Minnesota Wild: Training Camp Cuts Begin

Two players that have impressed in the pre-season for the Minnesota Wild found themselves sent down to the minor-league affiliate in Iowa today, likely due to their waiver-exempt status.

Per the NHL official website, Carson Soucy and Justin Kloos found themselves leaving the Minnesota Wild training camp ahead of pending further cuts as they close in on a finalised 23-man roster.

"The team assigned forwards Sam Anas and Justin Kloos and defenseman Carson Soucy to the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League (AHL). The Wild also assigned forward Alexander Khovanov to Moncton (QMJHL) – (NHL.com)"

This comes as a bit of a disappointment given the impressive performance, especially from Justin Kloos when given the ice-time in these exhibition games.

However, it is the nature of the NHL; only the best rise to the top and with that gain a status that would require waivers to send them down to the Iowa Wild.

Both Kloos and Carson Soucy have yet to reach that level. They’re both, in my books, the tier below. Ready to step up when called upon, but not quite there in terms of full-time cracking the Minnesota Wild line-up.

In 3 pre-season outings, Justin Kloos made quite the nuisance of himself, mustering 13 shots on net and generally looking strong at both ends of the ice. He looked particularly good when paired with Joel Eriksson Ek and Charlie Coyle.

Carson Soucy, meanwhile had 4 appearances, paired most often with Nate Prosser and Jared Spurgeon. He too showed he was no pushover, but ultimately is pushed out by the defensive depth on the Minnesota Wild roster.

As frustrating as I find it to see these two playing with the Iowa Wild again, I wouldn’t have been best pleased if the Minnesota Wild made a move like waiving Matt Read or Matt Hendricks; both veteran players they’ve brought in that deserve a slight level of respect.

We don’t want the team to be viewed like the Ottawa Senators, who waived one of their assistant captains this week. Not exactly a move that makes you friends in the locker-room, if you’re the General Manager.

These cuts will no doubt not be the last, though it’ll really start getting interesting when players are sent down that need to clear waivers.

Statistics courtesy of Dobber Sports.