expect Falk to be a member of some other team via trade, waivers or in Houston. Another D may be moved as a part of a trade, though I expect Spurgeon, Gilbert and Stoner to remain.
Considering that the team's most stark weakness in its prospect pool is at defense, it would seem that it would be the target of their moves at the draft. I use the phrase "target of their moves at the draft" because while I expect them to draft at least two defensemen -indeed, possibly three- I consider it also possible that a trade occurs that nets them a prime defensive prospect from other team.
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