Wild Forward Lines This Season

Each year, the new season opens with the intrigue and excitement of a fresh new start, and this not only applies to finalizing the roster of a team in hockey, but also how that roster will be hitting the ice together- the lines. Now, much like the opening day lineup from a baseball team, hockey lines change at a rapid pace, and even more volatile than baseball, can even change within a game.

Minnesota Wild head coach Mike Yeo isn’t know to be extremely short leashed with his forward combinations, but he has also never been afraid of shaking up the lines when he sees fit, whether it’s within a month, a week, or even a game on occasion. So when Wild fans have been given tasty deep fried nuggets of information on the potential lines for the new Wild season, it was with the understanding that things could look completely different before we even get to Thanksgiving. From what we’ve gathered in training camp and the preseason games so far, right now the lines look something like this-

Parise-Granlund-Pominville

Vanek-Koivu-Coyle

Cooke-Haula-Niederreiter

Fontaine-Brodziak-Zucker

So on the surface, that look like a pretty good organization of talent. You’ve got two obvious scoring forward lines, a third line that looks likes it can play some shut down defense and score as well, and a fourth line that isn’t exactly a checking line of grinders, but should be able to provide some solid minutes of defensive relief, along with some occasional offense if the matchup is right. But as previously mentioned, those lines are probably more temporary than a season long foundation, although keeping lines together for the duration of the season would be a great thing for Yeo and the Wild, as that means they’re working. So with that in mind, I’ve thrown together some potential future lines that could be interesting.

Vanek-Koivu-Pominville

The easiest of line adjustments would be bringing in Pominville to Koivu’s line, and reuniting him with former Buffalo Sabres teammate Thomas Vanek. This pairing with either Koivu or Granlund seems like it will happens at one point or another sometime this season, as former teammates tend to have good chemistry and chemistry is the magical elixir every coach loses hair trying to find(although this is not a problem with Mike Yeo). Another reason beyond chemistry is the matching of a more assist-oriented center like Koivu with two shooting heavy wingers seems to work out often, as the scoring touch of Pominville and Vanek are undeniable.

Parise-Haula-Coyle

This sandwich of talent may be a little unlikely, given the desire to match the puck feeding skills of Koivu or Granlund with Parise, but I really like Haula. Haula showed in the postseason last year that he’s a very capable offensive threat, as did Coyle, and quite frankly, any line is made better with Zach Parise, he’s like the bacon of Minnesota Wild forwards. Coyle’s meaty size and hands make him a good mix with Parise as we saw last season at times, and any center could make this a formidable line, but I think adding Haula gives this line a certain speedy sexiness, like a zesty chipotle dressing. Delicious.

Vanek-Granlund-Niederreiter

This entirely European line is certainly not short on excitement, as you have a fresh and exciting member of the team paired up with two young and exciting offensive talents. Pairing Vanek with a couple of young guns might be risky, but if Granlund and Niederreiter continue to develop offensively, it’s a definite possibility. So we could see this, given the track that both of the young stars appear to be on, and the Wild’s lack of scoring punch that makes fans want to scream into their couch cushions at times.

Coyle-Haula-Niederreiter

Talk about young and exciting, this dream line of mine showcases the pile of young talent the Wild will have on display this season. The speed of Haula combined with the size and talent of Coyle and Niederreiter on the wings is certainly an interesting combination, especially after the postseason where each of these players had a definite impact on the offensive side of the ice. Also interesting could be the interchangeability of Coyle playing center, and Haula perhaps being a wing on this line, or replacing Haula at wing with another young talent like Michael Keranen or Jordan Schroeder to make use of the offensive depth that the Wild have.

Cooke-Koivu-Pominville

This line may look on the surface to be ‘leftovers’ of talent that are neither young nor new to the team, but I think it’s possibility that is interesting, from a transition game standpoint. I’ve always been a big fan of a line that has a grinder like Cooke, a playmaker like Koivu and a scorer like Pominville put together, so this line makes more sense to me than it might for others. This is probably an unlikely trio, but one that I think could actually work out well for the Wild, which is much better than the day old beef stroganoff label that it might receive.

So clearly, the possibilities are virtually endless, especially with some solid young depth at the forward position with players not currently on one of the top lines like Keranen and Schroeder, Brett Sutter, Cody Almond or even a darkhorse like Tyler Graovac. Hopefully the injuries don’t mount up this year, and the effectiveness of the established lines doesn’t make too many changes necessary, but with lines, change is inevitable and it’s fun to mix and match things a little and see what comes of it. It should be interesting to see the mixing and matching that Mike Yeo uses this season with such a young and exciting team.