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Development Camp Observations and Suter Update

July 13, 2018, 2:01 PM ET [3 Comments]
Dan Wallace
Minnesota Wild Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Wild development camp yesterday, gave us our first look at some of the Wild future in game action.

2018 first round draft pick, Filip Johansson played pretty solid, despite the adjustment he is making to the smaller NHL ice surface. His positioning was good, and he carried the puck with confidence. Yes he contributed a goal, which is not necessarily his game as advertised. His development to the North American game may show that with his natural skills and talent, he may actually be a better offensive player in the very near future.

Simon Johansson, the Wild 5th round pick, is a much more offensive defenseman to begin with, and judging from the first impression, he likes to carry the puck and also showed a great deal of confidence in that area.

The player that stood out the most to me, was 2018 Wild 3rd round pick Jack McBain who was involved in the offense nearly every single shift. He moved very well, and his offensive anticipation was definitely noticeable.

2017 Wild top draft pick (4th round) Ivan Lodnia, made a great pass to 2016 Wild fourth round pick Brandon Duhaime who ripped a one timer past Kaapo Kahkonen for arguably the nicest goal of the day during the 5 on 5 action.

Louie Belpedio showed that he had a taste of the NHL last season, as he was by far the best player on the ice for either team. He was both physical as well as dominant handling the puck and playing sound defense. Belpedio also notched a goal of his own beating Kahkonen between the legs, with a well timed wrist shot.

Dimitry Sokolov is one guy that seems to catch everyone's eyes and for good reason. Sokolov has magnificent hands and yesterday was showing that his defensive game has come a long way as well. The foot speed is still an issue though as Sokolov enters his first season of pro hockey.

Hunter Shepard was the standout as far as the Wild goalie prospects were concerned as he shut the White team out for the 1st half despite facing numerous shots and quality scoring chances. Shepard was extremely vocal in the net as you could not help but hear him directing traffic and letting his teammates know exactly what going on around them at all times. He was fully engaged the entire time he was on the ice and by his post game comments, that is how he works every game.

Again this was just prospects skating in a Summer scrimmage, but still good to see how some of the past draft choices have matured and of course the 2018 picks as well. It is nothing to hang your hat on by any stretch as these are just our own prospects competing amongst themselves, but the little things that show character points of an individual's game, come out regardless of the setting or opposition.

Yesterday we learned the dates for Mat Dumba and Jason Zucker's arbitration cases. Dumba is scheduled for July 23rd while Zucker is set for the 28th.

That said, we all know that very few players ever get to the arbitration date without settling on a new contract. Case in point, last year, Nate Schmidt, of the Vegas Golden Knights, was the only player to have his case heard by an arbitrator.

So expect something to transpire sooner than later with both Dumba and Zucker with each expected to sign for better than $5 million per year each.

The Wild have room to make those signings without being forced to make a trade, but a deal is not out of the question either as Paul Fenton explores all of his options in his attempt to strengthen the Wild roster.

Some good news was reported by the Athletic's Chad Graff, with his report on the recovery of Wild defenseman Ryan Suter. By all accounts Suter is ahead of schedule with his rehab and according to Suter himself he would like to be skating by mid-August in hopes of being ready for the start of training camp.

That is a bit of bold hope on Suter's part, but again this is Ryan Suter we are talking about. A man that is as tough and headstrong as they come, so nothing is impossible when it comes to the Wild's top defenseman.

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