
Mason Shaw
Mason Shaw was a 4th round pick of the Minnesota Wild in 2017. He was coming off a 94 point season in the WHL, and looked like a solid pick that late in his draft year.
Sadly, an ACL tear in the Traverse City prospects tournament last year cost Shaw an entire year of hockey before making his return at this year’s Traverse City tournament. Like Kunin, Shaw appears to be playing better since recovering from the injury.
He has 9 points through 11 games to start the season, and is playing well beyond his rookie status. At a +3 with only a 12% shooting% he has plenty of room to grow, but growing from this starting point would mean he has an extremely high ceiling.
Should the Minnesota Wild need to call up a winger, Kyle Rau and Matt Read may get the call ahead of Shaw. Not necessarily because they are playing to deserve it, but more because they’ve had more experience.
If we are basing the call-up purely based on performance and deserving it, then Shaw is playing better than everyone else on the team right now. He would be my first call to give him a taste of the NHL, and a chance to showcase if he could translate his AHL success to the Minnesota Wild.
The Minnesota Wild could use a star player to carry their offense, besides Zach Parise. Why not take advantage of the skill of a player like Mason Shaw, who has shown a knack for scoring in Iowa.
In the search for the future stars of the Minnesota Wild, a late round pick performing like a star should be given a fair shot to become that player.
Guys like Nino Niederreiter and Charlie Coyle have intermittently been that guy, but neither is extremely consistent in their scoring. Should one of those guys find his way out of town, Mason Shaw could be the solution to fill the scoring role on the Wild.
It seems farfetched to think, with guys like Justin Kloos and Cal O’Reilly playing at a high level, that a rookie like Mason Shaw could be the one to deserve the call-up, but I think the team should strike while he’s hot. Give him a chance to translate his success to the NHL before he cools off.
Joel Eriksson Ek could use some time back in Iowa to rediscover his offensive spark. Perhaps Mason Shaw is the guy to fill his spot in Minnesota, and an opportunity to provide a youthful spark to players like Coyle and Jordan Greenway.
This is purely speculative. Let me know if you agree with these picks, or if you would rather the Minnesota Wild call someone else up should the need arise.