MD9 139 Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 Wild Scorers Struggle: How Will It Affect Draft Stock? Carlo Capitulo being turned away yet again. Saskatoon is thanking their lucky stars that they signed Gabriel McAllister. With one series down, the Wild now face the league’s top regular season performer in the Las Vegas Aces – but the players that carried them through the season have been strangely quiet. While McAllister has been excellent with 12 points in the Wild’s 6 games, alongside Bo Boeser who has scored an impressive 8 goals and 3 assists in as many games, that’s unfortunately it as far as ‘impressive’ offensive performances go. Daring Do has notched 2 goals, but only 1 assist, while Capitulo – who led rookies in goals scored in the regular season – has been left entirely off of the scoresheet. Jake Scheel has only 2 assists after being one of the Wild’s top performers by the end of the season, and while the team’s defensive play has been solid across the board, none of the team’s top defensemen have contributed at a pace enough to make up for the lack of scoring by most of the forwards. The Wild will need to find their own answers to this problem, whether it means a few hard practices, a shake-up of the lines, or simply to continue relying on McAllister and Boeser. For the Wild’s rookies, however, some questions loom over the upcoming draft. With Scheel, Do, Capitulo, Clarke and Hamilton all entered in the draft, a poor post-season performance could in fact have career ramifications. Scheel and Do both came in late in the season, missing out on valuable opportunities to impress scouts and coaching staff alike at training camp, and so needed all the opportunities they could get in order to prove themselves as potential SHL-level players. While their performances during the regular season were extremely solid, this most recent slump puts a significant damper on their season story. Both players have started to show glimmers of improvement as they adjust to playoff hockey, with Scheel recording two points in a row and Do managing to notch a crucial game tying goal—but a slump at this part of the season begs scouts to question whether or not they’re really able to play under pressure. Capitulo is also slumping at exactly the wrong time. Having seen his own draft stock plummet despite his scoring prowess throughout the season, critics that claim he lacks the work ethic to succeed at the highest level will simply take his poor early playoff showing as proof of that. The easy passes aren’t coming, so he isn’t notching any points. Out of all the Wild rookies in mid-playoff struggles, Hamilton is perhaps the one whose struggles are the most forgivable. As a defenseman, he isn’t exactly expected to carry the offense, and so his good defensive play is enough to make up for any issues he’s had playing the point on the offense. However, with scorers such as Do and Capitulo slumping, and the team’s playmaker in Scheel not connecting his usual feeds, this may be a key moment for Hamilton to step up and show off his often-unseen offensive chops. The series against Las Vegas also offers an opportunity for the stalling forwards: a big series against the strongest team in the league could easily lead scouts to forgive and forget their poor first round. It's all a matter of speculation for now -- but one thing is certain. If this frosty period continues, Scheel and Do might well be looking down the barrel of a free-fall as the draft approaches. Higgins 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowboyinAmerica 2,735 Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 Yeah I don't get the lack of production, other than maybe Oslo has at least decent defensemen? Might be worth a lines shakeup if we drop Game 2 too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluObieZ 1,125 Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 1 hour ago, CowboyinAmerica said: Yeah I don't get the lack of production, other than maybe Oslo has at least decent defensemen? Might be worth a lines shakeup if we drop Game 2 too. If you drop game 2? Boy you crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgins 3,618 Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 Wild gonna win at least 1 game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gudnason 607 Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 3 minutes ago, Higgins said: Wild gonna win at least 1 game S55 season opener? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowboyinAmerica 2,735 Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 8 hours ago, BobertZ said: If you drop game 2? Boy you crazy 7 hours ago, punkhippie said: S55 season opener? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluObieZ 1,125 Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 (edited) 9 hours ago, Higgins said: Wild gonna win at least 1 game Seems like you know something Edited May 23, 2017 by BobertZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.ed69a7260a477fcf4feead7a0e4b7506.png)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now