Minnesota Wild: A look at the franchise’s goalie depth

Minnesota Wild goalie Cam Talbot started all seven games in a first-round series against Vegas this year. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
Minnesota Wild goalie Cam Talbot started all seven games in a first-round series against Vegas this year. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
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Often referred to as the last line of defense, the goalie  is just about as imp a leader as  the quarterback is in football. Given that, here is  a dive in the Minnesota Wild’s depth at the position  with a look at each goalie in the system as well as thoughts towards the future.

Cam Talbot

Cam Talobt was signed by the Minnesota Wild and established himself as the No. 1 goalie as he led the team in starts and wins this year. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
Cam Talobt was signed by the Minnesota Wild and established himself as the No. 1 goalie as he led the team in starts and wins this year. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) /

Billy Guerin stated on the eve of last year’s free-agency period that the top priority for him and his staff was  a goalie and that resulted in  the signing of Cam Talbot. The veteran agreed to a  3-year, $11 million dollar deal.

In itself, it provided the Wild with not only stability in the goal but also bought them time with developing goalies in the system such as Kaapo Kahkonen, Hunter Jones and Dereck Baribeau.

Talbot started the season as the Wild’s No. 1 netminder,  and boy,  did he own the crease in Minnesota. Posting 19 wins and only eight regulation losses in 33 games , Talbot was tied for 11th in the entire league for wins.

All in all, it was a solid first season for Talbot in Minnesota — a great sign of stability and calmness in the crease moving forward.

Kaapo Kähkönen.

Kaapo Kahkonen finished the season with 16 wins for the Minnesota Wild in his rookie season with the franchise. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
Kaapo Kahkonen finished the season with 16 wins for the Minnesota Wild in his rookie season with the franchise. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

The former fourth-round pick of the Wild in 2014 blossomed into Minnesota this season and started to see real game time after the departure of goalie Alex Stalock.

It may have been a look into the future for the Wild and their fans as Kahkonen had an impressive streak of hockey as he tied for fifth in the longest win streak for a rookie goalie.  Kahkonen went 9-0 over the course of starts between February and March.

His 16 wins are most by a Wild rookie goaltender in their history.

As for Kahkonen’s other numbers, he only had eight regulation losses during this season — same as Talbot — and posted two shutouts as well.

His performance was enough to kick him into the Calder trophy conversation at points during the season, an honor that teammate, Kirill Kaprizov , was named one of three finalists for.

Hunter Jones.

Hunter Jones was selected 59th overall by the Minnesota Wild during the 2019 NHL Draft at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Light/Getty Images)
Hunter Jones was selected 59th overall by the Minnesota Wild during the 2019 NHL Draft at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Light/Getty Images) /

Picked up in the second round of the 2019 draft, Jones posted average numbers in his first year in the OHL with the Peterborough Petes. He  had a  save percentage of .913 and  a goals against average of 2.75 in his final season in the OHL.

Last season, Jones spent his first professional season with the Iowa Wild posting a 3.50 goals against average and a .886 in save percentage which ranked him 40th in the entire AHL for goaltenders.

It’s not too early to throw the towel in on Jones as he will look to bounce back next season whether that be with Iowa or perhaps getting some developmental time with Minnesota’s new ECHL affiliate, the Iowa Heartlanders.

Dereck Baribeau.

Minnesota Wild goaltender Dereck Baribeau warms up before the game Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center. ( Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports)
Minnesota Wild goaltender Dereck Baribeau warms up before the game Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center. ( Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports) /

Signed as an undrafted free-agent in 2017, Baribeau spent four years on three different teams in the QMJHL with his best season being the 2017-2018 season with the Quebec Remparts. He postied a 2.90 goals against average and .896 save percentage with a  22-11-5 record in 42 games.

Baribeau also  has played parts of two seasons with the Iowa Wild and Allen Americans with his best chunk of time being with the latter. He  posted a 2.74 goals against average and .914 save percentage in 15 games during the 2019-2020 season.

Additionally, he has spent time this season on the Wilds’ taxi squad including serving in a back-up role but did not see any NHL time.

Besides Dereck Baribeau and Hunter Jones seeing time with Iowa, there were other goaltenders that were signed to amateur try-out agreements due to Baribeau being loaned to Minnesota’s taxi squad. They weren’t on NHL deals, they still got good looks in the AHL.

Joel Rumpel was signed to a PTO before the beginning of the AHL season. Only playing five games with Iowa, the former Wisconsin Badger posted a 3.68 GAA and .878 SV%.

Trevin Kozlowski: Back in early May, Kozlowski was signed to an ATO and appeared in one game with Iowa posting a GAA of 3.04 and .864 SV% ,He also  has signed a one-year deal with the Iowa Wild for the 2021-2022 season.

Robbie Beydoun:  Just like Kozlowski, Beydoun suited up and played one game for Iowa this season. After starting his professional career with the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL, Beydoun took it by storm going 7-3-0 in his first 10 games.  He was then loaned to Iowa for one game where he went on to post a GAA of 2.00 and a SV% of .926.

At the front, it looks like the Wild are sound with goalies, but is it time to add some more depth or  sign free agents?

These will be answered later in July when the bulk end of the off-season commences.

*Any stats & data in this article were found at NHL.com and Eliteprospects.com

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