With just one week remaining before the 2024-25 NHL season, the Minnesota Wild are wasting no time and getting down to business. The team’s main group is down to 24 skaters, not including Matt Boldy, who is still out with an injury but is expected back at practice later this week.
Looking for Balance Throughout the Lineup
The team is taking a much more balanced approach throughout the lineup by the looks of things. Head coach John Hynes wants to have four solid lines and his approach is for each line to have speed, skill, and size.
The team desperately needs Marcus Johansson to have a bounce-back season, so he’s been gift-wrapped a spot on the second line. A bit of a surprise was sophomore Marco Rossi centering the “checking line.” This might restrict him offensively, as he wants to improve on his 21 goals in his rookie season.
The main roster lines are below. Saturday’s practice lines:
Forwards
Kirill Kaprizov-Ryan Hartman-Mats Zuccarello
Ryan Johansson-Joel Eriksson Ek-Liam Ohgren
Marcus Foligno-Marco Rossi-Yakub Trenin
Jakub Lauko-Marat Khusnutdinov-Frédérick Gaudreau
Ben Jones
Defensemen
Jonas Brodin-Brock Faber
Jacob Middleton-Jared Spurgeon
Declan Chisholm-Zach Bogosian
Jon Merrill-Daemon Hunt
Goaltenders
Filip Gustavsson/Marc-Andre Fleury/Jesper Wallstedt
Jones the Surprise of Camp
Every couple of years, a new player comes out of nowhere and becomes the surprise of training camp. For Minnesota, that player without question is Ben Jones. The center from Waterloo, Ontario, is a five-year veteran of the American Hockey League (AHL). He had a cup of coffee (two games) with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2021-22. Jones, who has appeared in all four preseason games, has two goals, but just as notably stood up for Devon Shore versus the Dallas Stars after taking a thunderous hit from former Wild Matt Dumba. The most impressive thing is he hasn’t looked out of place in each of his games.
Who Wins the Last 2 Roster Spots?
When training camp ends the Wild will have a 23-man roster. How will the final two-to-three roster spots be handed out? Does general manager Bill Guerin want Ohgren, Hunt, and Wallstedt not playing most nights as a healthy scratches, or would he rather them get top minutes in the AHL? It would be a surprise if the roster breakdown doesn’t have 13 forwards, seven defensemen, and three goaltenders to start the season.
Boldy will be the second-line right winger beside Eriksson Ek and Johansson. The question then becomes who the 13th forward will be. Ohgen has played well in training camp him not playing every night won’t help his development. The Swede is entering his first pro season in North America and needs to play as much as possible. Jones requires waivers, but the Wild won’t lose much sleep on that, as he’s unlikely to be claimed.
The bigger question is on the back end. Jon Merrill hasn’t looked great in training camp and hasn’t played with the main group of players. At this point in his career, Merrill is a seventh defenseman. Would they lose him on waivers? Possibly, but he makes almost $400,000 more per year than Daemon Hunt.
Hunt has looked good during training camp and wants to prove he can become a full-time NHL defenseman. This time of the season, who does and doesn’t require waivers factors into a lot of decisions made. This decision could come down to the last minute, whichever way they lean.
Three-Headed Monster in Net?
In goal, it looks obvious they’ll keep three goalies for the time being. The team is splitting up all six games, eventually giving each goalie two starts. The net early in the season will be Gustavsson’s for sure. But if he struggles early, they have two other options to lean upon. Wallstedt can be sent down to the AHL anytime during the season, so if Gustavsson is on his game early, they wouldn’t require all three netminders. The uncomfortable decision later in the season might become whether Wallstedt deserves the legendary Fleury’s spot if Fleury struggles? If the Wild want to become contenders again, that decision might be difficult and complicated to make.
Overall, the Wild have a very balanced lineup. Staying healthy and the strong goaltending will be the key to them getting back to the playoffs.
