Christian Folin had a long journey to the NHL. He went from obscurity in juniors to an important piece of a quality college team, to an up-and-down pro with the potential to be an NHL regular.
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Every team in the NHL wanted to sign
as a college free agent in 2014. The Minnesota Wild won the sweepstakes for his services the day after his sophomore season came to an end in the NCAA tournament.
Folin made his NHL debut after the Wild clinched a playoff spot in April against the St. Louis Blues. He made quite the impression with an assists, plus-three rating and one hit in just under 20 minutes of ice time.
Ever since, he has been up and down between Minnesota and Iowa. In parts of three seasons, including the one game in 2014, he played 67 games in the NHL with two goals and 13 assists. He recorded career-highs in every notable category on his official Wild page in 2014-15 (40 games, two goals, eight assists, 10 points, plus-three rating, 13 penalty minutes and 39 shots on goal).
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The Wild are now waiting and expecting him to take his game to another level. They have three left-shot defensemen and two right-shot defensemen locked onto the roster. Another right-shot defenseman (Nate Prosser) is as close to a lock as possible as the seventh defenseman.
He will likely battle left-handers Gustav Olofsson and Mike Reilly for the remaining spot on the third pairing this season. Folin has an advantage because he now requires waivers to be sent to Iowa. If made available someone will claim. There is no way he will clear. As a result, the Wild will lose him if they do not keep him on the NHL roster.
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Folin is big (6-feet-3, 214-pounds), mobility, moves the puck well and has big shot. He has all the tools to be a top-four defenseman in the NHL. Dobber Prospects is a little more apprehensive to say what his future will be in the NHL. They say, “he might become a skilled defenseman.”
While the skill set is there, there is some inconsistencies in his game, which may be the reason for Dobber Prospects doubts. Folin has the size, but doesn’t always use it to be physical. He is a very good passer, but doesn’t get involved in the offensive end enough. He has a hard shot, but doesn’t create shooting lanes to use it.