After the Minnesota Wild’s recent loss to the St. Louis Blues, they may be on the outside looking in when the postseason rolls around. They haven’t been able to pull it together when they absolutely need to, and it’s costing them. However, while it may sting for some to think of their season ending without a playoff appearance, the future is bright.
The Wild’s rookie class this season has been nothing short of outstanding, and while their season results will likely overshadow their accomplishments, they still deserve recognition. Marco Rossi, Brock Faber, Declan Chisholm, Marat Khusnutdinov, Adam Beckman, Daemon Hunt, Adam Raska, and Sammy Walker are all Wild rookies, but a few have stood out above the rest.
Rossi, Faber, Chisholm, and Khusnutdinov have impressed and, in some cases, have exceeded expectations. The Wild have had their fair share of rookies who’ve failed to meet expectations, but in the past seasons, starting with Kirill Kaprizov, they’ve had a great line of substantial rookies. In this article, we’ll look at each rookie and how they’ve done this season. We’ll start with Rossi.
Wild’s Rossi Finding His Game
When Rossi was brought up last season, he struggled to find his game. He didn’t fit seamlessly into the lineup and couldn’t get his scoring style going, so they sent him back to the Iowa Wild in the American Hockey League (AHL). Sometimes, that is the best option for players when their game doesn’t transition to the NHL, and it worked for him.
He did better after being sent down, and when he was brought back up, he was ready to play NHL-level hockey. He fits into the lineup well and can bounce back and forth between the different line combinations. He’s started to model his style after Joel Eriksson Ek and has become quite the pest in front of the net.
In 73 games, he has 37 points, 20 of which are goals, and 17 assists. The Wild only have four players with 20 or more goals, and Rossi is one of them. He’s not all offensive-minded, either; he’s also got a solid defensive game.
Despite being a pest in front of the net, he’s not big on the physical side. He gets beat up in that position, but he hardly ever retaliates. He’s only registered 29 hits but also stepped up and blocked shots. He’s blocked 33 shots in 73 games, and while it’s not the top number, he’s contributing. The Wild need two-way centers, and he’s not Eriksson Ek yet, but he may become him one day.
Wild’s Faber Calder-Worthy
Now to Faber, the rookie who slowly started to attract attention at the beginning of the season and is now competing with Connor Bedard for the Calder Trophy. Faber’s arrival has somewhat overshadowed Rossi’s rookie season. He first showed a glimpse of his talent during the last postseason when he played in the Wild’s six games and did outstanding. With that showing, he earned a roster spot this season and exceeded everyone’s expectations. He started the season strong and didn’t falter even when his responsibilities grew.
With injuries to both Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin, Faber was thrust into the top defensive spot and excelled. He started playing 30 minutes or more a game after their injuries, and he thrived at it, with the most minutes he’s played in a game being 33:25. Besides the bump in minutes and his duties on the penalty kill, he was also put on the top power-play unit. All these responsibilities are a lot for a 21-year-old rookie, but he handles them like a 31-year-old veteran.
He’s made some small mistakes expected from a first-year player, but he’s shown the ability to learn from those mistakes. Sometimes, he can even fix it himself before it ends up as a goal against his team. However, he’s not only great on defense but also impressive on offense, with 41 points so far this season, 34 of which are assists.
The Wild got lucky when they traded for him, and while he’s already great, he can be a superstar on defense. Hopefully, they can keep him around for a long time because he’ll be crucial to their defensive core.
Wild’s Chisholm a Welcome Surprise
Shortly after the Wild announced they would be without Spurgeon for the season, they made a move no one saw coming. They claimed Chisholm off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets, and about a month later, he was playing for the Wild. He scored in his first game and has done quite well since. He’s not an offensive force, but besides that goal, he has four assists and stepped up his defensive abilities.
In just 20 games played for the Wild, he’s blocked 29 shots and has 11 hits. It didn’t take long for Chisholm to adjust, and so far, he’s fit into the lineup quite well and has adapted to being paired with different players. He’s been an asset to their defense, and while the Jets didn’t want to give him up, they didn’t have the room for him, and the Wild made the right decision to grab him. His contract is up at the end of this season, and the Wild need to re-sign him.
Wild’s Khusnutdinov Just Starting
The final rookie on this list is Khusnutdinov, who has played the fewest games so far. He just came over from the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and has played in seven games. While he hasn’t scored his first goal yet, he registered his first assist in his third game.
Related: Wild’s Khusnutdinov Could Be the NHL’s Next Great 2-Way Center
He’s more of a defensive-minded center like Rossi and Eriksson Ek, but he hasn’t learned to be a pest around the net yet. However, that skillset has helped his team, and he’s blocked five shots in those seven games and has seven hits. He’s not known as a big scorer, but his ability to win faceoffs is something the Wild really need, apart from his defensive talents. The offense will come but what he’s contributing now is enough as the season nears its end. He has a lot of potential and it’ll be fun to see him progress next season.
Wild’s Future Is Bright
These are just the rookies the Wild have brought up, they have plenty of young prospects just waiting for their shot and the future is extremely bright for the Wild. They’ve been lucky with the four rookies they’ve brought up this season, and that shows how deep their prospect pool is. Granted Chisholm and Faber were not initially a part of that, but they’ve proven the Wild have made good choices outside their own organization.
Hopefully, this is just the start of a long line of talent coming up to the Wild, as they will have to start trending younger and building more around Kaprizov. It’ll be interesting to see who’s brought up next and what next season will look like in terms of young players.