Nine Days Until The NHL Opening At Minnesota Wild – Will It Also Be The Beginning Of Marco Rossi’s NHL Career? Or does the ÖEHV star initially have no place in his squad?
A look at the wild storm streaks and the Austrian’s chances in his debut:
In terms of personnel, not much was done in attacking the game over the summer. Of course, Zach Parise’s removal has grabbed most of the headlines, but he’s only been in the fourth line lately. Marcus Johansson, who never made it to St. Paul, signed for a year with the new league’s Seattle Kraken. Nick Bonino got a two-year contract in San Jose.
Just two new additions
There are only two external inputs opposite these three outputs. Frederick Goudreau penguin came from Pittsburgh. At age 28, he’s only had 103 NHL games in the Vita, but there’s one advantage: Coach Dean Evason knows and appreciates him since his time with AHL Milwaukee. On Tuesday, Wild earned Nashville Predators’ Rem Pitlick center via concessions, but he shouldn’t be a candidate for a regular spot at the moment.
Within the club, there are still non-regular NHL players: veteran AHL player Kyle Rowe, also of Iowa ranch team Adam Beckman, Brandon Doehme and Conor Dewar. Then there are two top prospects Matthew Baldy and Marco Rossi.
That makes 17 strikers for 12 positions in the lineup and 13 or 14 on the night’s opening roster. Evason seems to have found his lines already, only one place is still a bit open:
Caprizov / Ericsson EK / Zuccarello
Photo: © getty
Latitude, Eriksson-Ek is allowed to focus this early in the season. The Swede has played a major season in a physically strong streak with Greenway and Foligno, and is now supposed to orchestrate the traffic between the two attacking leaders Kaprizov (he escaped quarantine well after signing a late contract) and preparer Zuccarello.
Eriksson-Ek should finally become number one, even if he doesn’t have the best hands.
Greenway / Hartmann / Foligno
Instead of Eriksson-Ek, Ryan Hartman is moving between Greenway and Foligno.
A line that can play as a closing formation against the opponent’s top lines at any time, but can also score itself. It remains to be seen how Hartmann, who returned only halfway through last season, can replace Ericsson-Eck.
Viala / Goudreu / Rask
Some internal changes in position: Raske goes from center to wing, having won the jackpot between Kaprizov and Zuccarello last season without real convincing.
Kevin Viala has to change wings, but he’s been in a good mood in pre-season and is also vowing to better fill the defensive side of his position. If he does, next summer could be his big payday as his new one-year contract will expire. The Swiss national team already showed a great performance last season, despite the frequent changes in the team.
Gaudreau has the advantage that coach Evason values him for his running and technical skills and that his neighbors Fiala have already been stationed in Milwaukee and Nashville.
Q / Sturm / Bjstad
Open striker position in the Top 12 – Nico Storm already showed towards the end of last season, Bjugstad was appointed due to his physical presence.
In last place, there should be a race between Adam Beckman and Brandon Doehme. Evason appreciates Beckmann’s enthusiasm and positive attitude, while Doheme’s pre-screening work and physical presence speak for themselves. The loser in this duel will remain the 13th striker in the squad. Pitlick can be the 14th attacker, or else he will have to get through the concessions again.
Photo: © GEPA
What will happen to Rossi?
Marco Rossi will play his third pre-season game tonight from Wednesday to Thursday, but (again) in a watered down version of Wild, which some players from Iowa have put up. Unlike another wild talent, Matthew Bode, the Austrian was not allowed to play alongside veteran NHL slots in training or in pre-season games, and that probably won’t change that night. Whether he will next play one of his two standout games of warm-up (Thursday/Saturday) is also questionable, Evason will want to start his own NHL streaks, especially on Saturday.
So it doesn’t look like the NHL debut of Marco Rossi Next week, Boldy should start the season at Des Moines with the farm team Iowa Wild. The reasons for this are complex: Both Poldi and Rossi will be given away in a check line, and both need plenty of ice age. The role of the thirteenth or fourteenth attacker should not be a problem for them in any case, it will not serve anyone. Rousey can also look back on a season he had no match training due to Covid disease, who could certainly catch up with Iowa State.
It’s going to get more exciting as the season progresses, although I expect Rousey to do well on the farm team: Minnesota is currently without injuries, and it can’t go on like this. Was GM Bill Guerin withdrawing Boldi or Rossi in case of injuries to the scorers or was he just going internally? Guerin didn’t find his hopeful midfield in the summer either, Rossi’s insidious barriers won’t appear in his usual spot in the next few years.
What role does a Russian contract play?
A Russian contract can also play a role: this season, as in the last one, it is “slipable”. what does that mean? Wild won’t burn a year off his entry-level deal until he uses it in ten or more NHL games. If it doesn’t, that contract won’t start (but then finally) until the following season and then runs for three years. The completion date then would be the summer of 2025, which is exactly the year that the maximum contracts paid to Paris and Ryan Sutter dropped from seven million each to just under a tenth of that. So after years of expected hat problems for Rousey after his first three seasons in the NHL, Wild had enough money again for a good follow-up contract, which we hope the Austrian will earn through a fine performance.
An example of a similar fate: Jets-Center Mark Scheifele was just a part-time worker in his first two NHL seasons due to physical defects; His entry-level deal only started after that. Today he is one of the top hubs in the NHL.
But this is all based on assumptions and dreams of the future, a Russian could just as easily become a regular member of Saint Paul this year. From the start of the season, though, Matt Boldy didn’t see NHL ice cream last season despite performing well at Iowa State. The 23-man squad should be announced to kick off the October 15 game against Anaheim next Monday at the latest, seven cut-offs still open at the moment…
Text by: © LAOLA1.at
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