Claimed: Wild: Pluses and Minuses [1/2]

[MD9 139]

Saskatoon Wild: Pluses and Minuses

The Wild salute their fans in their last home game.

 

Having been defeated by the Las Vegas Aces in the finals, the Saskatoon Wild entered the draft with the possibility of losing a number of their top stars -- the mid-season acquisitions that formed a large portion of their offense down the stretch of the season. However, with a number of picks in the top three rounds, management was able to both secure the return of many core players, as well as bring in new talent to further bolster the line-up. While the team will see the departure of a key player in Bo Boeser, and its goaltender in Chet Manley, it will enjoy the return of post-season star Gabriel McAllister, two-way center Jake Scheel, flashy winger Daring Do, along with the introduction of sophomores such as hard-shooting defender AJ-CXXXVII, and all-around defender Ay Ay Ron. 

 

On the whole, the Wild have strengthened their defensive corps with the introduction of the two solid sophomore players mentioned, and should have been able to at least make up for the loss of Bo Boeser on offense through the continued development of their returning players. That being said, the Wild aren't without weaknesses - something that management will likely seek to cover off on either prior to the start of the season, or during the season through a waiver pick-up. With that said, here are a look at two 'pluses' and two 'minuses' for the Wild this season.

 

+ Forwards

 

With his dominant late-season and post-season performance, Gabriel McAllister has shown himself more than ready to take over the reins as the Wild's top offensive player from the departing Boeser. A brilliant goalscorer, McAllister will be supported by the playmaking of center Jake Scheel, and the constant threat of Daring Do on the other wing. With two dangerous scorers to choose from, the Wild's first line has all the makings of being one of the most dangerous in the league this season. In addition, while the second line isn't quite as developed as the first, players such as Shirou, McManahan and Murphy provide additional depth to the team, ensuring that it does not become a one-line team. Lead rookie in goal-scoring Carlo Capitulo is returning to the team as well, and VHL teams will watch eagerly to see if he can rekindle his development and prove himself as a potential professional player in the future.

 

+ Top Defensive Line

 

If defense was a weakness for the Wild last season, the acquisition of AJ-CXXXVII and Ay Ay Ron should help to ensure that the same won't be said so readily this season. With one defender possessing a booming shot, and the other adding solid, all around play, the Wild have an ideal top defensive pairing. AJ can help run a power-play with his shot from the blue-line, while Ron can add some play-making and defense, while also adding a pretty respectable shot of his own. As a whole, the tandem should be able to mesh well with the forward corps to both make up for any turnovers they commit in flashy offensive plays, and contribute to those offensive plays on their own.

 

- Goaltending

 

The loss of Chet Manley is going to be a big blow to the Wild. Although a new goaltender picked up before the season, or after the beginning of the season, could certainly go a long way in filling in for the absence of Manley -- it's still an unknown quantity. Manley may not have had much of a shot at the VHL after his development stalled, but his performance in pressure situations was incredible. There were multiple games when Manley effectively stole the Wild a win, even in the playoffs. Without that presence, the Wild's skaters will need to be all the more responsible with the puck. That could even prove to be a limiter on their offense, as they play a more reserved style to protect the net and prevent breakaways.

 

- Defensive Depth

 

Although Martinov and Hamilton are solid players in their own right, one of the Wild's biggest problems may be their defensive depth. With no clear starting goaltender, the defensive team will need to be absolutely dead-on in terms of their play. Unless they're able to pick up solid no. 5 and no. 6 defencemen, or Martinov and Hamilton put in a ton of work in training camp to allow the team to effectively play four defencemen -- and still have said defencemen remain on the ball -- the team will likely struggle in mid to late-game situations when the defense is taxed, and they lack players to relieve them.

 

Conclusion

 

There's a lot to like about this year's Wild squad, but there are also a couple of major weaknesses that must be taken into account. Overall, it's difficult to project how the team will perform. It's biggest struggle will be defensively, so in large part the team will need to rely on a superb offensive performance from its top six, as well as from its defencemen. If the team is able to acquire a solid goaltender before it's too late into the season, many of their concerns will be alleviated -- so for fans of the Wild, the story is very much 'wait and see'. At least their problems are such that can be solved with one or two moves: they're a very good team with a couple holes, rather than a poor team with a couple stars.

 

[Gudnason 607]

I really love reading your articles @MD9! Keep it up!

 

Oh looks like that rookie goalscorer got released by your GM.

 

[Corco 1,266]

11 minutes ago, punkhippie said:

I really love reading your articles @MD9! Keep it up!

 

Oh looks like that rookie goalscorer got released by your GM.

 

he was dancing far too much in warm-ups

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

Review

Nice recap of what moves the Wild made this season. Very informative and well written. Nice picture use but could use a little more color but that is just me nit picking  Keep it up, nice to see a new member like yourself get so into the VHL like this week after week.