The NHL opened the regular season on Tuesday night, Oct. 7, with three games on the schedule, and that morning, the Minnesota Wild announced their opening night roster. The Wild’s first regular-season game is on Thursday night, Oct. 9, on the road against the St. Louis Blues. They looked like they had their roster pretty set going into the week, but then Tuesday morning, they released the roster, and they had made a couple of changes.
Of course, the regulars are on the list like Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Jared Spurgeon, Filip Gustavsson, etc. However, there are a few youngsters who’ve made the final cut and will be fun to watch as well, like Danila Yurov, Liam Öhgren, and Hunter Haight. In this article, we’ll look at who made the final roster, starting with the forwards.
Wild’s Offense Ready
The Wild’s top line is a combination they used last season as well: Kaprizov, Marco Rossi, and Boldy. This wasn’t the original plan for the beginning of the season when training camp started, according to head coach John Hynes, early in training camp, but due to an injury to Mats Zuccarello, they had to change it up. Zuccarello will be out for six to eight weeks, which means Wild fans may see this combination for quite a bit if they can find success.
While the top line is figured out, the other three lines are mostly done but have more fluid pieces than the top line. Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno, and Vladimir Tarasenko were matched up in earlier practices, but Foligno could be moved around. That leaves more veterans in Yakov Trenin, Ryan Hartman, and Marcus Johansson on the next line, but again, they can be moved up or down as they have in the past.
That leaves Yurov, Öhgren, Haight, and Vinnie Hinostroza; however, it’s unlikely all three youngsters will be on the same line together. Originally, Haight was in the American Hockey League with the Iowa Wild, but he was recalled since Nico Sturm is out with an injury. They will likely be spread out among the other lines to keep things more consistent. It’ll be interesting to see where they put the young players in the lineup when they take on the Blues to open the season.
Wild’s Defense Set
Unlike the offense that still has some decisions to make, the Wild’s defense is mostly set; the one outlier is Jonas Brodin, who is recovering from an injury and may or may not be ready to go. Jake Middleton and Brock Faber are back together once again, and while both of these players can play with almost anyone, they do well together.
Brock Faber, Minnesota Wild (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
Their captain, Jared Spurgeon, was paired with the newest rookie on the defense, Zeev Buium, in practice, and it’s likely they will stay together since they play similar styles. Again, Spurgeon is one of those players who can be paired with almost anyone, while Buium is still so new that he’ll need the guidance of a player like Spurgeon.
That leaves Zach Bogosian, Daemon Hunt, David Jiříček, and Brodin as the final defensemen. It’s hard to say who will make the final pairing, but it’s going to be a battle to determine who will slide into those final spots. They may also choose to rotate the final spot to give them more time to see these players in game situations and how they fit with the team before making the final choice.
Wild’s Goaltending Figured Out
This is the one area that the Wild does not have any question marks in yet. Filip Gustavsson is their starting goaltender, and Jesper Wallstedt is his backup. They’ve already made a strong team and look like they will continue to all season. It’s going to be a bit of a transition as Gustavsson will have to step up and lead the way for the younger Wallstedt.
He’d stepped up last season already, but he had the veteran Marc-André Fleury to lean on when things got tough. While Fleury will still be around the team this season, Gustavsson will have to be the leader and be the person Wallstedt can lean on when he needs help. He’s proven he can improve his game, and he’ll have to show Wallstedt how to do that as well.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Wild handle the goaltending, if they’ll have Gustavsson take the majority of the load and put Wallstedt in occasionally, or if they’re going to do an even rotation. It’ll obviously depend on how each goaltender does, but if they both succeed, they’ll have choices to make.
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The Wild are still making some adjustments to their lineup, but for now, they have their opening night roster set. It’ll be great for Wild fans to finally get to see players like Yurov and Haight, who they’ve been waiting some time to see, plus Öhgren and Wallstedt will showcase more of their talents. Hopefully, these young players will be able to help the Wild get more wins this season, starting with their game against the Blues on Thursday to open the season.
