Minnesota Wild: World Cup of Hockey First Look

With only about a month and a half left to the World Cup of Hockey it’s time to start getting excited. Six Wild players will be there to represent three different teams, so here’s a quick first look to get you thinking about what to look for next month.

The Minnesota Wild will open up their training camp starting on September 19th with an eye on preparing a new team and its new coaching staff ready for what can be called a transitional year for the Wild. Some of the most important players on the roster however will be off starting their season in another venue as the World Cup of Hockey preliminary round starts two days earlier on the 17th of September. The best and brightest from the NHL will be on display playing for their respective countries in a contest to see which NHL contributing nation/region is the best.

The tournament will feature eight teams with 23 men a piece on each roster. Teams made up of players from the USA, Russia, Canada, Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic, Europe, and North America will be participating. Interesting to note is that Teams North America and Europe are made up of players from the same region, but different countries.

The Wild as expected did fairly well with their representation across the eight teams. Six Wild players will be playing for three different teams, that’s fairly solid compared to most other NHL teams. Team USA will feature Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, Team Europe will have Nino Niederreiter, and Team Finland will feature Erik Haula, Mikko Koivu, and Mikael Granlund. Here’s a breakdown of the different teams which Wild players are in their lineup, and what you can expect from them in that lineup.

Feb 13, 2014; Sochi, RUSSIA; USA forward Zach Parise (9) skates with the puck against Slovakia in a men’s ice hockey preliminary round game during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Shayba Arena. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports /

Team USA – The Americans look to be slightly retooled from the lineup we saw at the Sochi Olympics. Even though the really young US players are on Team North America, this Team USA looks to have added some very young talent in the form of players like Justin Abdelkader and Kyle Palmeri. Still the nucleus of battle tested NHL vets will form the core of the USA team and will be their strength and could certainly lead them to a medal.

The Wild will be offering up their core as part of the USA team with Suter and Parise leading the team as the two Wild reps. Look for the Sochi captain Parise to be one of the spark plugs for his team just like he was in the previous two Olympics. Suter looks to be a top pairing defensemen possibly skating with Roseau’s own Dustin Byfuglien.

Team Europe – Team Europe will contain all the players from the strong hockey countries that couldn’t quite make a team on their own. Countries represented on Team Europe will be Switzerland, Norway, Germany, Slovakia, France, Denmark, and Austria. At their core Team Europe will be mostly Slovakian with players like Chara, Gaborik, and Hossa but the players from the other countries will round them out very well.

The Wild’s lone representative on team will be Nino Niederreiter. Nino certainly has a chance to be in the top six forwards on the team. His perfect mix of grit, scoring, and youth makes him standout among a solid yet aging group of forwards. If Nino’s previous international tournaments have showed us anything, he’ll be ready to contribute in a big way.

Feb 19, 2014; Sochi, RUSSIA; Finland forward Mikael Granlund (64) celebrates after scoring a goal against Russia in the men’s ice hockey quarterfinals during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Bolshoy Ice Dome. /

Team Finland – The Fins will have a very strong squad as they always do. The Canadians may be the perennial favorite, but you can’t look at the lineup for Finland and say that they won’t have a strong chance to win the whole tournament. Their mix of NHL, KHL, and Finish elite league players makes them dangerous and unpredictable.

The Wild as expected have three of their best players representing their home country. Erik Haula will look to continue his scoring resurgence he found last NHL season and add some scoring to an already high scoring lineup. Perhaps the best Wild story of the tournament will be that Koivu and Granlund will play together on the top line hoping to pick up the scoring magic they had in the World Championship where Finland won Silver. For Wild fans this will be another preview of what will most likely be core of the Wild’s second line next season when Granny goes to the wing.

Next: Top 25 Minnesota Wild players 25-years-old or younger; No. 23 Nick Seeler

So that’s a good primer to get your mind ready for what should be a great bit of hockey in a little over a month. The Wild players will play a big part for their respective teams and it will be certainly be a great way to get a preview of how they’ll look heading into the next season. At a bare minimum tune in to get some good hockey action from the classic ESPN hockey crew, as Bucci, Melrose, and Levy will have the call on the ice. Most of all I’m pumped for the straight talk that is bound to happen in studio with Chris Chellios and my hockey hero of all-time UMD alum Brett Hull.

More to come when we get closer!

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