With the injury to Jonas Brodin, Mike Reilly has been given a chance to log a lot of NHL minutes in relief and further show his maturation toward being an everyday NHL defender. The initial results look promising and if the youngster can keep it up he might find his spot with the big club will come sooner than many originally thought.
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Mike Reilly is no stranger to Minnesota Hockey. A Chanhassen native and product of the Academy of Holy Angels as well as the hockey powerhouse Shattuck-St. Mary’s, Reilly is also one of the best players to be produced by the University of Minnesota in recent memory. And now he represents a bright future for the state’s NHL franchise the Minnesota Wild.
Reilly hasn’t spent much time in his home state this season as he’s been down I-35 in Des Moines with the Iowa Wild learning his craft and preparing further for the bright NHL future ahead of him. With the recent injury to Jonas Brodin, a void in the Wild’s defense has been left for Reilly to fill as he returns to his home state for what seems to be a long stint with the big club.
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On the surface this seems like just another call-up. Simply the Wild need another defender to fill in and he was the top prospect in their AHL affiliate. Seems pretty straightforward for both the hockey club and the player.
There might be a little more at stake than just another fill in for Reilly and the Wild. Reilly is now half way through his second season as a professional and his entry level deal is expiring at the end of this season. It’s a pivotal moment where he must show the Wild he can be an everyday NHLer and that he’s can be counted on as the team looks to make possible personnel moves based on if he is ready for that everyday role.
Right now the Wild are stacked to the gills with excellent defensive talent. Some would call their regular top six defensemen one of the best groups in the NHL, so it is certainly going to be hard for Reilly to break into that group. But with the looming expansion draft threatening to take a defender and the idea that a the Wild would use a defensemen to acquire another forward/center for a playoff run, Reilly’s ability to step into the everyday NHL role is a question that will need to be answered soon.
That’s why this stretch up in the NHL for Reilly, which could last into the middle of next month, is so important. He’s essentially on a tryout to see if he can play at a high NHL level and do it consistently, and if he’s not quite there yet will he be soon?
There’s no doubt the talent is there, but the production and hockey sense need to increase for Reilly a bit. Looking at the early results he might not be at the pinnacle of his game, but he might actually be ready for a bigger role in the Wild’s defense.
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In 12 games played this season he has no points, but he’s got a plus minus of +1, a Corsi of 58.3%, and a Fenwick of 56.2%. So, it appears he’s making good decisions with the puck based on his possession numbers and his plus minus would suggest that he’s not being scored on all that much.
That is really what the Wild have been looking for him to do is to be responsible and grow his defensive game. They know his offensive talents and abilities, they’ve just had a question about how good he can be in the defensive game before they hand him an everyday role. Sure the early results are very early, but it looks like he’s on track to assume that role very soon.
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Reilly has about ten more games at least before Brodin comes back from injury to continue to prove himself. Sure he may not play in all of the games between here and there, but he should see action in most of them. The important part for him is to continue to build on the strong start he’s had on this stint and stay consistent with the playing time he’s given. If he does that the Wild will have options at defense sooner rather than later, which could be very important heading into the trade deadline and later the offseason.