I was wondering what you guys think the lineups will be like this season (if there is one)
does Dany see time on the top line?
Granlund 2nd line centre?

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Year 4 of 10 year Keeper
10 team league
G-3 A-2 P-1 PPP-1 SHG-2 GWG-2 PM-0.5
W-4 GA- -1 S- 0.2 SHO- 4

I've heard that Granlund can play the wing but if I had to guess I see this.

RW - C - LW
Heatly - Koivu - Parise
Setoguchi - Granlund - Bouchard

When Bouchard gets injured, look for them to give Coyle a look.

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ESPN - 12 Team H2H Keeper League, 25 Players - 13 Keepers
(G, A, +/-, PIM, PPP, SOG, GWG, W, GAA, SV%)
Keepers
C: Tavares, Benn, Stepan
LW: Galchenyuk, Parenteau, Ryan.
RW: Brunner, Conacher.
D: Pietrangelo, Subban, Schultz.
G: Price, Dubnyk.

ESPN - 12 Team H2H Keeper League, 24 Players - 10 Keepers
(G, A, +/-, PIM, PPP, SOG, PTS, W, GAA, SV%)
Keepers
C: Duchene, B. Richards
LW: Skinner, Ovechkin,
RW: Ryan, Eriksson
D: Subban, Shattenkirk,
G:Halak, Quick

Rotoworld:

Johan Larsson - W - Wild
Johan Larsson is showing some two-way skills early in training camp with other rookies of the Minnesota Wild.
Larsson will get some seasoning with Houston of the AHL and should develop as a hard-working, two-way player with the Minnesota Wild. Larsson captained the Swedish team to the World Junior Championship last season.
Source: Michael Russo on Twitter Sep 30 - 11:47 AM

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" You said you don't give a f*ck about hockey. I've never heard anyone say that before."

Rotoworld:

Nick Palmieri - W - Wild
The expectation is that Nick Palmieri will sign an AHL deal soon in order to play for the Houston Aeros.
Palmieri is a restricted free agent by NHL standards, but he's unable to sign an NHL contract due to the ongoing labor dispute. The contract is expected to be signed in the next couple of days so that the winger can join the Aeros at the start of training camp this week.
Source: Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune Sep 30 - 10:50 AM

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" You said you don't give a f*ck about hockey. I've never heard anyone say that before."

Rotoworld:

Mikael Granlund - W - Wild
Minnesota Wild top prospect Mikael Granlund is on the training camp roster of the AHL's Houston Aeros.
As expected, Granlund is preparing to play the season in the AHL, his first in North America, even if there is no NHL action. Granlund is one of the absolute top prospects in the game and getting his feet wet int he AHL to acclimate himself to the North American style of play probably isn't a bad idea. He should be a target in a ll keeper leagues.
Source: Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune Sep 30 - 9:39 AM




Tyler Graovac - C - Wild
Tyler Graovac had a hat trick in the Ottawa 67's 8-1 victory over the Erie Otters.
Graovac has four goals in four OHL games this season. He was taken by the Minnesota Wild in the seventh round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
Sep 29 - 6:00 PM

__________________

" You said you don't give a f*ck about hockey. I've never heard anyone say that before."

Rotoworld:

Mikael Granlund - W - Wild
Mikael Granlund has been very impressive thus far in Houston Aeros scrimmages.
Granlund is a highly regarded prospect who was expected to crack the Wild's lineup this season, that is until the lockout. He looked great centering two other highly regarded prospects, Jason Zucker and Charlie Coyle. Grab Granlund in all keeper leagues as his offensive skills are outstanding.
Source: Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune Oct 1 - 8:29 AM

__________________

" You said you don't give a f*ck about hockey. I've never heard anyone say that before."

Rotoworld:

Jason Zucker - C - Wild
Jason Zucker has been an early bright spot at Houston Aeros scrimmages.
Zucker played six games for the Minnesota Wild last season after leaving the University of Denver and garnered a couple of assists. He scored the only two goals during scrimmage on Saturday and generally impressed. "I feel good out there," Zucker said. "I prepared a lot over the summer. Obviously, I prepared to play for the Minnesota Wild, but so did everyone else in that dressing room." Zucker is a speedy forward who can score. He is worth a late round flier in deeper keeper pools but could still be a couple of years away from being a top six forward in the NHL.
Source: The Pioneer Press Oct 1 - 9:27 AM



Great to see the young studs have some early chemistry! (Granlund, Coyle, Zucker)

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" You said you don't give a f*ck about hockey. I've never heard anyone say that before."

Zucker's been pretty stellar in his first season in the AHL going more than PPG so far and only trailing Granlund in that department. He's potted 9 goals and 15 pts in 14 games placing him second in team scoring. He's also shot a whopping 45 shots on goal! For the most part he's done this without the help of Granlund who's been sidelined for about half the time. Just some updates~

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Started thinking about the Wild lineup again for some reason (probably has to do with me not wanting to write my thesis).

Over the next couple of seasons, 12-13 and 13-14, there will probably be a decent amount of experimentation going on and not all of their prospects will be quite ready. So I wanted to look further ahead to the 14-15 season and see what others think could be the future top six of the Wild.

Questions that I have been thinking about are:

Which players on the current roster will still be here?

Which prospects will be ready?

Which players will fit the role of center better?

Which will most likely have the best chemistry together?

Some background info. on applicable player contract statuses:

Koivu and Parise are signed long-term.

Cullen and PMB are UFAs after the 12-13 season.

Seto and Heately are UFAs after the 13-14 season.

Prospects are obviously RFA controlled.

I would definitely begin with saying Cullen will not be re-signed, and even if he was he wouldn't be playing in a top six role. PMB re-signing is really an uncertainty but I would lean to him becoming a FA. I could see Heatley and Seto both returning and I can see them both leaving, for some reason I feel Seto would be more inclined to test FA, but it really depends on how things play out over the next couple of seasons.

Granlund will definitely be in the top six somewhere. I would like to think after a couple seasons in the AHL that Coyle would be ready (probably after one season even in the AHL) and that Zucker could be possibly ready. Phillips would be a huge question mark and I am not sure if there is even room for him.

The major issues I see in this process are:

1. Will both Seto and Heatley re-sign, leave via FA (or trade I guess), or one stays and one goes?

2. Will Zucker develop into NHL top-six material?

I am going to go with Heatley re-signs and Seto leaves via FA and Zucker makes it into the top six. Now where do they lineup? Could be a few different options. Coyle or Granlund could end up playing center or wing is one factor. Another of course is chemistry.

So you have:

Parise - Koivu - Heatley
Zucker - Granlund - Coyle

OR

Parise - Koivu - Granlund
Zucker - Coyle - Heatley

OR

Parise - Koivu - Zucker
Heatley - Granlund - Coyle

I lean towards Granlund sticking it out at center and Coyle continuing to be groomed as a RW.

I also like the idea of having Zucker on the top line because I think his speed would match well with Parise and they would be better off the rush compared to having Heatley there. I also think the slower second line would compliment each others skill sets nicely as well.

Interested in hearing others thoughts on what could be the Wild's future top six in 14-15.

Edit: If Heatley leaves or Zucker isn't ready I would think that a FA signing would be in the plans.

Just a few thoughts...

I don't think Dany Heatley is a viable long-term option as a top-line player. He's evolving into a guy who is dangerous on the power play, less so at even strength. He would definitely benefit from being employed against lesser competition. I'd be surprised if Minnesota tries to retain him for the long term. I could see a Stanley Cup contender adding him (via trade) to help bolster their power play. I'd like to see Granlund stick at center. That seems like the best fit for him, in my opinion. He handles the puck so well.