There is perhaps no other player on the Minnesota Wild roster as polarizing to the fanbase as Matt Dumba. As we continue to trek closer to the preseason puck drop, let’s look at #24.
Mathew Dumba’s history with the Minnesota Wild is not long, but it is complicated. A former first round draft pick, 7th overall on 2012, he has been the subject of much criticism over his short career yet it appears he continues to hold favor among the coaches within the Minnesota locker room. This resulted in him re-signing with Minnesota on a new 5 year deal during the summer.
History
Dumba officially entered the NHL ranks in 2013-14, where he started the season with the Minnesota Wild and impressed in a limited debut over 13 games. Dumba finished with 2 points in 13 games before he was loaned to Team Canada for the 2014 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
Canada finished in 4th place, missing out on a medal with a loss to Russia in the bronze medal game. Upon the completion of the World Juniors tournament, Dumba was reassigned to the Juniors in the CHL and finished out the season there.
The following season, Dumba was able to start the season with Minnesota again but this time he underwhelmed over the first 2 months of the season. He had only 4 points over 20 games, and a -4 rating, when he was sent down to Iowa of the AHL.
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Dumba would excel in the AHL, scoring 14 points in 20 games over a 2 month span, with a +2 rating that earned him a spot in the AHL All-Star Game. Dumba would record 2 assists in the All Star Game, and never play another AHL game in his career as he got called up immediately following All-Star weekend and would never look back.
In the years that followed, Dumba has been improving as a player year by year including setting career bests during the 2017-18 season. He recorded a stellar 50 points on the year, playing in all 82 games and finishing with a +15.
In his career so far, Dumba has 128 Points in 310 games played and a +39 rating over the better part of 4 seasons in the NHL. His only missed time due to injury was an ankle injury at the beginning of 2017, that cost him a couple preseason games.
Season Preview
This season should finally be the year that Dumba establishes himself among the league’s best at the defensive position. Playing in 25+ minutes per game and in a #1 Defense role through the 2018 NHL playoffs during Ryan Suter‘s injury allowed Dumba the opportunity to prove he’s capable of the role.
Along with Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin, Dumba is another member of this defensive lineup capable of being on the top pairing with Suter. All 3 of these names have paired with Suter in the past, and we can expect the 4 of them to share the role equally.
The Minnesota Wild are in an envious position among the NHL as they have 4 defensemen capable of being top pairing filling out their top 2 pairings. This season, I fully expect Dumba to surpass Spurgeon on the depth chart and take his place beside Suter on the “top” pairing.
Scoring 50 points as a defenseman, before his 24th birthday, is quite the accomplishment in the NHL. It gives me flashbacks to another former Wild defenseman who is now a perennial league leader at the position, Brent Burns anyone?
Dumba clearly has a long way to go to get to Burns’ level, but he also has a lot of years ahead of him. His defensive game has been the subject of plenty of fan criticism over his short career, but has been steadily increasing as he matures.
Dumba has consistently seen an increase in ice-time per game, as well as an increase in the number of defensive zone starts throughout his career. Last season, Dumba received more defensive zone starts than offense for the first time in his career, and his average time on ice per game increased by 3 minutes per game for the second consecutive season.
With more ice time and more defensive responsibility, Dumba’s turnovers have not increased accordingly. This is a clear suggestion that his defensive game is improving, in an 82 game season he averages 1 turnover per 2 games. I’m comfortable with giving a man that can score 50 points in a season the freedom to have those numbers.
In 2018-19, I am confident that a newly re-signed and focused Matt Dumba can make waves in the NHL. Another 40-50 point season is not unreasonable, he should expect even more increase to his average ice-time, and a likely promotion to the top line sooner than later.
A 24 year old former first round pick, with offensive gifts rarely seen at the defensive position and an increasing defensive skillset offer a well-rounded player who can be around for a long time. The time to protect Dumba from himself is over. This season I want to see coach Boudreau give him more responsibility and lean on the kid a lot more, because I believe he can handle it now.