Minnesota Wild: Gabriel Is Making a Strong Roster Case

Kurtis Gabriel scored one of the Minnesota Wild’s two goals in their 2-1 defeat of the Sabres last night. Normally known as a tough guy, this scoring did go unnoticed even by his head coach Bruce Boudreau which is a good thing for someone trying to make the roster out of training camp.

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Sometimes tough guys score too. Last night for the Minnesota Wild gritty forward Kurtis Gabriel contributed a big goal to open the scoring, which was the game tying goal that ultimately led to the win when Jason Zucker knocked in the game winner with 4.6 seconds to go. Not a bad performance from a guy who has collected 100+ penalty minutes in his two full AHL seasons in Iowa.

It’s been a funny thing to listen all summer as reporters like Michael Russo have hinted that Gabriel has a very good chance to make this squad, after all bruisers seem not to play into a high tempo offense too well. I personally have thought Gabriel’s chances were low considering he’s only got 26 points in two campaigns down in Iowa.

Kurtis Gabriel, who scored tying goal last night, said playoffs changed everything for him going into summer. Legit chance to make #mnwild
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) September 27, 2016

It just seems that looking at players like Bertschy, Dalpe, and even Schroeder that they would fit into the higher paced, higher scoring offense of Bruce Boudreau a little better than Gabriel. But as it turns out Boudreau has been watching Gabriel for a while and actually thinks he’s got a little bit of an underrated scoring touch.

When asked about Gabriel, Boudreau told Michael Russo that “At Braemar, he ended up scoring a lot of goals. He has a pretty good shot. It’s underestimated.” That says a ton considering he’s not making those comments about a lot of the other players in camp right now. The fact that he sees a strong shot in someone who has only scored 15 career AHL goals in 141 games says something.

Nov 27, 2015; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Kurtis Gabriel (63) fights Winnipeg Jets forward Anthony Peluso (14) during the first period at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

But perhaps the biggest complement Boudreau paid Gabriel this morning about last night’s game is saying that “He did a good job. He controlled the puck in the corners. He played a simple game, which is what you want.” If Boudreau is paying that kind of complement, you’ve got to think that he’s on his radar to make the team.

So why not Gabriel? He’s tough and the Wild need a tough player. Looks like according to the coach he’s got some untapped scoring potential, so what’s not to like?

It’s the pace and his ability to sustain the kind of offensive production that is needed to be on this new look Wild. Traditionally Gabriel has not been that kind of player, but who’s to say he can’t be that kind of player?

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My thought is if you give him a chance which is really no issue in the end, because he’s still a player that can be sent down to Iowa without waivers. If you start the season with him up in Minnesota, it would have to be a situation whereby he is still on a week-to-week or game-to-game basis. If gets the pace of play keeps up and contributes in a positive way, great keep him up. If he falters then send him down to get better, and bring up the next contestant who should be a player they already have in mind.

So the big question does Gabriel have a chance to make the Minnesota roster out of camp? Yes, he has a very good chance, right now. He’s playing again tonight at the home debut at the X, so watch to see if he continues to add scoring to his bag of tricks.

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If he continues to be a multi-faceted player then he got a very strong chance to make it. If he goes one dimensional with too much physicality, then it becomes a much harder decision to keep him up. Too early to tell right now if he makes it, but boy is he surprising people…like me for example.