In just a few days, the Minnesota Wild will be back on the ice. At least a group of their prospects will be. The Wild are hosting the 2025 Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase at TRIA Rink at Treasure Island Center. For a group of select fans, it’ll be a chance to watch the first competitive action of the season as the Wild younglings take on prospects from Chicago, and Saint Louis. For at least one Wild prospect it’ll be the first chance to make a big impression on the coaching staff.
Most of the eyes will be on Zeev Buium and Danila Yurov, two rookies that are pencilled in to make the opening night roster for the Wild. It will also be fun to watch the nine invitees to see if there are any diamonds in the rough for future Minnesota signings or over-age draft picks. However, there is one player that could use this mini-tournament to springboard his race to the NHL.
Riley Heidt finished off his junior career last season with another superb season, recording 90 points in 60 games to bring his career total to 370 points (281 goals, 116 assists) in 281 games, all with the Prince George Cougars of the WHL. He absolutely obliterated the Cougars’ record book as he finished with 110 more points than the previous top dog, Koehn Ziemmer.
Following the season he joined the Iowa Wild for their playoff run, but did not appear in a game. Chances are the 5’11”, 179 lb forward spends the season in the AHL to gain his professional footing, but he has a set of skills that could appeal to the Minnesota coaching staff. Despite his short stature, he plays a physical game and isn’t afraid of contact.
He excels on the power play where the open ice enhance his playmaking skills. If the Wild are serious about improving their goal production, having a player like Heidt on the bottom-six could net them a few more goals. That’s something he could offer them as opposed to some of the veteran competition he will be going up against in training camp.
If he is set on making this year’s team, then this weekend’s prospect showcase is where he needs to start showing the coaching staff. It’ll be an even playing field for the former second-round pick as he’ll be lining up against other young players that don’t have much in the way of NHL experience (these showcases usually put a limit on the number of NHL games a player can have appeared in). If he stands out in this crowd, that’ll give him a leg up heading into the Wild’s training camp next week.
Putting up a lot of points in the two games will help his case, but the coaches will also be looking to see how he plays defensively, an aspect of his game that could use some work. He has the skating ability to be a strong backchecker, and the stickwork to be able to break plays up high in the zone, but the work along the boards and in the middle of the ice will be what the coaches focus on.
There is no doubt that it’s a bit of a long shot for him to make the roster this season, especially with the Wild already working one rookie, Yurov, into the offense. Liam Ohgren’s pencilled in spot on the roster could be in play, but that’s really about it as Guerin and head coach John Hynes will likely lean on veterans to fill out the roster early on. As for being the 13th forward on the roster, it’s likely that it would be better for his development to spend that time on the ice in Iowa as opposed to the press box in Minnesota.
Still, unlike in previous eras of hockey, training camps aren’t for players to get back into shape for the season. They arrive at camp ready to go. Instead it’s for the coaching staff to determine the best roster to chase after a Stanley Cup. Heidt can force the coaching staff to add him to the roster if he has a good camp, and that all starts with the prospect showcase.
Fans can watch the Minnesota Wild prospects take on Chicago and St.Louis starting on September 12th. The Wild take on the Blues on Friday the 12th at 7:00 PM, and the Blackhawks on Sunday the 14th. Both games will be streamed on www.wild.com . Season ticket members have the opportunity to attend all of the games, and a limited amount of tickets will be on sale to the general public.