Minnesota Wild: Second Part of 2014 - 2015 Season Rollercoster

Unlike the first part of the season where it was mainly a lot of downs, the second half seemed to be a nice change of pace for the Wild. Giving them a glimpse of happy times a head, even though it may be the upcoming season in October, the start of the 2015-16.

DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUBS! The man who saved the Minnesota Wild's butt goaltending wise! Daven Dubynk, our man. No longer the Wild will find themselves in hot water when it comes to goaltending. With injuries, sickness and whatever else could keep goaltenders out of the crease, we finally have three to juggle! A little bit of the weight have been lifted from Darcy Kuemper's and Niklas Bäckström's shoulders.

 Daven Dubynk in between the pipes for the Minnesota Wild

Ryan Suter's adventure to the NHL's All Star Weekend in Cleavland, Ohio. He was the only Minnesota Wild player to be voted into the 2015 All Star Weekend roster.

Suter also found himself picking up a part-time broadcasting

job, while in Cleavland for the All Star Weekend. He was filming some

VISA advertisements. Here is the challenge one he did too.

The players on the Minnesota Wild team, and also every NHL player has it hard when they are traveling all the time and sometimes if these players are easily trade-able do to contracts and other reasons. This gives them rarely time to spend with their families, loved ones and friends during the seasons. Heck, they could be in different cities or different countries from their families. Sometimes the families cannot be able to get up and move right away, due to the fact some of the kids of these hockey stars are school age kids, who can't be exactly get up rooted and move right away, due to school schedules. Jordyn Leopold wrote a letter to the Minnesota Wild coaching staff asking them to see if they can get her father, Jordan Leopold to get traded back on to the Wild, because Lordyn and other members of her family missed him very much and they wanted him to get returned to Minnesota to be with them again. The Wild coaching staff and the general manager read the letter, and got Jordan Leopold back on the Wild team again. This is not just a player only thing, this can also happen to coaches, general managers and other staff that it takes to help a hockey team run successfully.

Jordyn Leopold's letter to the Minnesota Wild's

coaching staff.

Stanley Cup Playoffs

First round, against  the St. Louis Blues

This was a fun series to watch, due to the fact that the St. Louis Blues and the Minnesota Wild are becoming rivals. It's nice that I got to witness the history of this young rivalry come about. There was an interview during the first round of this series with Mikael Granlund talking about how one of the games in the series did not have any penalties at all. I cannot remember what exactly happened, but if you are more carious about this, here is the overview of the series. Even though it's not heated quite yet, it's getting there. So I am interesting in seeing what this comes out to become in the future.


Second round, against the Chicago Blackhawks

With this series being a four game sweep, unlike other past two years it was a fight (in 2013 and 2014). The Minnesota Wild had to do some soul searching this time to pull out motivation from themselves to hopefully hold on and turn this series into a seven game one, instead of the four game series it turned out to be. I felt like people where looking at head coach Mike Yeo to be the one pulling out the motivation from under the Wild's bench. Yeo, isn't the one who can pull the motivation from under the team's feet or set the fire under their butts, it's them, the individual players themselves to pull the motivation out from under themselves or set that fire under their own butts.

I feel like there that was something not connecting with the Minnesota Wild during this series. I really can't detected it, and I do not want to point fingers anyways. I feel like they where not with it. Sorta playing the victim instead of the underdog that can take over and push the king off the top of his hill. I would not go around again pointing fingers and saying, "Oh, we should fire head coach Mike Yeo..." Really? Again, it's not his fault. It was a rough season for players, coaches and everyone involved with the Minnesota Wild. Yeo got dealt a hand of cards, and dealt with it, the only way he could. He used what he had, and stayed claim while doing so. So, I personally hope Coach Yeo doesn't go anywhere for the time being. Yeo has grown on me, and I hope he does to his doubters too. Yeo is one good guy, who knows what he is doing.

This post-season has been a good one, so far: Daven Dubynk won the Masterton Trophy at the NHL Awards. Once we got around to the the NHL Draft, we got Joel Eriksson Ek and Jordan Greenway as new rookies for next year. Another new rookie that will join these two next year is Mike Riley, of the Minnesota Gophers. Another Minnesota Gopher to join the Wild. Keeping the strong Minnesota hockey tradition alive. The Minnesota Wild officially have three goalies, since they have signed Deven Duybnk! Also the Wild have resigned Mikael Granlund, Nate Prosser, Ryan Carter, Christian Folin and Erik Haula, for the up coming season or seasons to come. Also there is no word on if Jordan Leopold is going to be officially signed with the Minnesota Wild for his last few years as a professional NHL hockey player. Maybe we will be hearing this news by the end of the summer and before the next season starts in October? 

Duybnk with the Masterton Trophy at the NHL Awards

The 2014-15 season was one hell of a season. Even though it ended early than everyone would have liked. It would have been cool to see Zach Parise and Ryan Suter hold up Lord Stanley over their heads after the loses of their fathers. Also everyone else who on the team after their rough season as a whole team. But I think this season taught the whole team to grow as a team, and learn how to deal with hell when it's all around you. I have a feeling that the Minnesota Wild can pull themselves through this dark tunnel into the light they hopefully see at the end of the tunnel. I have a feeling the 2015-16 season will be a better one and a special one. Who knows maybe Zach Parise and Ryan Suter will be holding up Lord Stanley over their heads at the end of the season. I believe that Minnesota Wild can be that good and will be that good. Now, they have to prove that to themselves and us. Let's see what happens when the puck drops on the Minnesota Wild's fifteenth season in the NHL...

Minnesota Wild: The Ups and Downs

It's been quite an interesting experience right now being a Minnesota Wild fan or being one of the Minnesota Wild players themselves. This season has been far from picture perfect. This season for the Minnesota Wild has been quite the rollercoaster.

This rollercoaster had started in September when Ryan Suter's dad had passed away due to a heart attack, during training camp, Ryan's, dad who is Bob Suter who was on the Miracle on Ice team during the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics, so the season had a rough start on Suter who finds himself playing with a heavy heart this season. Ryan Suter is not the only one who finds himself playing with a heavy heart this season. Zach Parise who has been dealing with his father's battle with type five lung cancer for the past year or so. J.P. Parise who lost his battle with the cancer early in this month leaving Zach to play with a heavy heart too.

Not only deaths have been putting a cramp in the Wild's stride, it has been also sickness and the mumps. The mumps have decided to be bouncing around in the NHL this year causing players to miss out during games. The Minnesota Wild happened to be one of them. Having at least five players being effected with it: Jonas Brodlin, Ryan Suter, Marco Scandella, Keith Ballard and Christian Folin. Hopefully the mumps finally gone out of the NHL and no one has to deal with them anymore.

Injuries also have been a big factor to the team going through some really low slumps. Darcy Kuemper, one of the strong goaltenders of the Wild is out with a lower back injury (Kuemper got his minor lower-back injury in practice).

There has been issues with the Wild's goalies since the season started in September. The Wild started out with two goalies due to with one dealing with a foot injury, leading Kuemper and Niklas Backstrom to split their time between the pipes for the Wild so far this season.  Now with Darcy Kuemper being out with a back  injury for awhile and now working back to full strength before he can come back to play up to his potential. So the Wild has been dealing with some defense and also goalie issues lately during the awful slump they found themselves in. So they decided to get a third goalie recently to make this situation turn around.

During this down in the rollercoaster that we now find ourselves in during the season has been stressful on the team and head coach Mike Yeo, rightfully too.  Ryan Suter has been feeling the pull too. Suter ended up elbowing Steve Downie of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the face. It wasn't intentional, Suter is not a rough player. Ryan Suter is not known for rough plays or holding the most penalty minutes for the Minnesota Wild. Suter did not receive a penalty in the game for the elbowing of Downie so it ended up going to NHL court which lead to Ryan Suter getting his first suspension. Suter found himself setting out the last two games of play.

"It’s awful. This whole year has just been terrible in every way possible. With our [Zach Parise's and his] dads, the sicknesses, the way the team is playing, it’s not good right now. The good thing could be that we have a lot of year left to change that. Today was a good practice. We tried to re-set. We’re trying to build traction any way we can. I think that’s all we can do right now." - Ryan Suter reflecting on this season.

There also has been talks about firing Mike Yeo, the head coach. This is one of the many solutions that have been brought up many times in the last month or so during the losing streak by many different fans and sports news personalities throughout the media and the internet.

But things have actually turned around for the Wild as of late, last Thursday the Wild ended up winning against the Buffalo Sabres (7-0) and then Saturday's game against the Arizona Coyotes (3-1). Which is really nice to see!

 

Kyle Brodziak and Erik Haula celebrate during 

the Wild's win against the Buffalo Sabers

In my opinion the Minnesota Wild needs to be what they have been doing, I feel like they are finding their stride again.  I do not believe it is all about firing the head coach, or trading players in and out of the AHL. I am glad that they got an extra goalie, in my opinion it's good to have more than two goalies during the whole season. There are reason why teams are allowed to have three goalies, injuries and other stuff happens to one, you will always have two goalies as back-up.

Ryan Suter has been having a rough season it looks like. He will get through it just fine, when life right now is throwing him lemons it looks like he is making himself lemonade with what he's got. I have a feeling Ryan will fight his way through it, he is a tough guy and he will be fine.

I hope the Minnesota do continue on their winning streak. They probably are out of the play-offs this year. But next season I can see big things happening for them. They had a rough season this year, next year can be their outbreak season and hopefully they can win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history next year. We will just have to wait and see how this all plays out.