Minnesota Wild Narratives to Follow Ahead of Tonight’s Game in Winnipeg

New Roster, Coyle at center are this game’s Wild narratives to follow

Hockey is here, Wild fans. It may be pre-season, but it’s hockey no less. When the Wild take to the ice in Winnipeg, it will be a team comprising youngsters and players vying for a roster spot. Here are the Wild narratives to follow when they take to the ice at the MTS centre.

Roster Updated

Minnesota’s lineup is filled almost exclusively with new faces. Nino Niederreiter, Charlie Coyle, Jonathon Blum and Keith Ballard will join players making their pre-season debut with the Wild. Niklas Backstrom and Ilya Bryzgalov will split time between the pipes. 2nd Year Wild winger Justin Fontaine was scratched earlier today due to a groin injury. Energy forward Stephane Veilleux will take his place.

Jan 4, 2014; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Jason Zucker (16) against the Washington Capitals at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild defeated the Capitals 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Look for Jason Zucker and Christian Folin to make a statement with their play. Folin is vying for the 6th defenseman spot while Zucker is trying to earn a permanent home in Minnesota after spending the majority of his pro career in the AHL.

For more on the Wild’s lineup, click on the link above.

Charlie Coyle at Center

Coyle has played center before, including at times last year when the Wild were hampered by injuries, so this isn’t anything new. According to the NHL, Coyle won 192 0f 418 face-offs in the 2013-2014 regular season, good enough for a 41.9% success rate o the face-off dot. Comparatively, Mikael Granlund had 52.6% success rate. Now, it could be that Coyle doesn’t take face-offs as often and needs to get the rust out; however, a face-off percentage far below 50% for a top six player who starts a majority of his shifts in the offensive zone is poor. Losing offensive zone face-offs is not something a contending team can afford to do.

The Wild are deep enough at center that this is probably just an experiment for Mike Yeo and his crew to watch and keep their options open throughout the year, but it’s worth a watch/ listen tonight to see how he does.

More from Wild News

• Defenseman Matt Dumba signs one-year contract with Arizona
• Minnesota Wild reach agreement with Brandon Duhaime on one-year contract
• Minnesota Wild receive mixed grades for picks in NHL Entry Draft
• Minnesota Wild draft heavy on centers and home-state selections
• Minnesota Wild open regular season at home against Stanley Cup Finalist

Game Brodcast

Unfortunately, Wild fans, the game will not be broadcast on live television. KFAN will carry the game live on their FM station and the NHL network will re-play the game tonight at 11:00 P.M. Central time.

Who are you most excited to see take the ice tonight? let us know in the comments below! I’ll do my best to Tweet the action as it happens, feel free to give me a follow @trembleyemtp