The Minnesota Wild announced their training camp roster on Tuesday, Sept. 16, with 61 names on the list. None of the names on the roster are big surprises, as most have been with the organization for a few seasons now. There are a handful of new names that weren’t there before, but the majority are familiar. There are 34 forwards, 20 defensemen, and seven goaltenders.
The Wild had a strong camp last season and will be looking to do the same this season and transition it into the regular season. In this article, we’ll look at some of the names on the roster and see if there’s anyone to keep an eye on, starting with the forwards.
Wild’s Forwards Ready
Looking at the 34 forwards, it’ll be interesting to see how Vladimir Tarasenko does on the ice for the first time with the Wild instead of against. Seeing him and Kirill Kaprizov together could be a possibility as well, depending on how well Tarasenko transitions to the lineup. He was one of the Wild’s offseason acquisitions, and everyone’s eyes will be on him to see if he can still score some goals or if the team made a mistake.
The other forwards that fans will be watching closely are Danila Yurov and Liam Öhgren. Both are young players who are trying to make the roster. Öhgren has already had a taste of what the NHL is like as he’s played games in the past two seasons, but hasn’t found a way to permanently make it stick. Yurov, on the other hand, is trying to crack the lineup for the first time, and if he does, he’ll likely be playing as a center, which makes him even more valuable.
The final couple of players who’ve caught a lot of attention are Adam Benak, Hunter Haight, and Riley Hedit. All three had their names called a lot at the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase this past weekend, and they’ll be fighting hard to try to earn a spot on a team that doesn’t have a lot of space.
Wild’s Defense Stays the Same
The Wild’s defense is mainly the same as it was last season, with the exception of Jonas Brodin being out with surgery recovery. However, Jack Johnson is at training camp on a Professional Tryout Offer (PTO), and he’s expected to fill Brodin’s spot unless someone beats him to it like Zeev Buium or Jack Peart.
Both Buium and Peart made themselves known at this past weekend’s showcase, and Buium, like Öhgren, has already played some minutes in the NHL. While these two have been noticed, there’s another player who is expected to make some waves, and that’s David Jiříček. He was brought on last season but barely saw any icetime, which he’ll be pushing to change this season.
It’ll be interesting to see which defenseman steps up and makes a difference, whether it’ll be someone listed here or someone completely different. There’s likely only one spot open with Brodin being out, but if someone doesn’t perform, someone else could jump in and steal a spot.
Wild’s Goaltenders Mostly Set
The final position is the goaltenders, and everyone knows who the top two are going to be: Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt. However, every team likes to have at least three goaltenders ready to go in case of illness or injury, and the third spot has yet to be named. There are a few goaltenders who could take that spot, and the two leading the way have to be Samuel Hlavaj and William Rousseau.
Rousseau played in the showcase and had a good showing while Hlavaj was part of the organization last season. One of these goaltenders will have to step up big to guarantee their spot as the third goaltender, and hopefully, they’ll have a solid fourth as well. It’s rare to see a team have to go to their fourth goaltender, but after all the injury problems last season, the Wild have to be prepared.
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Wallstedt will need to step up as well and prove he’s ready to take over that backup position, as he will be expected to start some games. Gustavsson can’t play in all 82, so they’ll need Wallstedt to be the best he can be.
The Wild’s training camp roster will be split into three groups: A, B, and C, and they’ll all practice each day of training camp with some scrimmages against each other thrown in. The first practice of training camp will start at 9 am on Thursday, Sept. 18, at TRIA Rink, just a few minutes away from Grand Casino Arena, and the other groups will follow. Some practices are open to the public while others are closed. Their first preseason game will be in Winnipeg on Sunday, Sept. 21, against the Winnipeg Jets to officially start the game portion of the season, and hopefully, they’ll get a good win to start things off on a good note.
