Minnesota Wild: Olofsson Injury Opens A Door
By Cody Defoe
The Defensive battle at Minnesota Wild training camp took a turn this week, and opened the door for the camp battle to open up a little bit more.
At the opening of Minnesota Wild training camp, Gustav Olofsson was expected to have an inside track to the 7th or potentially 8th Defense spot on the NHL roster. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune is now reporting that Olofsson injured his shoulder on Monday against Winnipeg.
This is an unfortunate setback for Olofsson, who was healthy all last season after 3 consecutive injury shortened seasons. He has had a history of shoulder injuries in the past, and this will do him no favors in trying to secure a roster spot.
With the injury, and assuming that his fragility is a major red-flag for the Minnesota Wild management and coaches, we now have a potential open spot available to be won coming out of training camp.
The clear front runner should be Ryan Murphy, he has played in both preseason games so far and has looked extremely good in his performaces to this point. Murphy has been around the league long enough, and has the high potential to be a reliable piece to rotate in and out with Nick Seeler through the season.
More from Gone Puck Wild
- 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
Louie Belpedio has impressed throughout the preseason, earning praise from fans for his performace in the prospect tournament, and was just as solid in his preseason appearance against the Jets.
Both Belpedio and Murphy earned praise from me for their performances against the Jets, and are likely to benefit from additional ice time during the preseason with Olofsson now unavailable for 2 weeks or more.
Others capable of capitalizing on this additional ice time are veteran Matt Bartkowski and rookie Carson Soucy.
Bartkowski is an NHL journeyman, looking to earn as much NHL time as he can. He’s a perfect depth D, who doesn’t need the benefit of playing time in the AHL and has proven in the past that he can still perform even after riding the press box for weeks at a time.
Soucy is a rookie looking to break through the defensive log-jam after impressing in last season’s playoffs. Unfortunately, he seems to be battling an uphill battle and will need to really impress in camp to leap frog the other players who are ahead of him on the depth chart.
Of course, none of this could matter if Olofsson is healthy before opening day and management decide to keep him in Minnesota to fill the roster spot. I think it’s more likely, though, that Olofsson will find himself on waivers when he is healthy, and will either be in Iowa or on his way to a new home.
Must Read. What is Brodin's Trade Value?. light
Ryan Murphy looks to benefit the most from this development, but there are others who should look to use this to their benefit. Nate Prosser should be #7, but there is still another spot in the rotation available to whoever works to earn it.