5 Things We Learned about Wild Prospects from the Traverse City Tournament

As a High School football coach, within the first days of the start of the new season I inevitably get asked this question, “How does the team look this year?”  My response usually is a bit of a disappointment to them, “They look ok, but we’ll know a lot more when we have our scrimmage in a week or two where they are hitting guys with different colored jerseys.”  It is a truthful response which encompasses the realities of player evaluation.  You don’t really know what you have in a player until you see them play against their foes.  Players often ease up a bit against their teammates, or the top players dominate their lesser peers so much so its tough to be able to project how effective they’d be.  You have to see them play against the other teams’ best.  For prospects who are still not quite ready for primetime, it is prospect tournaments and pre-season games that provide those opportunities to evaluate how their youngsters stack up.

Can Mathew Dumba turn a strong tournament performance into a roster spot? Oct 28, 2013; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild defenseman Mathew Dumba (55) against the Chicago Blackhawks at Xcel Energy Center. The Blackhawks defeated the Wild 5-1. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

The Wild prospects were put through their paces at the annual tournament in Traverse City, Michigan.  They played in 4 games where they finished 5th.  The team no doubt learned a lot about its collection of young talent, both positive and negative over the course of the 5 day event.  Here is what we learned.

1.  The team’s prospect strength is in its defense – This may not seem like a major revelation, but it was confirmed at the tournament as Christian Folin, Mathew Dumba and Gustav Olofsson were the club’s most dominant performers.  All of them have elements of a two-way game which served as the backbone for the team; scoring timely goals and transitioning the puck with great efficiency and effectiveness.  Olofsson was named the 1st star of the team’s opening game against Columbus, while Folin was given that honor in their second game against St. Louis.

2.  The team still lacks finishers at forward – Despite attempts to add goal scoring via free agency like Brady Brassart and Zack Mitchell the Wild still struggled to get many contributions from its corps of forwards.  The team’s best scorer up front was tournament invitee Ryan Walters.  While Tyler Graovac had a few nice set ups, but the tournament revealed a significant lack of finishers which is something this organization has ignored in the last few drafts.  It is time the Wild start to address this void in the prospect pool.  Alex Tuch (who did not participate in this tournament) is a start, but more help is needed.

3.  Kurtis Gabriel has a real shot to make the big club – If you read between the lines, you have to think Kurtis Gabriel actually has a realistic shot to make the Wild out of training camp.  A workout fanatic off the ice and an unselfish character forward on it have all the hallmarks of being a quality Bottom 6 forward.  He scored a goal and played a physical, gritty style that opponents hate to play against.  Sensing his team needed a spark he dropped the gloves, just the kind of old school move that inspires teammates and endears himself to the coaching staff.  A quality showing puts him in the mix for a possible spot on the 4th line.  With Brett Bulmer‘s struggles to stay healthy, and the team’s history of giving a young player at least a bit of an audition in the NHL.

"“He’s not going to score pretty goals, but he’s a big, strong guy … He can make those chances himself.” ~ Brent Flahr, Wild Assistant General Manager on Kurtis Gabriel"

4.  Goaltending could use a few more options – Johan Gustafsson carried most of the mail at tournament, but a lack of dominant secondary goaltender is a bit troubling.  Neither Gustafsson or the tryout Brandon Whitney stood out.  Considering the complicated nature of the Wild’s current goaltending situation, there is reason to question if their really is a future NHL goaltender within its prospect pool.  Kaapo Kahkonen looked more than a little shaky at the Wild’s Prospect Camp this summer and with Gustafsson’s rather pedestrian performance (3.97GAA, .873%SP) it makes one wonder about its organizational depth between the pipes.

5.  Mathew Dumba exhibited the dynamic offensive talent he was drafted for – In previous showings with the Wild at prospect camp and his 13-game stint with the big club, Mathew Dumba always seemed to be a muted version of himself.  He tried playing a safe game, but in the process appeared to be a bit lost and slightly nervous with the puck.  Finally, in this tournament he demonstrated the ability to be the dynamic offensive force that the team drafted 7th Overall in 2012.  Dumba had 2 goals and 5 points in 4 games.  This is the way the Wild need him to play, feeling confident enough to play his high-risk, high-reward game because that is where he is at his best.