Matt Dumba played the overtime hero last night as the Wild won in extra time for the second noght in a row, The Blackhawks, with a youth driven lineup, were the victim this time despite their spirited effort erasing two Wild leads to force overtime.

The Wild have one more preseason tuneup tomorrow night in Chicago this time around. Last night may have been the final audition for some of the Wild future talent to show that they belong in the NHL now.

Regardless of the final decision on who makes the roster on opening night, the Wild future is bright.

Marco Rossi again looked like the talented relentless high octane player the Wild have envisioned when they selected the young Austrian center in the 2020 draft. It appears that he is destined to be sent down to Iowa to continue his maturation process and center the top line there.

Adam Beckman made a strong case for himself leading the team with four preseason goals and 13 shots on goal. He was noticeable every time he was on the ice and if he is the odd man out, and it appears that he will be, it most likely will not be long before we see him take the trip up I-35 as the first call up when the situation presents itself.

Matt Boldy who left last night's game with what appeared to be a pretty significant lower body injury when he fell awkwardly into the boards after getting tangled up with Connor Murphy. Boldy struggled to get to his feet and then hobbled to the bench and had to be helped down the runway back to the Wild locker room. Boldy's fate most likely was sealed with the injury but he most likely was heading back to Iowa already.

Brandon Duhaime looks like he is going to nab the final forward spot. Duhaime has impressed with his speed which has been noticeable every time he was on the ice. He plays with grit and can play up and down the lineup. His time appears to be now.

As far as the defense is concerned it looks as if Calen Addison will begin the season in Iowa as well with the veterans that the Wild brought in Jon Merrill and Jordie Benn taking the sixth and seventh defense roles.

It is great to see the Wild camp with battles for jobs and the decisions becoming very difficult for management and the coaching staff.

Bill Guerin talked about the culture change that he and his team have been establishing and it is quite refreshing to see that jobs are earned and the same old "vanilla" Wild are in the past.

One more tune up tomorrow...

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