Minnesota Wild

It is hard to ignore a young player who is succeeding in a men's league. Sound familiar? Well, Mikael Granlund did something similar. But his struggles at the NHL is due to the lack of size, something Barkov has plenty of. He is 9th in scoring in the top league in Finland and he is only 17 years old. A very impressive feat. He has size, strength and skill that he uses smartly and effectively. He can take over the middle of the ice and is a hard opponent to play against. He isn't flashy but he gets the job done. Sounds very similar to our Mikko Koivu in the sense that he isn't dynamic but still is a player you build around. Some might question Barkov at #3 with exciting prospects like Jonathan Drouin still available but Barkov has proven his worth in the top men's league in Finland and against the best of junior hockey in the World Juniors and impresses every single time. Some might question his offensive upside but he is probably the safest best for a first line centerman in this years draft. The question is, just how good of a first line centerman will he be? Introducing our 2013 NHL #3 Draft Prospect - Aleksander Barkov ALEKSANDER BARKOV Center / Tappara (Finland) Height: 6-2 Weight: 205 GP G A P +/- PIM 2012/13 - Tappara 51 21 27 48 18 8 Projection: #1 two-way centerman. #1 PP and PK. 65-75 point player Strengths: Safe combination of size, strength, skill and smarts A proven player; standout against men and prospects Strong down the middle, strong around the net Versatile Weaknesses: Lack of dynamic traits; in his skating, grittiness and playing style Quotes: Future Considerations Barkov is bit of a big lumbering skater who does have decent straight line speed but lacks much in the way of lateral quickness and jump in his first few steps. He does not initiate contact in a menacing way but uses his size effectively and with the purpose of disrupting opponents defensively or protecting the puck. Despite his size, Barkov is somewhat shy using the power he has; he is not a power forward, running over defenders by any means. He is a strong two-way centre with excellent smarts and developing offensive skill. Prospect Jersey (What Would They Look Like In a Wild Jersey?): Perfect compliment to Mikael Granlund, we're just not going to get him Video Evidence: Aleksander Barkov Jr. #16 Tappara - Remember The Name l NHL Draft Prospect 2013 HD (via Theboys291) Special thanks to HFBoards, Future Considerations, The Hockey Writers, TSN, OHLProspeccts and The Scouting Report

Good morning, Wild fans! Still pretty quiet here in the Wilderness, but there's quite a bit to talk about in the few things that happened (or were discussed) yesterday. On the website, please check out Dan Chan's Mock Draft Game, where you can still sign up for teams, and participate in a Mock Draft done by the HW community. Should be fun (and the Wild have been taken), and get you fairly knowledgeable about prospects. Wild News No article yet, but Mike Russo reported on Twitter that Josh Harding will be launching a charity for MS very shortly. Follow @HardingsHope on Twitter for details. Off the Trail Penguins rebound with 7-3 win, take 3-1 series lead over Senators | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports- Well, nice knowing you Senators. What a hockey dressing room is like post-playoff elimination | Backhand Shelf | Blogs | theScore.com- Justin Bourne breaks down the aftermath of a playoff elimination. Alain Vigneault fired by Canucks; who takes over the coaching gig in Vancouver? | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports- No tired Fire Yeo joke from me here, I promise. I was a lot more interested in who might replace him in Vancouver before I remembered that realignment was happening. Duh. Anyway, we hear a lot about the coaches that were signed in the summer that Yeo was hired. With Vigneault, Ruff, and potentially Tippett available this offseason, might we hear some similar stories this year? Are the Wild missing an opportunity in order to keep Yeo? Smarter guys than I would know, but those are some big names floating around. The Quiet Room: And the Masterton goes to… | Backhand Shelf | Blogs | theScore.com- It's clearly Crosby's, especially after it came to light that he bravely overcame almost choking on a mozzarella stick. Also, I just set myself up for a humiliatingly ironic death of mozz stick asphyxiation. So there you go. Brad Richards, postseason disaster for the New York Rangers | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports- Would the rangers REALLY amnesty Richards, with that contract being on the books for another 12 years? Rumor Roundup: Any room for Miller? - The Hockey News- I don't think this will happen. If not because of cap space, because of the assets they'd have to give up. If they make another trade with Buffalo, it's going to be for Vanek. Not that that's mega-super likely, either. 2013 NHL Playoffs - Why Pittsburgh Penguins should punt Marc-Andre Fleury - ESPN- INsider piece, but another potential goaltending option. Though the next-level stat they showed in a sidebar showed that Niklas Backstrom has been 8th in the NHL- ahead of Miller and Fluery- in even-strength SV% since 08-09. Something to consider when FA picks up.

Another day, another set of grades Wilderness. Enjoy! Jonas Brodin Bryan- Best defenseman on the team. Yep, I said it. Brodin is the best defenseman on the team. May be the best player on the team. But not good enough to be a Calder nominee. That makes sense. Grade: A+ Emilie- I would be a-ok with another 13 year contract handed out if it went to this kid. He's unbelievable. He will be a first pairing, leading Norris candidate every season, and a multiple Stanley Cup winner throughout his career. Unbelievable. A+ JS- Well, all you need to do here is take a look at the multiple infographics and stat charts about Brodin's play if you somehow haven't seen him play. If you were treated to some live Brodin magic, you know that he has had an extremely rare kind of season for a 19 year old NHL defenseman. We can bitch and moan all day about him being snubbed for the Calder (he really should have at least been considered, if only because the kind of season he had is way more uncommon than Huberdeau-type seasons), but at the end of the day, we should just be happy the Wild have found someone to replace Brent Burns as a Minnesota-drafted star defenseman. In terms of pure defense, Brodin was perhaps the best on the team, or at the very least gave Suter a run for his money, and if he can grow into a more offensive role without sacrificing defense, than NHL forwards are going to fear the Wild's top pairing for a very long time. Brodin is just so much fun to watch play, not necessarily because of flash, but it's the simple, subtle things that he does so brilliantly, it's nearly art. It's also pretty damn amazing to see an NHL rookie get out of some of the jams he'd be put into with such poise and intelligence. It may be safe to say that Brodin probably made the fewest mistakes of all Wild defensemen this year and he is a huge part of the reason Ryan Suter had a Norris-candidate year and the Wild had a playoff year. Now, PLEASE, don't let there be a sophomore slump. Although, with his safe, smart and consistent type of play, there isn't that big of a chance for a slump. Mind you, a slightly worse season is possible, but so is a better one. So much to look forward to with this kid. To not give him an A+ after the amazing and, I must repeat, uncommon season he had as a 19 year old defenseman would mean someone would have to re-invent hockey to get a perfect grade, so...GRADE: A+ Jared Spurgeon Bryan- A ho-hum year for Spurgeon, he has certainly been passed on the depth chart, and has at least one more guy hot on his heels. He plays bigger than he is, makes few mistakes, and is still a great free agent signing, but he is on the wrong side of a slide that will, eventually, leave him outside looking in. His offense is not as impressive as it could have been, and teams are starting to figure out that they can just go straight through him. Not a great year, not a terrible year. Grade: C Emilie- Spurgy had a bit of a rough year. Expected to make Suter fit in on his new teams defense right away, and took the blame when Suter didn't. He then went through a string of partners that made him have to over-play and make mistakes. Not a great season, but not a horrible, good for nothing season either. B JS- Something we found out about this kid this season: He's a playoff performer. The guy blocked shots like the Zuperman of old. He also had a solid season overall as the clear-cut #3 defenseman on the Wild. He reached new highs in goals scored (despite shortened season) and points per game (0.38) and was a plus-player for the first time in his young NHL career. If Marco Scandella builds off his strong playoff performance and can become Spurgeon's partner, I think the Wild's defensive core will suddenly not look all that bad. Granted, Spurgeon had his share of rough games, didn't seem to play with his body quite as much as we were accustomed to and never really found the right fit with any of his partners, although the Spurgeon-Stoner experim

This year, we are going to do things slightly different with our mock draft. Goaliemon suggested to us this concept and we loved it so we are going to do it. Welcome to the first ever Hockey Wilderness Mock Draft Game! Users will be able to sign up for a single team and pick as their GM. Rules are simple: Drafting: Picks will be made in the Mock Draft GDT that will be created every morning at 10AM. You will have 8 hours to make your pick. Otherwise, you will be auto'd using HW rankings Make you pick in the comments section, with a short description following it. This draft will continue until June 28th. Trading: Trading of picks will be allowed. Trading of players will NOT. Send in your trades to my email - danccchan@gmail.com. I need one player to send the proposal, the second player to quote said proposal with a "I approve" statement in the email The draft will start of June 1st, using the current draft order from that day. Please, check when your pick is up as we want to get as far as possible into the draft as possible. Sign up below in the comments section! First come first serve! Team Name ANA BOS BUF CAR CGY CHI COL CBJ DAL DET EDM FLA LAK MIN MTL NSH NJD NYR NYI OTT PHI PHX PIT Hooks Orpik STL SJS TBL TOR VAN WAS WPG

64,300,000 Will the Wild keep Backstrom? Will they improve their size? Will they bring in a "pure" goal scorer? Will they improve their blueline? The answers to these questions will likely be dictated by one number. 64,300,000 That, of course, being the number to which the Salary Cap will be at next season, a drop of around 6 million dollars from this season. As we start looking ahead to the offseason, that's going to be the number we hear about the most, as the Wild are going to have to get right up to that number in order to fill their holes. They need to figure out their goaltending situation, solve their issues on the back of the blue line, and probably add some size and/or scoring to the wing. They have 9 million dollars to play with. And might not be able to buy out Dany Heatley, who has been injured. Will that be enough room to improve their team? Who can they get in Free Agency? What ways can they massage the cap to be able to play with more than 9 million dollars? You can discuss it below, but all roads will lead back to 64,300,000.

Nathan Mackinnon started as the favorite for first overall at the beginning of the season but soon fell into the number two spot. It is not because of poor play or bad character, it is just that Seth Jones managed to put in an extremely successful season in the WHL and shone in the World Junior Championship. But whoever is picking number two in the NHL Entry Draft is jumping with joy because what they are getting in Nathan Mackinnon is a dynamic goal-scoring forward. He scored 32 goals and 43 assists in 44 games in the QMJHL. He is always buzzing around with energy with skill in attacking the net with strength and will. He compliments it with a dangerous shot that he can release from anywhere. Add all of this up and you have a forward that will do anything to put the puck in the net. He isn't the biggest but he has strong feet and plays with determination. He has done almost everything he can at the junior levels so don't be surprised to see him wearing an NHL sweater for the entirety of the season. If Seth Jones wasn't the complete package of physical gifts and skill, Mackinnon would surely be the first overall pick. Still, there just might be the chance he sneaks up into the first overall pick. This only happens if the team is in need of a goal-scorer prospect much more than it needs a two-way defenseman, but seeing how the Avs have the pick, you could almost surely bet Mackinnon will arrive in Florida. Introducing our 2013 NHL #1 Draft Prospect - Nathan Mackinnon NATHAN MACKINNON Center / Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) Height: 6-0 Weight: 182 GP G A P +/- PIM 2012/13 - Halifax 44 32 43 75 40 45 Projection: #1 centerman. 40-50 goal scorer Strengths: Deadly shot; quick release, deadly accuracy Plays with buzz and energy Strong balance, quick speed Versatile Weaknesses: Average size and strength Quotes: Future Considerations MacKinnon’s skating ability is top notch. While he’s not a rocket, he has a good first step and above-average top speed. He’s always in control of his feet and his low center of gravity makes it hard to knock him off the puck, even at top speed. He can speed up or change direction at any given time. MacKinnon’s passing ability matches his elite vision and offensive creativity. He is a true wizard with the puck. MacKinnon is as much a goal-scorer as he is playmaker. He knows how to get in the scoring areas and how to open himself up. His shot is already NHL ready. He has a very quick release, which consistently fools goaltenders. MacKinnon is a very smart hockey player who processes the game at an elite level. Prospect Jersey (What Would They Look Like In a Wild Jersey?): Perfect compliment to Mikael Granlund, we're just not going to get him Video Evidence: Nathan MacKinnon's Hat Trick. (All Goals) Portland Winterhawks 4 Halifax Mooseheads 7. May 18th 2013 (via xXxCrosby87Xx) Special thanks to HFBoards, Future Considerations, The Hockey Writers, TSN, OHLProspeccts and The Scouting Report

Hey, guys! Things are starting to pick up, at least in the Wilderness. Our player grades are still continuing, with the defensemen taking the spotlight until Friday, when the goalies have their day in court. Also, please make sure to look at Dan Chan's draft coverage, if you haven't already, which will be rolled out every day, as well as the Noon Number, which makes a triumphant return to the Wilderness airwaves (is bandwith the internet equivalent of airwaves? If not, what is? Lemme know in the comments) in a short four hours. Anyway, with that said, let's go onto the Walk. Tending the Fields Oklahoma tornado hits close to home for AHL’s Barons | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports- Only the best thoughts for Oklahoma right now. 2013 Memorial Cup tournament preview features Seth Jones | Home Ice - SI.com- A preview of some players we're going to be talking about soon. Off the Trail Los Angeles Kings vs. San Jose Sharks - Recap - May 21, 2013 - ESPN- BURNS! Boston Bruins poised to sweep NY Rangers after grunts win Game 3 | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports- See ya later, Rangers. On Jonathan Toews and the concept of "squeezing your stick too tight" | Backhand Shelf- Perhaps Jonathan Toews should give his "C" to Marian Hossa? Patrick Roy, the Colorado Avalanche and "name coaches" in general | Backhand Shelf- A look at the challenges figurehead-type coaches have in store for them. Bourne's always a good read. LA Kings give Twitter to comedian; comedian makes rape joke - NHL - Sporting News- In my mind, at least, a joke about anything can be funny- even a horrible thing like sexual assault- given the right amount of craft to a joke. But it's clear that A) This wasn't funny, B) A hockey team's Twitter account is hardly the correct place or medium to go there, and C) handing your Twitter account over to a "Weenie and the Butt" or "Crazy Ira and The Douche" guy isn't the smartest idea to begin with. A stupid, stupid misstep by the LA Kings' Twitter, and hopefully one they'll take steps to correct. As an aside, I wish we'd also see this kind of backlash occur when hockey players, media, and fans compare their game to the brutality and horror of war, which (unlike this) happens every single day. All hail Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, King of Game 3′s | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports- Heckuva Noon Number, right there. Jersey Fouls: Parros mustache foul; Alex Brovechkin; Jagr, Schenn Dead To Me sweaters | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports- As a person who finds it fun to call people "Broseidon: King of the Brocean", I approve the Brovechkin jersey. As well as the Parros. Definitely not the Pouliot. On the Pitch ("Wack FCs", while an awesome Del tha Funkee Homosapien reference, did not test well) United FC loses to Des Moines in U.S. Open Cup | StarTribune.com- Minnesota United loses 1-0.

Mar 23, 2013; St. Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Zach Parise (11) celebrates his goal against the San Jose Sharks at the Xcel Energy Center. The Wild defeated the Sharks 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports Not only did Zach Parise make an immediate impact with his new team last season, he also made major contributions to Minnesota-based organization Defending the Blue Line (DTBL). DTBL’s mission is, “Ensuring that children of military members are affored every opportunity to participate in the game of hockey.” DTBL was started by Shane Hudella, who woke up with the idea while serving his country with the Minnesota Army National Guard on active duty. He founded the organization in 2009 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit designed to help military families with the high costs of hockey an helps ensure that children of military members are given every opportunity to participate in the sport. The organization provides free hockey equipment, access to summer hockey camps at no charge and provides monetary help to cover local association fees for military families. Parise’s partnership with the charity has increased partnerships off the ice as, this past season, DTBL partnered with Gander Mountain for the “Puck for a Buck” campaign. Puck for a Buck sold hockey pucks at retail and online Gander Mountain outfits. In addition to Parise, fellow Minnesota Wild players Cal Clutterbuck and Clayton Stoner, and former Wild forward Matt Kassian, also helped raise funds. The Wild has been an annual partner with DTBL by wearing camouflage jerseys in pre-game warm-ups before auctioning them off. The latest such game was on April 23rd before a 2-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings. “Things like the camo jersey auction will go toward paying association fees that might be out of reach for some of these families,” said Hudella. “The goal is to take one of the stresses for military families by getting their kids onto the ice. “For a lot of these families, hockey is out of reach. We help bridge the cost barriers.” Parise’s contributions didn’t stop there, however, as he also donated $10,000 to the organization prior to the game. He jokingly hinted that he might possibly try to bid on Wild captain Mikko Koivu’s camo jersey. “You want to be able to give them the ability to buy equipment for someone or hockey fees for someone,” Parise said. “Every little bit helps them.” For the full story from Wild.com, click here.

G'day, Wilderness! While it may be cloudy outside, it's still a great day here at the Wilderness. It can't be any better because after my 2 (and only) finals tomorrow, I'll be done with my freshman year at the University of St. Thomas. Yesterday, the editors here at the Wilderness did their final season grades for our left defensemen, and now, it's time to see how us staff writers graded them. Dan Czarnecki (WIMinnesotaWildFan) Ryan Suter: A Despite a slow start on his transition from the Predators to the Wild, he really came out of his shell halfway through this season when he scored his first goal in a Wild sweater against the Blackhawks back on March 6th. Along with Brodin, he really knew how to block shots from going in. Being nominated for the Norris trophy is also something he should be proud of. Good job this season, Suter! Clayton Stoner: C- Stoner's performance this season was mediocre to say the least. He does an ok job in our defensive zone, but I feel almost feel like he's past his prime. Sorry Stoner, I think your time with the Wild is coming to an end pretty soon. Justin Falk: C Falk's play this season was pretty inconsistent. Like many of our players, he would have an good night, and other nights, a bad night. I don't see him staying on the Wild, or for that matter, the NHL, for long unless he knows how to play with consistency. Marco Scandella: B Will he stay or will he go? That's the question many Wild fans were wondering about Scandella this season. He was spectacular down in Houston in the AHL, so why was he wasting his time down there? He finally got called back up to the Wild when they went to the playoffs, and it was a great learning experience for him. Aaron Holm (The Nooge) Ryan Suter: A Receiving my first A (and only?) in the grading department is one Ryan Suter. The Norris Trophy front runner, after starting out slow in what has been called an adjustment period turned his game around quickly. After hitting a low of -7 twice in the early parts of the season, Suter stormed back to an even +/- in late March and finished the regular season at +2. His 32 points (4g/28a) were tops amongst the blue line and 3rd overall on the team. His average time on ice a gaudy 27.17min/game was tops in the NHL. The question of whether Suter would flourish without Weber has been answered. This guy is everything he was billed up to be and I was very impressed with his game. Clayton Stoner: C- Clayton Stoner had his moments this season that made you want to rip your hair out. As the season wore on these occasions seemed to crop up more frequently. His 42 PIM were tops amongst the Wild's defensive core and definitely something that stuck out to me. At times the game seemed too fast for him, and he would struggle to move the puck out of the defensive zone. With some work in the off-season hopefully the game will slow down for him. His 6'4" frame is an intangible on the ice, and if his development continues we should start noticing less gaffes a better play coming out of the D-zone. Justin Falk: D- Coming in 2nd place in defensive penalty minutes is one Justin Falk. I struggle to recall anything Falk does good on the ice. 3 points, all from assists, -9 and the aforementioned penalty minutes are certainly nothing to be proud of. At just 24 years old this past season, he at least has a lot of room for improvement, A LOT of room ... Marco Scandella: B- Playing just 11 games for the Wild when you combine the regular season with the playoffs, Scandella did not disappoint with the limited time he filled in. Playing in all 5 playoff games he was the top scoring defensive player notching a goal and an assist for just 2 points. While not crazy impressive numbers, they are pretty good for a 22 year old kid playing against the best team in the Western Conference. This kid should get a good look next season and hopefully see some more time on the ice with the Minnesot

With the first overall pick, the Minnesota Wild is pleased and proud to select... Ha! We can dream. Most likely going to be the first overall pick, Seth Jones was fourth in WHL defenseman scoring with 56 points in 61 games. He was Portland's #1 defenseman and was just rock solid defensively. He also starred on Team USA during the World Junior Championships scoring 7 points in 7 games, winning the gold medal. There really isn't Jones doesn't have. He has size and strength, he is a rock defensively, make strong breakout passes, can play both physical or finesse game; he can do it all. If I had to nitpick, I would say that he doesn't display elite offensive creativity that a Erik Karlsson might show, but like Ryan Suter, he will put up the points without the flash while playing a ridiculous amount of minutes and being unbeatable defensively. But if you hold the first overall pick and want a sure-fire player that will be key to your team's future success, Seth Jones makes an excellent choice. Expect to see him gone first on draft day. Introducing our 2013 NHL #1 Draft Prospect - Seth Jones SETH JONES Defense / Portland Winterhawks (WHL) Height: 6-4 Weight: 205 GP G A P +/- PIM 2012/13 - Portland 61 14 42 56 46 33 Projection: #1 franchise two-way defenseman. 40-50 points while playing 30+ minutes a night against opposing top lines. #1 PP and #1 PK. Strengths: Elite two-way presence Elite physical tools + athleticism Ability to dictate the pace of the game Versatile shot selection + strong slapshot Weaknesses: Not much creativity in the offensive zone Quotes: Future Considerations For his size, Jones is an excellent skater. Has a long, smooth and powerful stride. He is very mobile and has great reflexes and shows off great agility when needing to go side-to-side or needing to quickly transition from skating forwards to back. He makes strong outlet passes and works the power play point like a seasoned pro would. Jones also has a killer shot. It's extremely hard and he has the ability to get it on net, despite traffic. He's an imposing player due to his natural size and definitely isn't afraid to hit or use his body but lacks that ‘killer’ aggressive physical nature. Jones is very quick in his decision-making and rarely makes a mistake in any situation. His defensive awareness and own zone play is strong as he handles attackers consistently well by either standing them up, pushing them to the outside or buy calmly poking the puck away. Prospect Jersey (What Would They Look Like In a Wild Jersey?): If only... Video Evidence: Seth Jones Highlights (via DumbassShello) Special thanks to HFBoards, Future Considerations, The Hockey Writers, TSN, OHLProspeccts and The Scouting Report