MNWild Yeo’s Line Combinations & Tough Decisions Looming
Where Does the Veteran Core Fit in Loaded With Young Talent Lineup
Now we can begin to turn our attention to how the pieces will fit this fall as the Minnesota Wild has completed most of their offseason house cleaning. Each offseason the draft, free agency, and prospect development camp all provide indicators of how the lineup will shape up come October. This current group for the Wild though is a bit tough to diagnose. The young players have only just scratched the surface of their potential and the veteran core is still considered to be in the prime production years.
The forwards group of the veteran core in my mind is Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, Jason Pominville, Thomas Vanek, Matt Cooke, and Kyle Brodziak. All six of these guys will be slotted into prominent roles assuming they are on the opening night roster. The looming decisions for Wild head coach Mike Yeo will be how to utilize and deploy these six along with the talented young core. I think it is fairly easy to commit to the first four I listed (Koivu, Parise, Pominville, and Vanek) all playing in the Top 6 forwards. Where it gets a bit tricky is how Yeo chooses to play Cooke and Brodziak because both players ended together on the 4th line in the playoffs.
I think several teams in the past couple years especially the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings have shown that it takes 4 lines of production in both ends to compete for a Stanley Cup now in the NHL. I am hoping Yeo is able to see that assigning Cooke and Brodziak to the 4th line doesn’t mean he is not able to specifically deploy them while allowing a more skilled 3rd line of let’s say Jason Zucker, Erik Haula, and Nino Niedereiter to remain intact with maybe Justin Fontaine in the mix as well. Having a skilled fast 3rd line would give the Wild their most talented Top 9 in franchise history and create mismatches and secondary scoring opportunities.
Yeo has been very measured in his approach to empowering his young core so I am being cautiously optimistic that he will avoid a default elevation of both Cooke and Brodziak over some of the younger players this coming season. Honestly given the construction of this current roster though and given how the young core finished out last season, it sure feels like Yeo will have no choice but to put a more skilled younger 3rd line on the ice.
The Kaptain Koivu Conversation Creates Controversy and Conflict
The elephant in the room among the forward group will be where in the lineup Koivu is best utilized especially given the emergence of Granlund and Haula last season. Koivu is a possession driver and strong two-way pivot who uses his size, strength, and smarts to eliminate the opposition’s most offensive talented line. Koivu is not much of a goal scorer or puck carrier though which he makes up for it with strong board play. Koivu is still a playmaker with the puck on his stick but his line mates must help him out by carrying the puck and using their speed to keep it in the offensive zone.
Koivu broke his ankle last year and although he eventually returned it was severe enough for him to miss out on an opportunity to skate a final time with friend and Finnish Hockey God Teemu Selanne in the Sochi Olympics. I think it is fairly reasonable for us to surmise that Koivu was never 100% after breaking the ankle but returned to the lineup given how important last season was to him and the franchise. Going forward the looming/lingering question in all of our minds is can Kaptain Koivu skate enough to not become an albatross offensively to his line mates while centering a Top 6 line? The follow up to that would then be if Koivu is struggling to keep up, will Yeo be decisive in altering his role and place in the lineup?
Make no mistake having Koivu here in the State of Hockey played a major role in the returns of Parise, Suter, and Vanek. Koivu is able to compete in both ends against the big skilled centermen in the Western Conference. Koivu specifically is something this franchise could not replace without committing a ton of assets and money to finding a replacement. The issue with Koivu will be role and deployment I think and I hope Yeo can stay ahead of the curve.
How will Yeo Best Utilize Vanek’s Goal Scoring Abilities
I have contended for nearly a year that WHEN Thomas Vanek signs with the Wild he should be centered by Granlund with Pominville on the opposite wing. When trying to create chemistry and maximum effectiveness of your forward lines, I think skill sets and style are so important. Granlund showed glimpses of superstar potential last year with the Wild and the Finnish National Team during Sochi. Granlund has the type of hockey IQ, creativity, and hands to become top playmaker and point producer in the NHL setting the table for Vanek and Pominville.
Having watched Pominville for a season and a half since he arrived in Minnesota via trade, I am convinced that although he certainly can be a finisher he is much more suited to be an option rather than a primary scorer. Pominville scored 30 goals last season so I am not trying to minimize his abilities, rather I am trying to give him credit as more of a well rounded playmaker type than shooting winger. These three complement each other so well as the chemistry between Granlund and Pominville last season had them finding each other early and often all over the ice in a dynamic fashion. I have to believe adding Vanek to them will just further foster the connection productivity the pair enjoyed last year.
The Wild’s Versatile Wingers a Position of Strength and Flexibility
With Parise, Coyle, Pominville, Vanek, and Niederreiter nearly interchangeable it means that Yeo can tinker with his lines without truly changing the strengths and weakness of each unit as a whole. Parise is basically an elite talent level grinder so no matter who he plays with you know that he is going to battle for every inch of the 200 feet looking to capitalize on any mistake he can create. Coyle matches up very well with Parise because of his size and strength while being skilled enough to contribute to the offense.
Nino was a player many of us banged on the table for to be elevated into the Top 6 and empowered as an offensive weapon nearly all season long. In truth I was so impressed with the humility and work ethic of Nino upon his arrival and all season long as was often deployed in a defensive role by Yeo. Nino projects in my mind to become a primary goal scorer for the Wild in the next couple season but his willingness to take on the challenge of improving his two-way game and stifling opponents in a defensive role make him all that much more impressive.
Coyle is still a tough kid to read with regard to what type of player he will become going forward but that is honestly a credit to him because any time I have doubted his ceiling this kid shatters my doubt. Coyle is one of the hardest working kids in the NHL and as result anyone that would doubt his ability to become anything the Wild tasks him to be is setting themselves up to eat crow. The key is that the Wild whether it is general manager Chuck Fletcher or Yeo, must commit very soon to a vision for where and how Coyle will be utilized consistently.
The Wild has flirted with the idea that Coyle can play the pivot at the NHL level which has been a complete bust but surely in his first 2 professional seasons his play has been more productive and consistent as a right wing. Coyle hit a bit of a wall production and effectiveness wise last around midseason at which many to include myself wondered aloud about his NHL ceiling and what role he would project into in the coming years. Coyle then busted out of his funk in the final month of the regular season quieting the doubters.
Coyle and Nino are always going to be tied together going forward because each is so big and talented that they honestly can play with any combination of line mates. History has shown us that Parise and Coyle have very good chemistry with each other so I think Yeo gravitates towards keeping them together but Nino definitely has the look of a 30 goal scorer in the near future so maybe he supplants Coyle on the top line sooner rather than later.
The other idea that could be on the horizon is that Coyle works his tail off this summer to improve his faceoffs, puck carry, positional awareness, and other attributes at the pivot position towards replacing Koivu in the Top 6 centering Parise and Nino. If Coyle could work enough to earn Yeo’s trust playing the center position it could mean Koivu and Haula playing together on the 3rd line with Cooke and others. Lots of possibilities and scenarios could play out this year and although we are still in July, I think it is abundantly clear that Yeo will face a number of decisions regarding line combinations and roles given how talented and deep the 2014-15 Wild roster is setting to be at the forward position alone.
The Rest of the Forwards Where and How They Fit
The overall depth that has been accumulated by Fletcher headed into this season is impressive given that previous season the first callups were often “Effort” guys or seasoned veteran bottom of the roster types. This year the group on the roster bubble includes some very interesting talented players like Jason Zucker, Justin Fontaine, Cody Almond, Jordan Schroeder, and Brett Bulmer. Each of those guys has played some in the NHL and have a unique skill set that could be plugged in to different lines to address specific needs but all of those guys has clear limitations.
I think Fontaine and Almond at this point are near locks to make the roster because of their contract type alone. Fontaine has filed for arbitration and spent the entire 2013-14 season on the NHL roster while Almond left the organization for two season to play overseas but has return on a one year deal. Zucker obviously has the highest ceiling and greatest potential to become a high end NHLer out of this group but it has been mentioned that if he is not playing Top 6 minutes then he might find himself in the AHL.
Schroeder is a definitely a talented kid as Minnesota Gophers fans know from his playing days at Mariucci but his size has been an adversity for him in his translation to the NHL. For Vancouver to allow him to move despite their lack of young talent there is very telling so it will be very interesting to see where Schroeder spend his 2014-15 season whether in Saint Paul or Des Moines. Schroeder should be playing Top 6 with the ‘Baby Wild’ should he not make the NHL roster this fall. It will be an opportunity to reinforce his talent and potential in a featured role rather than a completely negative thing in my opinion.
My darkhouse and a guy I have always rooted for is Bulmer because of his size/speed/attitude combination. Bulmer is going to go a million miles an hour when Yeo unleashes him on opponents and I think he matches up so well with the rest of the Bottom 6 forwards. Bulmer has to remain healthy for it to matter though something that he has not been able to accomplish in his first two full seasons as a professional.
I realize it is so early to begin trying to project the roster but why not generate some thought and conversation on it. As of right now I see opening night roster and lineup as this:
Parise/Koivu/Coyle
Vanek/Granlund/Pominville
Cooke/Haula/Nino
Almond/Brodziak/Bulmer
Fontaine/Veilluex
Suter/Brodin
Scandella/Spurgeon
Blum/Folin
Ballard
Harding
Backstrom
Kuemper
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Just My Take,
Tony Dean
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