The start of the NHL regular season is tonight for a few teams, but the Minnesota Wild won’t start until Thursday night, Oct. 10. They’ve been busy signing contract extensions, and they also made more roster cuts. Since training camp is over, it’s time to look at who stood out, whether they made it onto the final roster or not.
There have been a number of players who’ve stepped up and forced everyone to notice them. However, there are only so many open spots on a roster, and it’s not easy to make the final cut. Even if they don’t make it onto the roster now, there are chances in the future when the injuries happen and spots open once again. In this article, we’ll take a look at a few players who stood out during training camp and where they’ll start the season, starting with a player who was sent down early.
Benák Left Impression
He may have been one of the earliest sent down, but Adam Benák left his mark with the team, and he had everyone talking. Although he’s a smaller player at five-foot-eight, he could hold his own against much bigger players. He’s fast and can handle the puck, plus he’s not afraid to throw his body around.
Benák only played in one game during the preseason before being sent down, but he played with confidence and energy. While he had a strong training camp, it’s important to remember he’s only 18 years old and that’s quite young to make the leap to the NHL right away. It’s not unheard of, but pretty unusual, and it’ll take a little time to get his game fully adjusted and ready to try at the NHL level.
With the limited roster spots and others sliding into those currently, he’ll have some time to develop his game in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Brantford Bulldogs. He’s already started it off on the right foot with six points in three games played, with two of those being goals. It’ll be interesting to see how he does this season with the Bulldogs because Wild fans will likely have to wait until next training camp to see him again in a Wild jersey. It’s not impossible, but highly unlikely, he’ll get the call-up this season.
Yurov Makes Cut
Danila Yurov didn’t have the most impressive or explosive camp, but he did enough to make the final roster. It takes time to adjust to the NHL level, especially for those who haven’t played the North American game like Yurov, who spent most of his time playing in Russia. Now he’ll have the chance to show what he can do, but again, it may take a bit for him to get adjusted.
Danila Yurov, Minnesota Wild (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
Yurov won’t be starting on the top line but will have to work his way up like nearly everyone else. He’s shown he can handle the puck, and he has speed plus his size, but he needs to find confidence to showcase that talent. Hopefully, some game time will give him some experience and help him become more comfortable.
“I would say that probably both young guys wouldn’t be in at the same time right now, but we’re still going through that. I think Vinnie’s (Hinostroza) had a strong camp; he didn’t get as much action later in the games, but he does have experience knowing what to do. I think with Öhgren and Yurov, we’re still working those guys in and see if now that camp’s over, see what they look like in different positions,” said head coach John Hynes about his thoughts on Yurov and Öhgren.
Haight Sent Down
Probably the most surprising result of training camp was Hunter Haight being sent down and not on the opening night roster. It was a very close call, according to Hynes, but ultimately Nico Sturm became healthy, and he took the roster spot that could’ve gone to Haight if Sturm had stayed injured. Of course, everyone wants a healthy roster, so it’s good to have Sturm back, but it was still a surprise not to see Haight’s name listed.
Haight impressed nearly everyone during training camp, and he had the goals to show for it during several preseason games as well. It’s safe to say he’ll be one of the first names selected if a forward gets injured because he showed a lot of confidence and skills to make it at the top level.
“I think that Hunter (Haight) had a really good camp but I also think that some of it comes to the decision of wing versus center and we felt like right now, we might be having a different conversation if Sturmy wasn’t healthy, regarding Hunter and who we would keep but I think when you look at the lineup right now, you’ve got your four centers locked so it’s an opportunity to have Hunter go down and play and get going for what he needs to do and then with Öhgren and Yurov it’s still someone’s going to have to take…a step to just solidify themselves where they want to play,” said Hynes about the reason Haight was sent down and not the others.
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It’ll be interesting to see how the season begins with certain players on the roster and others not. These three stood out for the Wild, and only one made it onto the roster as of now, which shows how difficult it is to make an NHL lineup. Hopefully, these guys will continue to stand out and help the Wild win when on the roster.
