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Minnesota Wild: Bertschy Could Make This Season’s NHL Roster

By Danny Lambert

Nov 7, 2015; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Christoph Bertschy (47) in the first period against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 7, 2015; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Christoph Bertschy (47) in the first period against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /
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As the Minnesota Wild look to fill out their roster this offseason, it’s becoming more and more obvious that they will need to promote one of last year’s Iowa squad to full-time NHL action.  One of those players Christoph Bertschy may have exactly what it takes to be that player.

The Minnesota Wild will be looking for creative options to fill out their 23-man roster this season.  With most of the cap space now taken up the Wild cannot afford to complete the roster solely through free-agency.  They will most likely have to look to promote one or two of familiar faces from AHL Iowa.  One of those faces could be Swiss winger Christoph Bertschy, who actually played three contests with Minnesota last season and will look to make it a full-time gig this year.

Bertschy cut his teeth like fellow Swiss forward Nino Niederreiter in the junior ranks of Switzerland.  But unlike Nino, Bertschy played exclusively in the Swiss leagues before making the jump to North America to join the Wild organization.  Last season in Iowa was his first with the club and he made a pretty big impact in his initial season in Des Moines.

He did so well that he finished third in scoring in Iowa with 35 points (11 goals and 24 assists).  Granted that third place finish was on a very bad Iowa team, but it’s a very encouraging sign that Bertschy adjusted very well to the North American game and was able to put up strong numbers in his rookie campaign.

The Wild liked what they saw from him so much that they gave him a chance to make his NHL debut on November 7th last season.  Bertschy would play two more games after that up with Minnesota, before being sent back to Iowa for the remainder of the season.  Although Bertschy did not score a single point in those three NHL games, he gained valuable experience seeing the NHL game.  He then took that back to the AHL and knew exactly where he needs to take his game to be successful at the NHL level and to work towards building the strengths needed to get back up to Minnesota.

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Bertschy is a player who has a lot of strong offensive traits that made him a successful scorer in Switzerland.  The Wild are hoping that he will continue to develop using his excellent puck handling and fast speed.  The concern with Bertschy isn’t that he can score, it’s if the physical play will be too much for his 5’10’’ 170 lb frame.  His performance in Iowa shows he’s well on his way to overcoming that.

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The rest of the summer will need to play out completely before we really know if Bertschy will have a spot to compete for.  The good money is on that he can make the Wild as a depth forward if he plays well enough in camp, because there will more than likely be one to two spots that need to be filled.  Also the debate with Bertschy is if he would benefit from the increased playing time he would see in Iowa, or if he’s ready to be a full-time depth player who might not see a lot of games with Minnesota.

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Training camp will be a test, but Bertschy has the tools to pass that test and make the Wild.  The issue is if he can use them, and he’ll need to as the completion will be stiff this year and even more so next year to make the NHL roster.  But with so many other prospects not close to ready, Bertschy offers a way to get a good young offensive player in the lineup now rather than later.  Let’s what happens at training camp.

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