With the prospect tournament in Traverse City wrapping-up yesterday the Minnesota Wild prospects may not have played great as a group, but two players individual performances certainly standout. Alex Tuch and Christoph Bertschy looked great in the tourney and have made a serious statement to make the Minnesota roster out of camp.
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The prospects tournament over the last week in Traverse City was a lot rougher than the Minnesota Wild thought it’d be. The prospects of the Wild have been touted as one of the best group of prospects the team has seen in franchise history, but in Traverse City that prospect group seemed to be knocked down a rung as they could only amass a 1-3 record.
On the surface the record of the prospect team in the tournament might seem like some cause for alarm, but in the end the record is not really what you need to be focused on. The focus in player evaluation tournaments or camps needs to be squarely on the players and their performances. When looking at Traverse City that way, you can see where the Wild should actually be pleased and hopeful with a few players’ performances.
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In the four games the Wild prospects played, forwards Alex Tuch and Christoph Bertschy seemed to shine above the rest as they both push to make the big club in Minnesota out of training camp. Both players scored pivotal goals in yesterday’s tournament finale win against the Blackhawks to give the Wild their only win of the tournament. Additionally both players finished tied for the team lead in goals for the tourney with two apiece.
Tuch has talked a lot this offseason about making the Minnesota roster, explaining at multiple junctures that he’s going to do whatever it takes to make the NHL roster. His performances in Wild Prospect Camp and in Traverse City have backed that talk up. In both venues he’s been a clear leader who is not only putting points on the board, but leading his team. And if all that wasn’t enough he actually got into a fight during the second game against the Hurricanes sticking up for a teammate after a cheap shot.
By doing well in Traverse City Tuch enters the Wild training camp on Friday with a strong chance to make the team. He’s already demonstrated he can dominate the prospect level competition, so his next step is to perform at high level in camp and preseason games. Right now though he looks like he can do it and I’m predicting he can break camp with the Wild.
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Bertschy is another player I think could make this Minnesota roster out of camp. The young Swiss forward has a ton of potential as he’s already played three NHL games, and 72 games in the AHL last year. He’s got a strong two-way game and really reminds me of the Wild’s other Swiss superstar Nino Niederreiter in how he can score and use his size.
He racked up 35 points in his first AHL season, so it stands to reason he’d be successful in Traverse City. Still the fact that he performed that well says a lot. Like Tuch he’ll be a good position heading into camp, and it just seems like he’s got all the tools to make the team.
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So as Wild training camp starts they’ll be a few more young faces trying to make the NHL squad, but coming out of Traverse the two leaders in that race are Tuch and Bertschy. I really think the Wild are looking to give at least two young players a spot on this team, and these are ones I think can do it. Stay tuned to camp and preseason games to see if they can compete, my guess is they will.