What could the Minnesota Wild learn from the Golden Gophers?

One thing that is really great about sports is the connections one can make by watching the game played at different levels.  One of those big a-ha moments for me as a coach is you can learn from watching others, even if they may be playing at a lower level then you.  I believe even an NHL team like the Minnesota Wild can learn by watching the game played at the lower level like the Minnesota Golden Gophers or even high school hockey.  I am not saying that those lower level teams could compete with the Wild, but they may embrace certain philosophies of the game more completely than the NHL club does.

As I watched last night’s Golden Gophers’ men’s hockey game against Bemidji State I was struck by how well the Gophers played to their strengths in their 5-2 victory.  They certainly had some areas for concern for the Golden Gophers defensively where they were bailed out by some stellar play by Adam Wilcox.  I am not concerned about the Wild’s defense, so most of my observations were things I felt could help them in the offensive zone.

Minnesota Wild forward Erik Haula (56) scores the game-winning goal on Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) during the third period in game three of the second round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild defeated the Blackhawks 4-0.

Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

1.  Like the Golden Gophers, the Wild need to make full use of its speedy lineup ~ Watching the Gophers, they take full advantage of their superior team speed.  They use it to put opposing defense’s on their heels and that opens up time and space for its slower players as well.  The Minnesota Wild would be wise to adopt this philosophy.  The Wild are one of the faster teams in the NHL, but they only help their opponents by slowing the game down.  The team has the speed to create offense off the rush and in the past its been rewarded for creating offense in this manner instead of slowing down and then simply hoping to cycle and wear the defense down.  Playing fast also draws penalties and while the power play has not been a factor, more opportunities certainly could help get it going.

The Wild have some tremendously fast players in Erik Haula and Jason Zucker while Nino Niederreiter, Charlie Coyle and Zach Parise have pretty good wheels themselves.  I think the team could cause opponents problems by changing the pace of play a bit.   I also like the idea of Mikael Granlund as the set up man with the team embracing a more up tempo philosophy.   I think he’d really be in his element with more time and space.

2.  The Wild needs to shoot quickly on the backside like the Gophers do on the power play ~ The Wild power play is 0-for-19, the layman’s definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.  Again you learn something from the Gophers who like to work the quick shot on the backside of the umbrella.  The Wild will occasionally work the puck to the backside but depending on who they have on the ice they are able to get that one-timer that gives opposing goaltenders a real tough shot to deal with.  The type of shot that is more likely to yield a rebound and thus secondary scoring chances as well.   So placing a right handed shooter like Jared Spurgeon and Jason Pominville are a must to make it work.

If the Wild are determined to stay in their umbrella or overload to the right side of the goal, that backside shot could lead to rebounds to the right side of the goal and if you miss wide you are well positioned to track down the missed shot.  Quick puck movement will also help open up shooting lanes from the perimeter as it will keep opposing penalty killers moving and not spending so much time clogging up passing and shooting lanes.  I would also use players who have a tendency to hang onto the puck a little too long like Mikko Koivu and Ryan Suter, using them less on the man advantage.

3.  Use your bigger forwards to screen and deflect shots on goal ~ The Golden Gophers use their bigger forwards like Hudson Fasching and Seth Ambroz very effectively to screen and tip shots taken from the point.  The Wild seldom utilize screens and while they have used deflections with a little success they could use that with a greater level of frequency as the Gophers do.  Charlie Coyle, Thomas Vanek, Nino Niederreiter as well as Mikko Koivu should use their big frames to make life miserable for goalies instead of them being a non-factor by using these players on the perimeter.  Players like Kyle Rau, who reminds me a lot of Zach Parise as a player who likes to crash the crease and they still can without drawing the oppositions biggest defender because they’ll be occupied with those bigger bodied forwards instead.  The Wild typically put their bigger bodies on the perimeter while they rely on their smaller players to bury the rebounds in and around the crease.  Why not flip the script?

A change of mindset can be as difficult to pull off as a change of personnel because old habits are tough to break.  If the team doesn’t find success using any of these ideas they can always return to doing what they were before.  Yet to expect the team to be so much better by just doing what they’ve always done makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.