Minnesota Wild: Most Likely Award Candidates

It’s early days for the Minnesota Wild. The regular NHL season hasn’t even gotten underway yet, but I figured why not predict the most likely candidates for the end-of-season awards, based on expected player improvement and last year’s performances.

It may seem bold to throw predictions out there before we’ve so much as seen a pre-season game involving the Minnesota Wild, but I figure why the heck not?

There’s clear methods to judge what a players’ performance may be like. Have they been a consistent performer across their hockey career?

Are they a youngster that has expectations of blossoming into the next level of player?

Maybe they’re a wily veteran that we’ve seen great performances out of previously and are looking to repeat that in a contract year?

There are endless possibilities as to why a player may take a step up and place themselves in contention for end-of-season awards. And there’s enough variety in the award categories that you can envisage a Minnesota Wild player at least being nominated for most.

Obviously, we don’t have any idea as to how this season pans out. The Wild could flame out and slump into Draft Lottery contention. They could be dominant and somehow usurp the guys at the top of the division. Who knows; that’s the fun of speculating and making these predictions.

Which Minnesota Wild Rookie Is Calder-Worthy?

There’s a few options here; but I think you have to look no further than the obvious candidate – Jordan Greenway.

He has been marked as the Minnesota Wild player most likely to break-out in our site round-table, so much so none of us were allowed to pick him.

Add in the fact that Michael Russo over at The Athletic (subscription required) is reporting that he is getting a shot at centering a line, and his year could have Calder written all over it.

Greenway is a huge player in terms of his size and if he is able to use it to his advantage, he’ll be a true force to be reckoned with. Right now the top six seems all but set, which places him on the third line. That’s the perfect opportunity for the youngster to feast on some likely less well-matched lines.

If he does continue to partner my choice as break-out star, Joel Eriksson-Ek and everyone’s favourite trade candidate, Charlie Coyle; we should prove quite the handful for opposition teams to match up against.

The biggest challenge that Greenway faces is scoring, realistically. The Calder trophy race for the most part ends up being between the high-scoring youngsters; think Auston Matthews and Matthew Barzal as recent examples.

Should Jordan not come tearing out of the gates scoring goals and notching assists, he could find himself straight out of the running.

If however, he can use his size and strength and force his way onto the score-sheet on a regular basis, low and behold, we may have a Minnesota Wild candidate for the Calder Trophy!

Do The Minnesota Wild Have A Hart Candidate?

In short, no. I don’t think there is a bonafide contender for the Hart Memorial Trophy in the Minnesota Wild ranks.

That’s not to be harsh on the roster, but there is no bonafide superstar in the ranks; the team thrives on exactly that – the team.

More from Analysis

• Here we go. Minnesota Wild head into pivotal Game 5 matchup
• Yeah, Game 2 was ugly. How will the Minnesota Wild respond at home?
• Fleury injury just the latest hurdle for the struggling Minnesota Wild so far
• Minnesota Wild to get a test with challenging homestand
• Minnesota Wild: Filip Gustavsson gets his time to shine in net

You can look at the Edmonton Oilers and it’s clear the team runs through Connor McDavid. Look at the Pittsburgh Penguins, granted there’s two the team run through, but Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin deserve to be in that conversation. Where would the Colorado Avalanche have been last season without Nathan MacKinnon?

Point is, all those teams have absolute top tier, pick them in the first round of a fantasy draft superstar players.

The Minnesota Wild don’t have that player. What they do have however is a roster that had fifty or more point producers last season. Fifteen players, all up, produced 20 or more points for the team last year.

They are the epitome of a team; the points production doesn’t need to go through one singular player. They score team points.

Of course, who wouldn’t love to have one of those top-tier players; Artemi Panarin maybe? We even floated the idea that Erik Karlsson could’ve fit into the team salary cap, somehow.

Realistically, it’s not needed when you can rely on everyone out on the ice to contribute some points here and there.

Will Dubnyk Be At Vezina Level This Year For Minnesota Wild?

This is always a big question for Minnesota Wild fans. Will Devan Dubnyk be elite or will he be a middling goaltender that steals one or two games but not much more?

The day he drops off is a day that the team are probably fearing. There are young options in the system, but they’re a little time away from being ready.

Alex Stalock and Andrew Hammond are backing him up, but the likelihod of one of them stealing his job and then performing at a level worthy of the Vezina is unlikely. Not to say it can’t be done; look at Hammond’s original Ottawa Senators break-out run!

Back to Dubnyk though; can he be elite?

Last season, he dropped back to a 0.918 as his save percentage; a drop from his 0.923 year the year prior, and a definite decline from his 2014-15 campaign, where he posted a truly elite 0.936 after being traded from the Arizona Coyotes.

The issue here is that Dubnyk isn’t getting younger; he enters the season as a 32 year old goaltender. He does however have the advantage of a very able defense in front of him.

His challenge may be to self-motivate with limited competition behind him, there’s no additional motivator of this season being a contract year or any of the like.

I’d like to think that season-on-season Dubnyk has a good year and a bad year. Luckily his bad years are represented by a very safe and steady 0.918 save percentage.

Based on the trend of his previous seasons, this should be a good year. Hopefully that means a save percentage upwards of the 92% range, because if he can do that the Minnesota Wild should be flying.

And he should put himself very much into the Vezina conversation.

Do The Minnesota Wild Have One Norris Candidate Or Two?

I’ve spoken before about whether Minnesota Wild defenseman, Matt Dumba has reached a truly elite level.

Then there’s also Ryan Suter – he has put up enough campaigns amounting to fifty or more points that surely he deserves a mention as a Norris Trophy candidate.

Both men offer a lot offensively, but aren’t exactly unreliable on the other side of the puck either.

If Brent Burns has some early season struggles, likewise Victor Hedman and maybe Erik Karlsson takes some time to get going with the San Jose Sharks; maybe, just maybe a Minnesota Wild player can put themselves into the conversation.

However, much like the question mark surrounding whether there’s a Hart Trophy candidate in the team, I think the same applies to the Norris.

This is a team built on being exactly that; a team.

There aren’t necessarily stand-out individuals that will scoop the individual trophy and frankly, I doubt they care too much if there is a shot at a certain Stanley Cup instead.

Realistically, every Minnesota Wild player could win some sort of individual award and none of them would be all that bothered if the team doesn’t win the Cup.

Matt Dumba, I think, can reach a new level this year especially if he ends up on the second pairing and is given some chance at quarter-backing one of the power-play units.

Ryan Suter, I thought could be counted out after his injury last year, but he seems fighting fit and somehow always manages consistently good numbers despite his age and the fact he generally faces the toughest opposition.

If, come the end of the season, any of these players are in individual award consideration – I’d say job well done for the Minnesota Wild!