October 9, 2025 • 43 mins
92Noon! Fisher - Talkbacks - Radio Joe
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Paul, that will be falling us back again.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
I just want to say sarst predictions on the Saint
Louis game to Nikos. Wasn't it the last time we
played Saint Louis, Flurry almost had a fight with Bennington.
I feel like we get in Bennington's head a lot
more times than not. I mean, I feel like we'll
do it again tonight, especially with that top line Roland
Young guys, Roland Zee Bulliam Man in that top pp unit.
(00:26):
I think we got them tonight. I'm bowling with five
to two Wild. I want to say five to one,
but they might get a cheezer.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Thanks guys.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Hey, that's Eric from Hastings twenty twenty five. The Wild
finish with one hundred and five points, boldly leads a
team with just over a point a game at eighty three,
nudging out Carrill, who finishes just under a point of
game at eighty, but they're both overshadowed by Maple Grove
(00:54):
Zone brock Faber, who wins the Norris Trophy.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Thank you. That's the beauty of openy night.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
Though everything's on the table, there should be nothing negative
at this point. Certainly the injury situation isn't great. But
other than that, everybody's locked up. The contracts are done.
Bill Garin's got his feed up, and we're getting ready
for the drop of the puck. Game number one of
eighty two coming up tonight from Saint Louis while taking
on the Blues. Pregame at six forty five, puck drop
(01:23):
at seven fourteen on your home for all Things Wild
Hockey FM one hundred point three the fan. Keep those
talkbacks coming, those are fantastic, and we're gonna get a
little open segment here coming up after we talked to
Dave Fisher, But get those talkbacks in. I've already given
away a pair of tickets for Saturday night while taking
on the Columbus Blue Jackets in the home opener, Max
(01:44):
Long enjoy the game. Great seats available not only for Max,
but for anyone out there. Wild dot Com slash tickets
to the phone lines.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
We go.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
We check in with Dave Fisher from USA Hockey. I
assume in Colorado Springs.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Am I right? Dave? Are you in the great state
of Colorado?
Speaker 5 (02:02):
Thank Kevin, I am. I'll be in the Twin Cities
on Monday, but home for now. And Eric from Hastings
got the juice has flown. I love that and brought
back memory they used to live in Hastings back in
the day. So it should be a fun night tonight
for the wild and I love I love hearing the predictions.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
It's awesome, it is. This is the time to do it.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
A week from now, a month from now, it might
not be as glorious and happy and and and and
rainbows and happiness. But right now it's game number one.
And like I said, everything's on the table. The same
thing for USA Hockey. What a year is coming, what
year it's been, and a year that's coming up. We
got the World Juniors coming up. The Olympics are just
right around the corner. This is a good time to
(02:42):
be a fan of international hockey, but especially the Red
Rod and Blue Dave.
Speaker 5 (02:47):
Yeah, Kevin, no doubt. You know. Our country's in as
good to shape as it's ever been in the sport
of hockey between our all our youth programs across the
country and everything that USA Hockey does coaching and officiating,
education in your hockey, obviously to our international team. So
what we do with the mtvp and Plymouth. So it
was a really fun year last year on the international
(03:09):
stage with an unprescedent five gold medals and the World
Championship play at the top levels, and a chance to
follow that up this year really on a bigger stage
with the Olympics and Paralympics, and of course you mentioned
the World Juniors coming to the Twin Cities here at
the end of December and the beginning of January.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
We'll get into all the details of what's coming up
in the future, but rewind just a little bit in
the past and how much fun the Four Nations tournament was.
I think everyone had high hopes for that event, but
holy moly, and I know the Americans fell short, But
if that doesn't wet your appetite, not only for the
World Juniors, but of course the Olympics coming up in February,
(03:46):
man oh Man Dave, I don't know whose idea was,
but it went off with a bang.
Speaker 5 (03:53):
Yeah, the star is certainly a line there, Kevin, didn't
They great hockey on the eye of some of the
geopolitical forces off the ice. That contributed to some of
the visibility too. And to think the championship game in
Boston would get close to ten million viewers on ESPN
and attraction and social media and trending, and you know,
(04:13):
it all starts to the players though, I mean the
great play by our players and gosh, we have just
a dynamite group again at all levels, particularly we're talking
about men's hockey here, particularly on the men's level. Some
with the wild now that we will likely see I'm
not picking the team that'll be up to Bill garn
and his team, but some I'm guessing we'll see on
the Olympic team here coming up in Italy, and just
(04:37):
really a fun time for hockey and a great time
to gain new fans of the game, which we're always
aspiring to do.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
Yeah, I think they did just that with the Four
Nations tournament. I can only speak for my little corner
of the world. I was at one of my kids
hockey tournaments up north. I think we were watching at
one of the zorbas and it's I think that Saturday
night game that you're talking about, and the bar was field,
I mean wall the wall people, every TV, every TV
was on on that hockey game and the USA chance
(05:07):
everyone's you know, just toasting each other and having a
blast watching that hockey game. I just can't imagine and
to think that it's going to ramp up, because that's
what the Olympics are. And it feels like it's been
way too long since we've had that international competition, and
now we get it twice within about twelve months. I
can't wait for us to drop the puck on what
should be a phenomenal Olympics series for not only the
(05:32):
Americans but everyone that gets to take part.
Speaker 5 (05:36):
No, there's not a bigger stage, as we know than
the Olympics. And your stories about the four Nations, I
heard similar things from from plenty of people around the country,
including our good pal Jim Carroll was pan that following
along there in the Twin Cities along with many others.
But our team, again, we won the world championship at
the top level on the men's side, the women's side,
(05:57):
the Paralympic slued side, and we'll have a chance to
replicate that on even bigger stage come February for the
Olympics in March and the Paralympics and our teams are
well positioned. We have great, great players obviously, great coaches
and support staff, and great fans and it'll be fun.
It's always fun. The Olympics. I always love seeing what
(06:18):
our fans doing. Again, will be a little bit different
times on Italy, so people opening up bars early and
getting going and getting on the red, white and blue,
painting their faces, putting on jerseys. You know, it's a
fun time, that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Yeah, and we're used to it.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
The last couple of weeks watching the vikings in Ireland
and London and setting the alarm clock for eight thirty
in the morning, We're used to this. It'll be no
problem getting up early to watch hockey of that level.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
First of all, you got the World Juniors.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
And you talk about wedding your appetite, you get to
do it right in your own backyard.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
These guys are on a different level.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
Eventually, they'll be on that level because you look at
a lot of the guys that make up the Olympic
rosters and a lot of guys that are from these
NHL teams, the top stars have all played in the
World Juniors. Well that you get to see them at
eighteen years of age and right in that timeframe at
not only Grand Casino Arena but also three M Arena
at Mariucci. This is going to be awesome coming up
(07:12):
in December to ring in the new year.
Speaker 5 (07:15):
It is, and I don't know if it was Eric
from Hastings or the previous person to him mentioned Zee
boyam Brock favor guys in the Wild that have played
in the World Juniors, and I don't know, the vast
majority of players on the Wild Americans and not have
played in the World Junior Hockey Championship. And it's it's
(07:35):
special to bring to the state of hockey again. Obviously
having growing up in Minnesota myself. My wife's from Austin, Minnesota,
so having those Minnesota roots that's special in and of itself.
But it's the fiftieth anniversary of the tournament and we
so very There's very few times we get to host
this tournament in the United States, so it's a cherished
(07:56):
time and the fans are in for a real treats.
You just don't get events like that in your community.
I know it's been in Minnesota one time before There
was eighty two if memory serves me correct, so an
awful long time ago probably, I don't know if anybody
out there listening remembers that. But the tournament has gotten
a much higher level in prominence, and of course our
(08:17):
country has won the gold medal the last two years.
We've never ever done that before. I have a chance
for a repeat, and it will nice, be nice to
finally play in front of our home fans again. Don't
get the opportunity to do that very often, So encourage
people come out. I know, single game tickets I've just
now gone on sale. World Juniors n twenty six dot
(08:37):
com is where you can go. Get them all day
last World Juniors n twenty six dot com. And not
only obviously the focus is on the competition on the ice,
but our friends of Minnesota Sports and Events or the
local organizing committee have got so many other ancillary things
planned for the pomp and circumstance and celebration of the tournament.
It's going to really be fantastic.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Yeah, I think most people that are listening to this
the least, you know, especially the folks that listened to
Beyond the Pond and the folks that listen you know,
our hockey fans in the state. We don't need to
sell them on how great this this this tournament is.
It's outstanding and to have it in your backyard. Make
the most of the opportunity to go out there. And
watch the future superstars of the National Hockey League today
(09:20):
on this level, it's great hockey.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
It's a Carill Caprisa.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
That's another guy you know with Minnesota ties that played
for Team Russia before he became an NHL superstar.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
And that's just one example.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
I remember Crosby and Novechkin back in the day played
in this tournament as well, right.
Speaker 5 (09:38):
Yeah, I remember that was my first World Juniors in
Grand Fork, Yeah, two thousand and five, where those two
guys were there facing off. And yeah, it's an incredible,
incredible tournament. I know that probably a large portion of
the listening audience is aware of, but I'm sure there's
plenty that aren't as well. But get it on the action.
(09:59):
I mean that some of the there's an All Star
Mom Challenge of Minnesota Sports and Events that's got going
right now. It ends on Sunday coming up. So again
you can go to that same website World Juniors n
twenty six dot com and learn all about that. But
it's really a cool thing to celebrate hockey moms is
what they're calling it, but it could be any adult
who fills that role. Dad's grandparents, guardian fans, uncles, anyone
(10:21):
who makes it possible for kids to play the sport
they all love and you go in and make your
submission and they've got a lot of great prizes, including
a five hundred dollars certificates of the All of America
for the winner. So I get in on that. The
Youth Clinics are starting, I know October sixteenth around the
state is again part of the celebration of the sport.
(10:41):
There's a big fifty Days Out event at the Mall
of America plan for November sixth. We'll learn a lot
more about the fan fast both indoor and outdoor that'll
take place during the tournament. And again we're going to
celebrate this with the state with some of the pre
tournament camps with the ten teams participating that are going
to be sprinkled around the state. And we'll have more
on that here come up soon too. So a lot
(11:01):
of news, a lot of fun, great precursor to certainly
the Olympics and Paralympics and everything else that goes on.
Speaker 4 (11:09):
Kevin awesome, awesome stuff, and I know there's a lot
of other good things coming up, including Team USA Night
at Grand Casino Arena November twenty ninth when the Wild
host the Buffalo Sabers. That'll be great ticket packs available
wild dot Com slash tickets. The US Hockey Hall of
Fame induction is coming up, including Zach Parisi, Joe Pavelski,
Scott Gomez, some other great names as well, honoring the
(11:30):
great Ray Schiro as well with the Lester Patrick Trophy.
So you can go and check out that at the
Saint Paul River Center. Before I let you go, Dave, though,
I wanted to get your opinion. I know we're talking
on a real high level how things are going for
USA hockey, and it couldn't be any better. How about
the sport in general on the youth stages. I'm watching
(11:51):
Baham's and now high school hockey with the kids that
I have playing hockey, and it's a lot of fun
here in Saint Louis Park. But again, this is just
my little corner of the world high in general, how
is it on the youth level?
Speaker 5 (12:03):
Well, i'd summon up this way Kevin, back when we
were young, a long time ago, at least for me.
I shouldn't speak for you, but it was Minnesota, Massachusetts
and Michigan. Really that was predominantly hockey in the US Today,
hockey's played in all fifty states in our country. Last
season there were more players, coaches, and officials. It was
(12:23):
record numbers all the way across the board at all levels.
Speaker 6 (12:26):
Of the game.
Speaker 5 (12:26):
So obviously I mentioned the international success our teams had
last year, but at the grassroots level where it really
all starts, and the success we enjoy on the international
stage starts with all the great volunteers around the country
at the grassroots level helping kids and families evolved. We
know the merits of the sport, all the great things
it brings to the fabric of society through sport, and
(12:50):
it's great, I mean, and it's fun to see how
far it's come, and we're continuing to climb that mountain.
So many great partners involved in the NHL, PWHL now
on the women's side, and so many others are more
fortunate just to have the infrastructure that we do and
the passion of the great people involved in the sport,
including our great fans, which I know they're at Minnesota.
(13:12):
They'll be cheering for the wild tonight.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Without a doubt. Lots to love about.
Speaker 5 (13:16):
The golfers and BC tonight too. On the college side.
On an inside, we.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Just had Mikoletti on. He was talking about the Golden Golphers.
They split with Michigan Tech last week, but I know
that he's excited to see how they rebound, not only tonight,
but as the season rolls on. They've had to reload
there under Bob Moscow, but I don't think there's any
doubt that they'll be fine there in Dinky Town as
the season rolls along.
Speaker 5 (13:37):
And it's also great to see the new rink open
at Saint Thomas. We always need more facilities and fun
to see. Again, that's more the turn of the sport,
more interest in it, and it will continue down that path.
I certainly believe here as we turn along here for
the next decade.
Speaker 4 (13:51):
Lots to love about hockey. Best part about it is
no squeaky shoes. Dave, thanks for joining us here a
nine and noon on kf AN and we'll talk it.
Sounds like you're gonna be in town this weekend, so
we'll see it probably Monday at Grand Casino Arena.
Speaker 5 (14:05):
Sounds good. Covin. Thanks a lot, all right.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Dave Cia.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
That's Dave Fisher from USA Hockey talking about the World Juniors.
Great stuff. I don't need to sell that. It sells itself.
It's phenomenal hockey, and that's gonna be a great way
to lead into the Olympics. But i'd see the vast
majority are not going to Italy to watch the Olympics
in person. You get to watch the World Juniors in person,
not only in Saint Paul, but also on the uf
M campus.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
So jump on that with haste. Well, squeeze in a break.
Speaker 4 (14:31):
When we continue, we're gonna do a segment of all talkbacks.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
You get them in right now.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
Britt Blake Moore and I are going to sift through
a bunch of them, and we're gonna give away some
tickets for the home opener coming up Saturday, when the
Wild host the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
You don't win, you still you're not out of luck.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
There are tickets available and some good ones in fact
at wild dot com slash tickets.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
That's next. I'm a fan.
Speaker 7 (14:53):
Before we go, the Fan and two Minute Junk Truck
want to give you shot to win Bonus Bucks the
National cash contest at a kfan dot com. Keyword is credits.
Keyword credit cafe dot Com keyword credit.
Speaker 8 (15:12):
Yeah, this is Roy for mayor. Unlike when you go
into the casino, we don't need any puck luck. We
got the presoff and he's gonna have a grand year.
Not only are we making out of the second round,
I think we might just hoist a cup this year.
Come on, boys, let's go wild.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Yes, I love it. I love that positive energy. Again.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
I've hosted be on the Pond, I've hosted wild fanline,
and not every day is filled with rainbows and unicorns.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
I get it. But on day number one it should be.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
And that's the sentiment coming through on the vast majority
of these talkbacks and also on the text line at
six four, six, eight six, everybody's excited for game number one, Brett,
and for good reason they should be.
Speaker 7 (15:57):
There's nothing but help help springs the turn learn this
case falls eternal. It doesn't matter to me. I can't
wait for this game to start. I can't either.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
Six forty five tonight, A little bit later, puck drop
not terrible, not like we're going at ten o'clock tonight,
but it'll be seven fourteen, to be exact. I think
it's a little bit later. Puck drop on Saturday as well.
I'll tell you what I'm super excited about Saturday. The
Wild Hockey aside. I mean, and obviously that's the big
draw in the fact that the Wild they're opening up
the home schedule. But we're doing a kind of a
(16:29):
forum prior to the game for about an hour. I
used to do this thing called Hockey Unplugged, and we'd
go to a bar and we'd.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Sit there with a couple of players and it just
be Q and A.
Speaker 4 (16:39):
I'd fire off a bunch of questions and then the
fans would get the opportunity. And one thing that we're
doing on Saturday night, we're bringing back the inaugural coaching
staff and Doug riisebro And now that what that means
is Jacques Lamire, Mario Tromblay, Mike Ramsey, Bob Mason and
Doug Riisebrow all sitting there at the front on a
stage and we're just.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Going to talk hockey.
Speaker 4 (17:01):
We're going to remember the glory days and how much
fun it was to be a part of that inaugural
season back in the year two thousand until you know
that time came up in two thousand and nine, whatever
it was, it was nine or ten seasons of that
coaching staff and it was so much fun and the
stories that they're going to have. There are some tickets
available for that event leading into the game as well.
(17:21):
You can find that information at wild dot com. I'm
super excited about that. Like I've talked to Jacques I
don't know half a dozen times since he left, all
over the phone, whether it's on Beyond the Pond or
it's hosting on Kfan filling in for someone. But I
haven't seen him since he left. I haven't talked to
Mario Tromblay since he left. This is and Doug Risebro
I think we've had him on once or twice since
(17:41):
since his time came to an end. But this is
going to be awesome to get behind the scenes of
what it was like to bring this franchise up from
the from the ground up.
Speaker 7 (17:51):
How much money do you think it would take for
Corey Cove to be there at the Q and A
and ask Jock a question, Oh, that would be so
good event. I'd pay a lot to see that that.
I think that would be good. Yeah, I would love
to be there for that. I don't think it's going
to happen. I've got a talk back for you.
Speaker 9 (18:10):
Christopher Saint Paul here, Good morning, fellas. I have a
three prong question now that we have Coroll locked up,
what is the status of his durability through the entire
season and leading into the playoffs when it's really important
to have him? Then, what is the development status of
the blue line to help aging Brodein and Spurgeon? And three,
what's the over under on how many minutes it'll take
(18:32):
Blake Moore to bring up the Packers?
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Good morning and good day.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
You kind of did that to yourself. They're a talkback
guy bringing up the Packers. We're going to try to
avoid him for three hours. I don't know if it's possible.
I haven't said you're dying to aren't you?
Speaker 1 (18:47):
No? I'm talking wild. It's Opening night, come on.
Speaker 4 (18:49):
So the big question is about the durability of Coroll Caprice.
The best thing I can say about that is the
fact that what he's been dealing with seems like it's
something that they can wrapped their arms around. It's not
like it's one recurring thing that he's dealing with. I
don't know the particulars. I think it all boils down
to when he had to do the splitz. He was
forced to do the splits by the eight foot Logan
(19:11):
Stanley up in Winnipeg a few years ago, and I
don't know that that's ever been something that has been
completely rectified, maybe until now.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Is that what he dealt with last year? I don't know.
Speaker 4 (19:22):
Maybe Russo can give us insight into that here in
a little bit when we have him on the air.
But I feel I want to believe that this isn't
something that we're going to have to deal with for
the rest of his career. We know what it was
like to live in the world of Marion Gabrick. Just
an electric player, but his growing apparently was made of glass.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
It shattered every other long stride.
Speaker 4 (19:45):
And that was a guy that dealt with durability issues,
just an electric game changer when he was healthy. The
problem is in a wild uniform, it wasn't enough and
that was part of the reason why they had a
separation there at the end, and we know how of transpired.
He ended up lifting Lord Stanley's cup over his head
in Los Angeles. I'd like to think that that's not
the case here for Coroll Capries, but time will tell.
(20:07):
I mean we're early on into his career. If we
look back in ten years and say, man, that guy
just couldn't stay on the ice, then that's a conversation
that we can have at that time. I think it's
too early at this time to say that he's not
a durable player, although the body of work says that
he's having trouble staying on the ice for a full season.
I want to see him get seventy games this season,
anything less than that, and then we can start out
(20:28):
of that conversation.
Speaker 7 (20:29):
I just don't think getting injured and staying healthy is
a skilled trait. I'm just of that opinion that it's
just kind of bad luck at times.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
But maybe it is.
Speaker 7 (20:37):
I've read this talk back, I haven't listened to it,
but I'm very curious how this sounds.
Speaker 10 (20:41):
Okay, Greob Falling, this is Dylan for Northfield. Got to
tell you the tentacles on this Minnesota Wild season, armaedy, juicy,
and succulent. What I think is gonna happen while they're
gonna get healthy, stay healthy. Ninety seven is gonna take
us there one hundred and seven points division win in
the plaint not going to win one series, not two series,
(21:03):
not three series. It's Wild in Maple Leafs in the
Stanley Cup Final and you're on your own after that.
And I'm Dan Patrick.
Speaker 4 (21:11):
That's fantastic. See I love it. Common would call that
duckies and bunnies. We'll call it rainbows and unicorns. But
again I will This is my staunch belief. You should
feel this way going into game number one of the season.
If you're the Chicago Well, you know, I don't want
to beg on another local team. But if you're the
Minnesota Twins, you don't have a lot of hope going
(21:32):
into the year, especially the way it finished. If you're
another team like the Arizona Coyotes before they move to Utah,
you probably felt real down about the club going into
the year. That shouldn't be the case here for a
Minnesota Wild team that should contend for a top spot
in the Central Division.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Do I think they'll win the Central I don't do.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
I think they'll contend for a playoff spot in the
Western Conference, in the top three spot in the Central,
I do. And if that's duckies and bunnies, if that's
rainbows and unicorn, guilty is charged because I think there's
a lot to be excited about with this team, not
only with Caprisov and Boldie. What you have with the
blue line if they're healthy, what you have with Philip Gustilson,
approved the number one in the National Hockey League. And
(22:13):
then the young faces that are vying for spots in
the lineup, and some of them already handed the keys
to the car, including a zeb Buyam, who again will
quarterback their power play and for the most part probably
play top line, top pair of minutes. There's plenty to
be excited about with this Minnesota Wild team, and.
Speaker 1 (22:29):
This is the data for it.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
This is the day for the rainbows, unicorns, duckies and bunnies.
Speaker 7 (22:35):
I think your best case scenario, you're the two or
the three in the central and you're gonna play the
two or the three in the central in the first
round and you're on your own after that.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
But I think that's not a bad place to be.
And they were close.
Speaker 7 (22:47):
I mean not that I don't want to bring up
the off sides again, but they were close twice.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
Now you guys have done it.
Speaker 4 (22:51):
I'd rather talk about Packers than Gustav Nyquist and his
fair enough toe drag the toe Gustav.
Speaker 7 (22:58):
I think there's there's no reason I can't take a
step forward and at least get out of the first
round this year.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
That would be so nice.
Speaker 4 (23:03):
But again, no matter what they do in the regular season,
you look at the teams that are in the Central Division,
the Western Conference, and the NHL as a whole. I mean,
that's why it's the toughest trophy in sports to win,
and Florida was unbelievable, but look at the gauntlet they
had to go to get there. They had, you know,
the Edmonton Oilers two years in a row, push them
to the limit. And if you're the Edmonton Oilers, that's
a hell of a team. They're stacked. You think they're
(23:26):
a little frusted, that frustrated there in Edmonton, but I'm
sure they're feeling good about themselves coming into a new
season with Connor McDavid, Leon Dry, Settle and the rest
of them under lock and key.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
We'll see what happens with this Minnesota Wild team.
Speaker 4 (23:38):
Going forward again, starting tonight in the Saint Louis. A
guy that's going to have the play by play action
tonight for the Wild on the fan is Joe O'Donnell.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
He'll join us next on the fan.
Speaker 7 (23:53):
Good morning, gentlemen, this is done from Rochester.
Speaker 4 (23:57):
What are the chances of Billy g going out and
the impact player after trade devide with the extra cap space.
Speaker 5 (24:05):
Secondly, what are the chances.
Speaker 9 (24:07):
Of our young stud defenseman captured the Calder Trophy.
Speaker 7 (24:12):
Thanks, and have a good day a while, very.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
Good talk back.
Speaker 4 (24:19):
I'd have to look at the rookie crop to realize
where zebulliam sits, but I'd have to imagine he's going
to be in the conversation. If he has the type
of year that we all project and he's going to
get the amount of minutes that we all project, He's
going to be right there in the conversation. And the
beauty about being in the mix for a big name
at the trade deadline or even before that.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
Should the need arise.
Speaker 4 (24:40):
Now, Bill Garon can formulate those ideas because that dead
cap money is gone, and now the shackles are released,
and he'll have the opportunity to make some noise here
as this season wears along. That should be a lot
of fun for everyone, including wild general manager Bill Garon.
Congratulations to Dylan and Northfield. He had the succulent talkback
(25:02):
here early on in that last segment, and we'll give
him a pair of tickets to see the Wild and
Blue Jackets for the home opener Saturday in Saint Paul.
Get your own tickets at wild dot com slash tickets.
A guy that'll be there on Saturday and tonight in
Saint Louis is the play by play voice of the
Minnesota Wild, Mister Joe o'donald, Joe, Kevin Faules, Bret blakemore
(25:24):
back in Saint Louis Park.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
How is Saint Louis treating you.
Speaker 5 (25:30):
Good?
Speaker 6 (25:30):
Thanks for having me fellas blueser on the ice right
now for morning skate and just kind of has that,
you know, the excitement, the anticipation of a new season.
It's here, finally, great to be back in the rank.
Speaker 4 (25:42):
Head John Hines on earlier, and he actually likes preseason hockey.
He likes training camp. He's a teacher, his role as
a coach, he's supposed to wrap his arms around that
time of year. You as a broadcaster, myself as an
interested observer, I don't enjoy preseason hockey.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
You glad it's in the rear view.
Speaker 6 (25:59):
I'm glad I had that. They count for real now
you know, I do. I don't mind the preseason from
the standpoint of like you get to see some of
the prospects, you get to get a vibe for who's
playing with who you know, are their system changes to
those sorts of things. But ultimately, you know, especially that
last game against Chicago where it was like NHL lineup
(26:21):
on the NHL lineup, a pretty good preview of what's
to come. But then the game doesn't mean anything. That
to me is always like, all right, well, let's turn
the page to get ready for the for the opener here,
so I'm.
Speaker 5 (26:31):
Glad it's here.
Speaker 6 (26:33):
This is gonna be a big game. I mean, I
know there's eighty two regular season games for both these teams,
but you know, I think the Wild and the Blues
are gonna be battling it out for a playoff spot
when it's all said and done. And then you could
look back in the you know, the early stages of
the season and look at some some opportunities lost or gained,
and you know that at the end of the day,
these two teams were within a point of each other
(26:54):
last year in the regular season, and ultimately, you know,
you can't you can't make the playoffs or win the
Stanley Cup in October. But you can certainly put yourself
behind the apall if you don't get off to a
good start. And we've seen the Wild sort of both
ends of that right a couple of years ago when
Dean Evison eventually got fired. Slow start doomed them last
year hot starts but probably got him in.
Speaker 4 (27:16):
No doubt that catapulted them to what they ended up needing.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
Each and every one of those points in.
Speaker 4 (27:22):
The grand scheme of things, even though it came down
to the last second of the regular season. That hot
start got them off to a good start because of
the fact that the injuries caught up to him as
the year went along.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
For training camp, what did you take out of it?
Speaker 4 (27:35):
I know, the big thing to watch for are the
young names and how they're evolving. The big news for
the Wild is that Liam Ogrin, Daniela Yurov at this
point didn't grab a spot in the top six.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
That's disappointing.
Speaker 4 (27:46):
But then on the flip side of that, you also
get to see maybe a Hunter hate tonight and Steve
william looks like he's taking another step in his career.
Speaker 6 (27:54):
Yeah, and you know the other couple of guys that
you did mention in. David Yurashak on the back end, Yes,
for Baal said, you know, the back of the Philip
gustuson and that's one of the things they're going into
training camp. In the preseason, Kevin I was most excited about,
you know, as you start to roll through the summer,
I started thinking about the roster and what this wild
team could look like, and I was like, Hey, I
don't remember a time where there are this many young
(28:17):
players that Minnesota was going to count on to have
a big impact. These kids have to play, and they've
got to play well. And I'm not saying opening night,
they need to be.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
At their best.
Speaker 6 (28:27):
Like you said, they're kind of developing their work in progress,
you know. But but Bill Garrett has also been on
the record saying, like, you don't want to develop guys
in the NHL. You want to make sure they're ready.
So we're gonna find out pretty quickly here if these
kids are ready. If you're off if Ogrin Buyam Yachek
Ball said Hunter Hate if he's in the lineup tonight,
Like we're gonna find out pretty quick when the when
(28:50):
the lights are at its brightest year in a tough
building to play and to get the really good Blues team.
We'll get at least a little bit more of a
field for these kids, and I think that's an exciting time.
It's an exciting time to be a Wild fan. These
are first round picks. These are high end talents with
a good upside and a big time ceiling, and we're
going to get the watch to see how they perform
here starting tonight, and there'll be some growing pains, but
(29:10):
I really think that with the youth that they have
and the skill set these kids have, if they're able
to perform, this Wild team has a chance to be
really good.
Speaker 4 (29:19):
John Hines wasn't ready to tip his hand an hour
and forty five minutes ago about what he'll decide with
the lineup, but watching practice yesterday, it sure looked like
Hunter Hate is going to make his NHL debut, and
if he does, it'll most likely be centering the fourth line.
And it did look like Jonas Brodein despite what everyone's
been telling us and what John Hines has been saying
(29:40):
that he'll probably miss the start of the regular season,
sure look like he was projected to be in the
starting lineup tonight in Saint Louis. What are you feeling
about And again they're not on the ice for another
forty five minutes, but what are you thinking about the
prospects of Brodein and Hate being in the line of
tonight for Minnesota.
Speaker 6 (29:57):
Yeah, I think we're going to see Hunter Hate just
with the numbers, you know, I do believe that that's
going to play out. As for Rodein, you know, kind
of your guests is as good as mine. I didn't
expect him to be, you know, from sort of limited
contact a full contact you know, in the past, guys
have needed maybe more than a full contact practice. Maybe
(30:20):
it's two or three before the coaching staff and the
medical staff feel comfortable putting him in, before the player
feels comfortable going in. But Brodein's a different animal. He's
been like that his whole career, where you know, he
could miss two months, you put him back in the
lineup and he looks like he's been playing every day.
He's just a special type of player when it comes
to that. So smooth out there, so smart, just plays
(30:42):
within his abilities all the time and gives you exactly
what you're expecting from Jonas Berdein. So it is a
big deal though for the while, whether he's in or out,
whether it's tonight or two or three games, like the
sooner that Brodein is back and healthy and playing to
his ability, the while just becomes such an instantly better
team offensively, it's almost crazy. But again, those that have
(31:02):
followed a while and are fans of Jonas Berdi like
most of us, are, like they get it right, Like
he is that important along the blue line from a
stability standpoint, shutting down the other team's top players, playing
on the penalty kill, breaking the fuck out like he
just does so many things well. Whenever he's back, if
it's tonight or you know, early in this regular season,
it's a huge boost.
Speaker 4 (31:22):
How about Hunter Hate the potential to make his NHL debut.
We watched him last year in the prospect camp. I
thought he flashed and showed very well then, and it
feels like his star continues to shine.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
Didn't he was the.
Speaker 4 (31:34):
Last guy cut out of training camp. Now they injury
to Nico Sturm rears at Tuglyhead and he probably gets
an opportunity to make his NHL debut tonight. What have
you liked about him and watching them and even in
these preseason games where we scored a couple of goals, you.
Speaker 6 (31:48):
Notice him, you really do. And he's got some speed
to his game. And talking with some of the Hockey
Ops staff like a Brad Bombitier and Matt Hendrix and
Chris Kelleher various times throughout training camp and during the
Tom Kerber's rookie showcase where Haight was on you know,
full display. You know, I wanted to get a feel
for that. You know, for a number of prospects, Hate included,
(32:11):
and the one thing that I kept hearing was about
how he is tenacious. You know, he's got some like
jam to his game. Right, He's going to be in
your face. And I think that's something that's going to
really help him if tonight is his NHL debut. Is
just that confidence to buzz around out there, to play
in on the four check. Everything I gathered about Hate
(32:33):
is that by the end of last year, it really
earned the coaches trust in Iowa. As far as being
a two hundred foot player, the American Hockey League is,
you know, Kevin is a difficult league to play, and
especially for a young kid. For a number of reasons.
It's grown men out there. It's guys fighting for their
paycheck and for their hockey careers in some aspects. And
(32:54):
then you also have the mix of like really young
talented players and the bus travel and all those things
to go into playing so many back to back in
three games in three days, like, it's not an easy league.
He had twenty goals and I'm telling you right now,
a twenty goal season the AHL for a young player
like that tells me a lot. So I'm excited to
see him if it is tonight or early in this season. Again,
that the injured Nicostorm really sucks for this Wild team.
(33:16):
He was one of their free agent acquisitions obviously, you know,
arguably their biggest as far as that free agent signing goes.
It's a tough blow for the Wild. They really wanted
him for the face off dot of the penalty kill
and his experience. So it's gonna be a it's a
big mess to not have Nico Stern for what peer
is going to be like a long time. You know,
it's a significant injury that he's going to have to
(33:37):
have something done about in a long rehab process. It
sounds like I mean John Hines is not very optimistic
about him being back anytime soon, So hopefully a young
kid like Hay can fill the void at least for
tonight or early in the season. We'll see where it
goes from there.
Speaker 4 (33:51):
Yeah, and another guy that they did get in the
off season, not only Nicostm they got Vladimir and Terasenkle
And we've been talking about a lot of the other
pieces within this line up in the first hour and
change of this broadcast, how about Latimer and Tarasenko a
tremendous upside. Definitely didn't have the best showing in the
couple of stops that he's had since he's left Saint Louis,
(34:13):
But what do you make of the possibility of him
in that top six role in certainly the twilight of
his career. But still a guy that I've seen it,
he can definitely shoot the puck.
Speaker 6 (34:24):
Yeah, he's a goal scorer over three hundred career goals,
a lot of them in a blue sweater. So this
is an interesting debut for the Wild and season opener
for him in a place he spent so many years
winning a Stanley Cup. Here at twenty nineteen, I'm looking
for big things from Tarasenko. You know, if he gives
them twenty goals, I think it's a huge win. It's
(34:44):
you know, it was a low risk, high reward possibility
when they made that trade. You know, didn't really give
up anything to get Tarasenko this summer, and he's got
something to proved. There are people out there probably doubting
him after the year he had in Detroit. So I'm
looking forward to see what he brings. I think he's
going to help out the power play mentally, you get
you have a real shooting threat now on the man advantage,
(35:05):
as we saw in the final preseason game when he
had a power play goal against the Blackhawks. I think
that'll open up some things up top for a boollyam
to maybe have a little bit more room patrolling the
blue line on the on the top power play unit.
So I'm thinking big things are in store for Tarasenko.
You know, the thing I'll be looking for is Howsie
moving out there. You know, as he fluid, is he
(35:27):
able to push the pace on that line with jule
Eric Sinak like or is he more of just kind
of at this point in his career a little bit
more of a stationary player and just a shooter. H
if he can give the Wild some pace to his
game uh and find some chemistry with Eric Sanak and
whoever else they eventually find to fit on that other wing,
I think there's a big chance for tarasenk go to
(35:47):
to deliver for this Wild team. Uh, and I think
they're certainly gonna need it. You know, goal scoring for
Minnesota was a big time issue down the stretch last year.
Late in the regular season, the goal scoring really dried up.
Now again, no Preese off, no Eric Snack for a
large stretch, you know, obviously after the four Nations face off.
So let's see what Tarasenko can give them. But I'm
hoping twenty find in the back of the net for
(36:09):
him is pretty realistic and he comes through on that.
Speaker 4 (36:11):
To me, the big moves that Bill Garon made in
the off season was locking up those guys that were
hanging out there in the potential of expiring contracts. You
lock up Carill caprice Off, you lock up Marco Rossi,
you lock up Philip Guslsson. To me, that's huge, especially
with that Now, what's making up two thirds of your
top line? I know from my vantage point and I'm
(36:32):
not there in arena for those road games, but watching
Carell Caprice off, Marco Rossi and Matt Bouldie working their
magic on that top trio, I was excited for what
I saw and the potential going into.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
The regular season. All that could change.
Speaker 4 (36:46):
I get that after even one shift, but it looks
like that's going to be your top line going into
the regular season opener. What did you think about the
chemistry those guys have developed and how excited are you
about the possibilities for these three?
Speaker 5 (36:59):
I love it.
Speaker 6 (37:00):
All three of them were dynamic in their limited preseason action.
I thought I loved the chemistry. Rossi looks quicker. We
know that he you know, continues to add strength and
size uh to his frame. So I'm looking for another
big year for Rossi, who had sixty points last season.
Matt Boldi led the team in scoring again in large
(37:21):
part because the pre soft mess half the year. But
remember when the prisoft went out, he was pacing the
NHL in points. So you have the potential there to
be a dynamic, dynamic top line, one of the best
in the National Hockey League. The question then will be
what else do you have right? You can't be a
one line team in this league, So that's depth scoring
that second line with no Matt Cucuerello for a while.
(37:43):
Minnesota's death is going to be tested early because of
the injuries of Stirm and Zucuerello, and it'll be kind
of interesting for me to see who else steps up.
You know, ken Yakov Trendon have a better year. Just
a handful of goals last season wasn't good enough. He
looks quicker. We know he's lost some weight. He scored
a couple of goals in preseason. What can he give you?
Can Marcus Bellino for fifteen goals this year? Can Ryan
(38:04):
Hartman get back anywhere near that thirty four goal for
him from a couple of seasons ago. So I'm really
excited about the top line. I think they're going to
be dynamic and excellent most nights and probably helped carry
this Wild team to a lot of their success. But again,
after that, you know, where's the rest of the scoring from.
I think that's a big question.
Speaker 5 (38:23):
For the Wild.
Speaker 6 (38:23):
I hope we have answers to it, you know, sooner
rather than later, and this team performs offensively. But I
think that top line overall is going to be asked
to do a lot, and I.
Speaker 4 (38:32):
Fully expect them to deliver duckies and bunnies, rainbows and unicorns.
It's game one of the regular season, so everybody's feeling
good about themselves.
Speaker 1 (38:41):
Cariill Caprisov looked great.
Speaker 4 (38:42):
We talked about how good he looked on that top line,
but he's coming in healthy. He looks like a fire
hadrant with legs the way he is just can fend
off attackers. We're setting me over under at forty five
goals and one hundred points. Joe O'Donnell if he plays
seventy games, do you take the over in both?
Speaker 5 (39:00):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (39:01):
Absolutely. I think it's the fifty goal season. It'll be healthy.
I don't see any reason why that's not, you know,
a realistic expectation for him. He's got a chance to
surpass Marion Gabrick for most goals in Wild history this
season if he stays healthy. I fully expect him to
do that. He's, you know, on the cuff of two
hundred in his career, which would pass Careazy and put
(39:23):
him top three all time in Wild history. I think
there's more records to be broken this year for capriz
Off and I look forward to him getting started early
in this campaign and really with that contract situation behind him,
leaving the scene in the right direction.
Speaker 4 (39:36):
All right, give me a preview of game one of
the regular season. It'll be a seven to fourteen pluck
drop tonight from Saint Louis, but it.
Speaker 1 (39:44):
Could have been worse. Seven to fourteen, will take it.
Speaker 4 (39:47):
Give us kind of a preview of the Central Division
collision against their arrival, the Singles Blues.
Speaker 6 (39:54):
Well, we know Jordan benning Kin will be in that
for Saint Louis. They've made a couple of changes in
the offseason. Puce Suitor brought in this summer. He's a
guy that actually had a really good year offensively last year,
one of his best in finding the back of the nets.
So he'll kind of slot in and be I'm assuming
like in that third line center ice role. We all
(40:15):
know about Jordan Tyro Robert Thomas, two of the top
guns for the Blues offensively over the last few years.
And we'll get our first glance or I will anyway.
Jimmy Snugger Root, you know, burst onto the team with
the Blues late last year after finishing up his collegiate career.
Had a really good playoff run for Saint Louis. Remember,
the Blues had a chance to up end the Winnipeg
(40:37):
Jets in Game seven and and you know, heartbreaking fashion,
drop that contest in overtime after the Jets rally to
tie it in the final second. So they're probably a
little stung from how their playoff run ended last year.
You know, both teams are pretty much regulars in the
playoffs over the last handful of years. I think that's
gonna be again an important early season up from Minnesota. Again,
(41:02):
one game's not gonna make or break your year, but
if you can get off with two points out of
this building and divisional game on the road to kick
things off, I think it really just sets the table
for a month October where six of the first eight
are on the road. You've got a couple of back
to backs this month, including next week when you host
LA and then go to Dallas. That's a tough back
to back. So definitely a big opportunity for Minnesota to
(41:23):
get off on the right foot here.
Speaker 4 (41:24):
Tonight, less than eight hours until we're on the air
with the pre game from Saint Louis. Between now and then,
what happens with you. You're gonna watch the skate then
to you and Tom Reid go get lunch. Are you
buying what happens between.
Speaker 1 (41:36):
Now and then?
Speaker 6 (41:38):
Well, you know I'm not buying. I'm gonna jump into
Jim Montgomery's presser here in a moment and then get
ready for the while to hit the ice, finish up
a little bit of game prep, and then you know,
hopefully get ready for a win.
Speaker 4 (41:51):
Good luck, Joe, if you see Gorge telling the mute
TV and we'll be listening.
Speaker 1 (41:54):
For you tonight. All right, thanks Kevin.
Speaker 4 (41:57):
There he is the play by play voice of You're
a Minnesota Wild Mister Joe O'Donnell, He and Tom Reid
all the play by play action. When we drop the
puck tonight on the regular season seven fourteen on your
radio dial, we'll get things underway. Pregame starts at six
forty five, and not only we can hear from John
Hines and Tom Reid, We've got a conversation with Philip Gustafson,
(42:17):
we got a conversation with a rookie Hunter Hate. It
should be a lot of fun to get things going
here in the regular season as we make our way
towards the eighty two game grind, make our way towards
the postseason, and who knows, could this be the year
they get out of the first round for the first
time since twenty fifteen.
Speaker 1 (42:34):
I think so.
Speaker 4 (42:35):
There's something going to be magical about the twenty fifth
season of Minnesota Wild Hockey. Go ahead and take in
all the action for yourself, including tonight on your radio dial,
and of course you will hashtag mute TV when we continue.
We'll continue with those talkbacks giving away tickets to the
home opener Saturday in Saint Paul when the Wild hosts
the Columbus Blue Jackets. But on the other side of break,
(42:57):
what a treat we have. America's favorite blogger is going
to grace your airwaves, Michael Russel from The Athletic. When
we continue on the fan
Paul, that will be falling us back again.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
I just want to say sarst predictions on the Saint
Louis game to Nikos. Wasn't it the last time we
played Saint Louis, Flurry almost had a fight with Bennington.
I feel like we get in Bennington's head a lot
more times than not. I mean, I feel like we'll
do it again tonight, especially with that top line Roland
Young guys, Roland Zee Bulliam Man in that top pp unit.
(00:26):
I think we got them tonight. I'm bowling with five
to two Wild. I want to say five to one,
but they might get a cheezer.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Thanks guys.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Hey, that's Eric from Hastings twenty twenty five. The Wild
finish with one hundred and five points, boldly leads a
team with just over a point a game at eighty three,
nudging out Carrill, who finishes just under a point of
game at eighty, but they're both overshadowed by Maple Grove
(00:54):
Zone brock Faber, who wins the Norris Trophy.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Thank you. That's the beauty of openy night.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
Though everything's on the table, there should be nothing negative
at this point. Certainly the injury situation isn't great. But
other than that, everybody's locked up. The contracts are done.
Bill Garin's got his feed up, and we're getting ready
for the drop of the puck. Game number one of
eighty two coming up tonight from Saint Louis while taking
on the Blues. Pregame at six forty five, puck drop
(01:23):
at seven fourteen on your home for all Things Wild
Hockey FM one hundred point three the fan. Keep those
talkbacks coming, those are fantastic, and we're gonna get a
little open segment here coming up after we talked to
Dave Fisher, But get those talkbacks in. I've already given
away a pair of tickets for Saturday night while taking
on the Columbus Blue Jackets in the home opener, Max
(01:44):
Long enjoy the game. Great seats available not only for Max,
but for anyone out there. Wild dot Com slash tickets
to the phone lines.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
We go.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
We check in with Dave Fisher from USA Hockey. I
assume in Colorado Springs.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Am I right? Dave? Are you in the great state
of Colorado?
Speaker 5 (02:02):
Thank Kevin, I am. I'll be in the Twin Cities
on Monday, but home for now. And Eric from Hastings
got the juice has flown. I love that and brought
back memory they used to live in Hastings back in
the day. So it should be a fun night tonight
for the wild and I love I love hearing the predictions.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
It's awesome, it is. This is the time to do it.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
A week from now, a month from now, it might
not be as glorious and happy and and and and
rainbows and happiness. But right now it's game number one.
And like I said, everything's on the table. The same
thing for USA Hockey. What a year is coming, what
year it's been, and a year that's coming up. We
got the World Juniors coming up. The Olympics are just
right around the corner. This is a good time to
(02:42):
be a fan of international hockey, but especially the Red
Rod and Blue Dave.
Speaker 5 (02:47):
Yeah, Kevin, no doubt. You know. Our country's in as
good to shape as it's ever been in the sport
of hockey between our all our youth programs across the
country and everything that USA Hockey does coaching and officiating,
education in your hockey, obviously to our international team. So
what we do with the mtvp and Plymouth. So it
was a really fun year last year on the international
(03:09):
stage with an unprescedent five gold medals and the World
Championship play at the top levels, and a chance to
follow that up this year really on a bigger stage
with the Olympics and Paralympics, and of course you mentioned
the World Juniors coming to the Twin Cities here at
the end of December and the beginning of January.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
We'll get into all the details of what's coming up
in the future, but rewind just a little bit in
the past and how much fun the Four Nations tournament was.
I think everyone had high hopes for that event, but
holy moly, and I know the Americans fell short, But
if that doesn't wet your appetite, not only for the
World Juniors, but of course the Olympics coming up in February,
(03:46):
man oh Man Dave, I don't know whose idea was,
but it went off with a bang.
Speaker 5 (03:53):
Yeah, the star is certainly a line there, Kevin, didn't
They great hockey on the eye of some of the
geopolitical forces off the ice. That contributed to some of
the visibility too. And to think the championship game in
Boston would get close to ten million viewers on ESPN
and attraction and social media and trending, and you know,
(04:13):
it all starts to the players though, I mean the
great play by our players and gosh, we have just
a dynamite group again at all levels, particularly we're talking
about men's hockey here, particularly on the men's level. Some
with the wild now that we will likely see I'm
not picking the team that'll be up to Bill garn
and his team, but some I'm guessing we'll see on
the Olympic team here coming up in Italy, and just
(04:37):
really a fun time for hockey and a great time
to gain new fans of the game, which we're always
aspiring to do.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
Yeah, I think they did just that with the Four
Nations tournament. I can only speak for my little corner
of the world. I was at one of my kids
hockey tournaments up north. I think we were watching at
one of the zorbas and it's I think that Saturday
night game that you're talking about, and the bar was field,
I mean wall the wall people, every TV, every TV
was on on that hockey game and the USA chance
(05:07):
everyone's you know, just toasting each other and having a
blast watching that hockey game. I just can't imagine and
to think that it's going to ramp up, because that's
what the Olympics are. And it feels like it's been
way too long since we've had that international competition, and
now we get it twice within about twelve months. I
can't wait for us to drop the puck on what
should be a phenomenal Olympics series for not only the
(05:32):
Americans but everyone that gets to take part.
Speaker 5 (05:36):
No, there's not a bigger stage, as we know than
the Olympics. And your stories about the four Nations, I
heard similar things from from plenty of people around the country,
including our good pal Jim Carroll was pan that following
along there in the Twin Cities along with many others.
But our team, again, we won the world championship at
the top level on the men's side, the women's side,
(05:57):
the Paralympic slued side, and we'll have a chance to
replicate that on even bigger stage come February for the
Olympics in March and the Paralympics and our teams are
well positioned. We have great, great players obviously, great coaches
and support staff, and great fans and it'll be fun.
It's always fun. The Olympics. I always love seeing what
(06:18):
our fans doing. Again, will be a little bit different
times on Italy, so people opening up bars early and
getting going and getting on the red, white and blue,
painting their faces, putting on jerseys. You know, it's a
fun time, that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Yeah, and we're used to it.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
The last couple of weeks watching the vikings in Ireland
and London and setting the alarm clock for eight thirty
in the morning, We're used to this. It'll be no
problem getting up early to watch hockey of that level.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
First of all, you got the World Juniors.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
And you talk about wedding your appetite, you get to
do it right in your own backyard.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
These guys are on a different level.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
Eventually, they'll be on that level because you look at
a lot of the guys that make up the Olympic
rosters and a lot of guys that are from these
NHL teams, the top stars have all played in the
World Juniors. Well that you get to see them at
eighteen years of age and right in that timeframe at
not only Grand Casino Arena but also three M Arena
at Mariucci. This is going to be awesome coming up
(07:12):
in December to ring in the new year.
Speaker 5 (07:15):
It is, and I don't know if it was Eric
from Hastings or the previous person to him mentioned Zee
boyam Brock favor guys in the Wild that have played
in the World Juniors, and I don't know, the vast
majority of players on the Wild Americans and not have
played in the World Junior Hockey Championship. And it's it's
(07:35):
special to bring to the state of hockey again. Obviously
having growing up in Minnesota myself. My wife's from Austin, Minnesota,
so having those Minnesota roots that's special in and of itself.
But it's the fiftieth anniversary of the tournament and we
so very There's very few times we get to host
this tournament in the United States, so it's a cherished
(07:56):
time and the fans are in for a real treats.
You just don't get events like that in your community.
I know it's been in Minnesota one time before There
was eighty two if memory serves me correct, so an
awful long time ago probably, I don't know if anybody
out there listening remembers that. But the tournament has gotten
a much higher level in prominence, and of course our
(08:17):
country has won the gold medal the last two years.
We've never ever done that before. I have a chance
for a repeat, and it will nice, be nice to
finally play in front of our home fans again. Don't
get the opportunity to do that very often, So encourage
people come out. I know, single game tickets I've just
now gone on sale. World Juniors n twenty six dot
(08:37):
com is where you can go. Get them all day
last World Juniors n twenty six dot com. And not
only obviously the focus is on the competition on the ice,
but our friends of Minnesota Sports and Events or the
local organizing committee have got so many other ancillary things
planned for the pomp and circumstance and celebration of the tournament.
It's going to really be fantastic.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Yeah, I think most people that are listening to this
the least, you know, especially the folks that listened to
Beyond the Pond and the folks that listen you know,
our hockey fans in the state. We don't need to
sell them on how great this this this tournament is.
It's outstanding and to have it in your backyard. Make
the most of the opportunity to go out there. And
watch the future superstars of the National Hockey League today
(09:20):
on this level, it's great hockey.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
It's a Carill Caprisa.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
That's another guy you know with Minnesota ties that played
for Team Russia before he became an NHL superstar.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
And that's just one example.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
I remember Crosby and Novechkin back in the day played
in this tournament as well, right.
Speaker 5 (09:38):
Yeah, I remember that was my first World Juniors in
Grand Fork, Yeah, two thousand and five, where those two
guys were there facing off. And yeah, it's an incredible,
incredible tournament. I know that probably a large portion of
the listening audience is aware of, but I'm sure there's
plenty that aren't as well. But get it on the action.
(09:59):
I mean that some of the there's an All Star
Mom Challenge of Minnesota Sports and Events that's got going
right now. It ends on Sunday coming up. So again
you can go to that same website World Juniors n
twenty six dot com and learn all about that. But
it's really a cool thing to celebrate hockey moms is
what they're calling it, but it could be any adult
who fills that role. Dad's grandparents, guardian fans, uncles, anyone
(10:21):
who makes it possible for kids to play the sport
they all love and you go in and make your
submission and they've got a lot of great prizes, including
a five hundred dollars certificates of the All of America
for the winner. So I get in on that. The
Youth Clinics are starting, I know October sixteenth around the
state is again part of the celebration of the sport.
(10:41):
There's a big fifty Days Out event at the Mall
of America plan for November sixth. We'll learn a lot
more about the fan fast both indoor and outdoor that'll
take place during the tournament. And again we're going to
celebrate this with the state with some of the pre
tournament camps with the ten teams participating that are going
to be sprinkled around the state. And we'll have more
on that here come up soon too. So a lot
(11:01):
of news, a lot of fun, great precursor to certainly
the Olympics and Paralympics and everything else that goes on.
Speaker 4 (11:09):
Kevin awesome, awesome stuff, and I know there's a lot
of other good things coming up, including Team USA Night
at Grand Casino Arena November twenty ninth when the Wild
host the Buffalo Sabers. That'll be great ticket packs available
wild dot Com slash tickets. The US Hockey Hall of
Fame induction is coming up, including Zach Parisi, Joe Pavelski,
Scott Gomez, some other great names as well, honoring the
(11:30):
great Ray Schiro as well with the Lester Patrick Trophy.
So you can go and check out that at the
Saint Paul River Center. Before I let you go, Dave, though,
I wanted to get your opinion. I know we're talking
on a real high level how things are going for
USA hockey, and it couldn't be any better. How about
the sport in general on the youth stages. I'm watching
(11:51):
Baham's and now high school hockey with the kids that
I have playing hockey, and it's a lot of fun
here in Saint Louis Park. But again, this is just
my little corner of the world high in general, how
is it on the youth level?
Speaker 5 (12:03):
Well, i'd summon up this way Kevin, back when we
were young, a long time ago, at least for me.
I shouldn't speak for you, but it was Minnesota, Massachusetts
and Michigan. Really that was predominantly hockey in the US Today,
hockey's played in all fifty states in our country. Last
season there were more players, coaches, and officials. It was
(12:23):
record numbers all the way across the board at all levels.
Speaker 6 (12:26):
Of the game.
Speaker 5 (12:26):
So obviously I mentioned the international success our teams had
last year, but at the grassroots level where it really
all starts, and the success we enjoy on the international
stage starts with all the great volunteers around the country
at the grassroots level helping kids and families evolved. We
know the merits of the sport, all the great things
it brings to the fabric of society through sport, and
(12:50):
it's great, I mean, and it's fun to see how
far it's come, and we're continuing to climb that mountain.
So many great partners involved in the NHL, PWHL now
on the women's side, and so many others are more
fortunate just to have the infrastructure that we do and
the passion of the great people involved in the sport,
including our great fans, which I know they're at Minnesota.
(13:12):
They'll be cheering for the wild tonight.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Without a doubt. Lots to love about.
Speaker 5 (13:16):
The golfers and BC tonight too. On the college side.
On an inside, we.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Just had Mikoletti on. He was talking about the Golden Golphers.
They split with Michigan Tech last week, but I know
that he's excited to see how they rebound, not only tonight,
but as the season rolls on. They've had to reload
there under Bob Moscow, but I don't think there's any
doubt that they'll be fine there in Dinky Town as
the season rolls along.
Speaker 5 (13:37):
And it's also great to see the new rink open
at Saint Thomas. We always need more facilities and fun
to see. Again, that's more the turn of the sport,
more interest in it, and it will continue down that path.
I certainly believe here as we turn along here for
the next decade.
Speaker 4 (13:51):
Lots to love about hockey. Best part about it is
no squeaky shoes. Dave, thanks for joining us here a
nine and noon on kf AN and we'll talk it.
Sounds like you're gonna be in town this weekend, so
we'll see it probably Monday at Grand Casino Arena.
Speaker 5 (14:05):
Sounds good. Covin. Thanks a lot, all right.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Dave Cia.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
That's Dave Fisher from USA Hockey talking about the World Juniors.
Great stuff. I don't need to sell that. It sells itself.
It's phenomenal hockey, and that's gonna be a great way
to lead into the Olympics. But i'd see the vast
majority are not going to Italy to watch the Olympics
in person. You get to watch the World Juniors in person,
not only in Saint Paul, but also on the uf
M campus.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
So jump on that with haste. Well, squeeze in a break.
Speaker 4 (14:31):
When we continue, we're gonna do a segment of all talkbacks.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
You get them in right now.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
Britt Blake Moore and I are going to sift through
a bunch of them, and we're gonna give away some
tickets for the home opener coming up Saturday, when the
Wild host the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
You don't win, you still you're not out of luck.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
There are tickets available and some good ones in fact
at wild dot com slash tickets.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
That's next. I'm a fan.
Speaker 7 (14:53):
Before we go, the Fan and two Minute Junk Truck
want to give you shot to win Bonus Bucks the
National cash contest at a kfan dot com. Keyword is credits.
Keyword credit cafe dot Com keyword credit.
Speaker 8 (15:12):
Yeah, this is Roy for mayor. Unlike when you go
into the casino, we don't need any puck luck. We
got the presoff and he's gonna have a grand year.
Not only are we making out of the second round,
I think we might just hoist a cup this year.
Come on, boys, let's go wild.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Yes, I love it. I love that positive energy. Again.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
I've hosted be on the Pond, I've hosted wild fanline,
and not every day is filled with rainbows and unicorns.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
I get it. But on day number one it should be.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
And that's the sentiment coming through on the vast majority
of these talkbacks and also on the text line at
six four, six, eight six, everybody's excited for game number one, Brett,
and for good reason they should be.
Speaker 7 (15:57):
There's nothing but help help springs the turn learn this
case falls eternal. It doesn't matter to me. I can't
wait for this game to start. I can't either.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
Six forty five tonight, A little bit later, puck drop
not terrible, not like we're going at ten o'clock tonight,
but it'll be seven fourteen, to be exact. I think
it's a little bit later. Puck drop on Saturday as well.
I'll tell you what I'm super excited about Saturday. The
Wild Hockey aside. I mean, and obviously that's the big
draw in the fact that the Wild they're opening up
the home schedule. But we're doing a kind of a
(16:29):
forum prior to the game for about an hour. I
used to do this thing called Hockey Unplugged, and we'd
go to a bar and we'd.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Sit there with a couple of players and it just
be Q and A.
Speaker 4 (16:39):
I'd fire off a bunch of questions and then the
fans would get the opportunity. And one thing that we're
doing on Saturday night, we're bringing back the inaugural coaching
staff and Doug riisebro And now that what that means
is Jacques Lamire, Mario Tromblay, Mike Ramsey, Bob Mason and
Doug Riisebrow all sitting there at the front on a
stage and we're just.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Going to talk hockey.
Speaker 4 (17:01):
We're going to remember the glory days and how much
fun it was to be a part of that inaugural
season back in the year two thousand until you know
that time came up in two thousand and nine, whatever
it was, it was nine or ten seasons of that
coaching staff and it was so much fun and the
stories that they're going to have. There are some tickets
available for that event leading into the game as well.
(17:21):
You can find that information at wild dot com. I'm
super excited about that. Like I've talked to Jacques I
don't know half a dozen times since he left, all
over the phone, whether it's on Beyond the Pond or
it's hosting on Kfan filling in for someone. But I
haven't seen him since he left. I haven't talked to
Mario Tromblay since he left. This is and Doug Risebro
I think we've had him on once or twice since
(17:41):
since his time came to an end. But this is
going to be awesome to get behind the scenes of
what it was like to bring this franchise up from
the from the ground up.
Speaker 7 (17:51):
How much money do you think it would take for
Corey Cove to be there at the Q and A
and ask Jock a question, Oh, that would be so
good event. I'd pay a lot to see that that.
I think that would be good. Yeah, I would love
to be there for that. I don't think it's going
to happen. I've got a talk back for you.
Speaker 9 (18:10):
Christopher Saint Paul here, Good morning, fellas. I have a
three prong question now that we have Coroll locked up,
what is the status of his durability through the entire
season and leading into the playoffs when it's really important
to have him? Then, what is the development status of
the blue line to help aging Brodein and Spurgeon? And three,
what's the over under on how many minutes it'll take
(18:32):
Blake Moore to bring up the Packers?
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Good morning and good day.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
You kind of did that to yourself. They're a talkback
guy bringing up the Packers. We're going to try to
avoid him for three hours. I don't know if it's possible.
I haven't said you're dying to aren't you?
Speaker 1 (18:47):
No? I'm talking wild. It's Opening night, come on.
Speaker 4 (18:49):
So the big question is about the durability of Coroll Caprice.
The best thing I can say about that is the
fact that what he's been dealing with seems like it's
something that they can wrapped their arms around. It's not
like it's one recurring thing that he's dealing with. I
don't know the particulars. I think it all boils down
to when he had to do the splitz. He was
forced to do the splits by the eight foot Logan
(19:11):
Stanley up in Winnipeg a few years ago, and I
don't know that that's ever been something that has been
completely rectified, maybe until now.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Is that what he dealt with last year? I don't know.
Speaker 4 (19:22):
Maybe Russo can give us insight into that here in
a little bit when we have him on the air.
But I feel I want to believe that this isn't
something that we're going to have to deal with for
the rest of his career. We know what it was
like to live in the world of Marion Gabrick. Just
an electric player, but his growing apparently was made of glass.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
It shattered every other long stride.
Speaker 4 (19:45):
And that was a guy that dealt with durability issues,
just an electric game changer when he was healthy. The
problem is in a wild uniform, it wasn't enough and
that was part of the reason why they had a
separation there at the end, and we know how of transpired.
He ended up lifting Lord Stanley's cup over his head
in Los Angeles. I'd like to think that that's not
the case here for Coroll Capries, but time will tell.
(20:07):
I mean we're early on into his career. If we
look back in ten years and say, man, that guy
just couldn't stay on the ice, then that's a conversation
that we can have at that time. I think it's
too early at this time to say that he's not
a durable player, although the body of work says that
he's having trouble staying on the ice for a full season.
I want to see him get seventy games this season,
anything less than that, and then we can start out
(20:28):
of that conversation.
Speaker 7 (20:29):
I just don't think getting injured and staying healthy is
a skilled trait. I'm just of that opinion that it's
just kind of bad luck at times.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
But maybe it is.
Speaker 7 (20:37):
I've read this talk back, I haven't listened to it,
but I'm very curious how this sounds.
Speaker 10 (20:41):
Okay, Greob Falling, this is Dylan for Northfield. Got to
tell you the tentacles on this Minnesota Wild season, armaedy, juicy,
and succulent. What I think is gonna happen while they're
gonna get healthy, stay healthy. Ninety seven is gonna take
us there one hundred and seven points division win in
the plaint not going to win one series, not two series,
(21:03):
not three series. It's Wild in Maple Leafs in the
Stanley Cup Final and you're on your own after that.
And I'm Dan Patrick.
Speaker 4 (21:11):
That's fantastic. See I love it. Common would call that
duckies and bunnies. We'll call it rainbows and unicorns. But
again I will This is my staunch belief. You should
feel this way going into game number one of the season.
If you're the Chicago Well, you know, I don't want
to beg on another local team. But if you're the
Minnesota Twins, you don't have a lot of hope going
(21:32):
into the year, especially the way it finished. If you're
another team like the Arizona Coyotes before they move to Utah,
you probably felt real down about the club going into
the year. That shouldn't be the case here for a
Minnesota Wild team that should contend for a top spot
in the Central Division.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Do I think they'll win the Central I don't do.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
I think they'll contend for a playoff spot in the
Western Conference, in the top three spot in the Central,
I do. And if that's duckies and bunnies, if that's
rainbows and unicorn, guilty is charged because I think there's
a lot to be excited about with this team, not
only with Caprisov and Boldie. What you have with the
blue line if they're healthy, what you have with Philip Gustilson,
approved the number one in the National Hockey League. And
(22:13):
then the young faces that are vying for spots in
the lineup, and some of them already handed the keys
to the car, including a zeb Buyam, who again will
quarterback their power play and for the most part probably
play top line, top pair of minutes. There's plenty to
be excited about with this Minnesota Wild team, and.
Speaker 1 (22:29):
This is the data for it.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
This is the day for the rainbows, unicorns, duckies and bunnies.
Speaker 7 (22:35):
I think your best case scenario, you're the two or
the three in the central and you're gonna play the
two or the three in the central in the first
round and you're on your own after that.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
But I think that's not a bad place to be.
And they were close.
Speaker 7 (22:47):
I mean not that I don't want to bring up
the off sides again, but they were close twice.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
Now you guys have done it.
Speaker 4 (22:51):
I'd rather talk about Packers than Gustav Nyquist and his
fair enough toe drag the toe Gustav.
Speaker 7 (22:58):
I think there's there's no reason I can't take a
step forward and at least get out of the first
round this year.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
That would be so nice.
Speaker 4 (23:03):
But again, no matter what they do in the regular season,
you look at the teams that are in the Central Division,
the Western Conference, and the NHL as a whole. I mean,
that's why it's the toughest trophy in sports to win,
and Florida was unbelievable, but look at the gauntlet they
had to go to get there. They had, you know,
the Edmonton Oilers two years in a row, push them
to the limit. And if you're the Edmonton Oilers, that's
a hell of a team. They're stacked. You think they're
(23:26):
a little frusted, that frustrated there in Edmonton, but I'm
sure they're feeling good about themselves coming into a new
season with Connor McDavid, Leon Dry, Settle and the rest
of them under lock and key.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
We'll see what happens with this Minnesota Wild team.
Speaker 4 (23:38):
Going forward again, starting tonight in the Saint Louis. A
guy that's going to have the play by play action
tonight for the Wild on the fan is Joe O'Donnell.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
He'll join us next on the fan.
Speaker 7 (23:53):
Good morning, gentlemen, this is done from Rochester.
Speaker 4 (23:57):
What are the chances of Billy g going out and
the impact player after trade devide with the extra cap space.
Speaker 5 (24:05):
Secondly, what are the chances.
Speaker 9 (24:07):
Of our young stud defenseman captured the Calder Trophy.
Speaker 7 (24:12):
Thanks, and have a good day a while, very.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
Good talk back.
Speaker 4 (24:19):
I'd have to look at the rookie crop to realize
where zebulliam sits, but I'd have to imagine he's going
to be in the conversation. If he has the type
of year that we all project and he's going to
get the amount of minutes that we all project, He's
going to be right there in the conversation. And the
beauty about being in the mix for a big name
at the trade deadline or even before that.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
Should the need arise.
Speaker 4 (24:40):
Now, Bill Garon can formulate those ideas because that dead
cap money is gone, and now the shackles are released,
and he'll have the opportunity to make some noise here
as this season wears along. That should be a lot
of fun for everyone, including wild general manager Bill Garon.
Congratulations to Dylan and Northfield. He had the succulent talkback
(25:02):
here early on in that last segment, and we'll give
him a pair of tickets to see the Wild and
Blue Jackets for the home opener Saturday in Saint Paul.
Get your own tickets at wild dot com slash tickets.
A guy that'll be there on Saturday and tonight in
Saint Louis is the play by play voice of the
Minnesota Wild, Mister Joe o'donald, Joe, Kevin Faules, Bret blakemore
(25:24):
back in Saint Louis Park.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
How is Saint Louis treating you.
Speaker 5 (25:30):
Good?
Speaker 6 (25:30):
Thanks for having me fellas blueser on the ice right
now for morning skate and just kind of has that,
you know, the excitement, the anticipation of a new season.
It's here, finally, great to be back in the rank.
Speaker 4 (25:42):
Head John Hines on earlier, and he actually likes preseason hockey.
He likes training camp. He's a teacher, his role as
a coach, he's supposed to wrap his arms around that
time of year. You as a broadcaster, myself as an
interested observer, I don't enjoy preseason hockey.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
You glad it's in the rear view.
Speaker 6 (25:59):
I'm glad I had that. They count for real now
you know, I do. I don't mind the preseason from
the standpoint of like you get to see some of
the prospects, you get to get a vibe for who's
playing with who you know, are their system changes to
those sorts of things. But ultimately, you know, especially that
last game against Chicago where it was like NHL lineup
(26:21):
on the NHL lineup, a pretty good preview of what's
to come. But then the game doesn't mean anything. That
to me is always like, all right, well, let's turn
the page to get ready for the for the opener here,
so I'm.
Speaker 5 (26:31):
Glad it's here.
Speaker 6 (26:33):
This is gonna be a big game. I mean, I
know there's eighty two regular season games for both these teams,
but you know, I think the Wild and the Blues
are gonna be battling it out for a playoff spot
when it's all said and done. And then you could
look back in the you know, the early stages of
the season and look at some some opportunities lost or gained,
and you know that at the end of the day,
these two teams were within a point of each other
(26:54):
last year in the regular season, and ultimately, you know,
you can't you can't make the playoffs or win the
Stanley Cup in October. But you can certainly put yourself
behind the apall if you don't get off to a
good start. And we've seen the Wild sort of both
ends of that right a couple of years ago when
Dean Evison eventually got fired. Slow start doomed them last
year hot starts but probably got him in.
Speaker 4 (27:16):
No doubt that catapulted them to what they ended up needing.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
Each and every one of those points in.
Speaker 4 (27:22):
The grand scheme of things, even though it came down
to the last second of the regular season. That hot
start got them off to a good start because of
the fact that the injuries caught up to him as
the year went along.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
For training camp, what did you take out of it?
Speaker 4 (27:35):
I know, the big thing to watch for are the
young names and how they're evolving. The big news for
the Wild is that Liam Ogrin, Daniela Yurov at this
point didn't grab a spot in the top six.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
That's disappointing.
Speaker 4 (27:46):
But then on the flip side of that, you also
get to see maybe a Hunter hate tonight and Steve
william looks like he's taking another step in his career.
Speaker 6 (27:54):
Yeah, and you know the other couple of guys that
you did mention in. David Yurashak on the back end, Yes,
for Baal said, you know, the back of the Philip
gustuson and that's one of the things they're going into
training camp. In the preseason, Kevin I was most excited about,
you know, as you start to roll through the summer,
I started thinking about the roster and what this wild
team could look like, and I was like, Hey, I
don't remember a time where there are this many young
(28:17):
players that Minnesota was going to count on to have
a big impact. These kids have to play, and they've
got to play well. And I'm not saying opening night,
they need to be.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
At their best.
Speaker 6 (28:27):
Like you said, they're kind of developing their work in progress,
you know. But but Bill Garrett has also been on
the record saying, like, you don't want to develop guys
in the NHL. You want to make sure they're ready.
So we're gonna find out pretty quickly here if these
kids are ready. If you're off if Ogrin Buyam Yachek
Ball said Hunter Hate if he's in the lineup tonight,
Like we're gonna find out pretty quick when the when
(28:50):
the lights are at its brightest year in a tough
building to play and to get the really good Blues team.
We'll get at least a little bit more of a
field for these kids, and I think that's an exciting time.
It's an exciting time to be a Wild fan. These
are first round picks. These are high end talents with
a good upside and a big time ceiling, and we're
going to get the watch to see how they perform
here starting tonight, and there'll be some growing pains, but
(29:10):
I really think that with the youth that they have
and the skill set these kids have, if they're able
to perform, this Wild team has a chance to be
really good.
Speaker 4 (29:19):
John Hines wasn't ready to tip his hand an hour
and forty five minutes ago about what he'll decide with
the lineup, but watching practice yesterday, it sure looked like
Hunter Hate is going to make his NHL debut, and
if he does, it'll most likely be centering the fourth line.
And it did look like Jonas Brodein despite what everyone's
been telling us and what John Hines has been saying
(29:40):
that he'll probably miss the start of the regular season,
sure look like he was projected to be in the
starting lineup tonight in Saint Louis. What are you feeling
about And again they're not on the ice for another
forty five minutes, but what are you thinking about the
prospects of Brodein and Hate being in the line of
tonight for Minnesota.
Speaker 6 (29:57):
Yeah, I think we're going to see Hunter Hate just
with the numbers, you know, I do believe that that's
going to play out. As for Rodein, you know, kind
of your guests is as good as mine. I didn't
expect him to be, you know, from sort of limited
contact a full contact you know, in the past, guys
have needed maybe more than a full contact practice. Maybe
(30:20):
it's two or three before the coaching staff and the
medical staff feel comfortable putting him in, before the player
feels comfortable going in. But Brodein's a different animal. He's
been like that his whole career, where you know, he
could miss two months, you put him back in the
lineup and he looks like he's been playing every day.
He's just a special type of player when it comes
to that. So smooth out there, so smart, just plays
(30:42):
within his abilities all the time and gives you exactly
what you're expecting from Jonas Berdein. So it is a
big deal though for the while, whether he's in or out,
whether it's tonight or two or three games, like the
sooner that Brodein is back and healthy and playing to
his ability, the while just becomes such an instantly better
team offensively, it's almost crazy. But again, those that have
(31:02):
followed a while and are fans of Jonas Berdi like
most of us, are, like they get it right, Like
he is that important along the blue line from a
stability standpoint, shutting down the other team's top players, playing
on the penalty kill, breaking the fuck out like he
just does so many things well. Whenever he's back, if
it's tonight or you know, early in this regular season,
it's a huge boost.
Speaker 4 (31:22):
How about Hunter Hate the potential to make his NHL debut.
We watched him last year in the prospect camp. I
thought he flashed and showed very well then, and it
feels like his star continues to shine.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
Didn't he was the.
Speaker 4 (31:34):
Last guy cut out of training camp. Now they injury
to Nico Sturm rears at Tuglyhead and he probably gets
an opportunity to make his NHL debut tonight. What have
you liked about him and watching them and even in
these preseason games where we scored a couple of goals, you.
Speaker 6 (31:48):
Notice him, you really do. And he's got some speed
to his game. And talking with some of the Hockey
Ops staff like a Brad Bombitier and Matt Hendrix and
Chris Kelleher various times throughout training camp and during the
Tom Kerber's rookie showcase where Haight was on you know,
full display. You know, I wanted to get a feel
for that. You know, for a number of prospects, Hate included,
(32:11):
and the one thing that I kept hearing was about
how he is tenacious. You know, he's got some like
jam to his game. Right, He's going to be in
your face. And I think that's something that's going to
really help him if tonight is his NHL debut. Is
just that confidence to buzz around out there, to play
in on the four check. Everything I gathered about Hate
(32:33):
is that by the end of last year, it really
earned the coaches trust in Iowa. As far as being
a two hundred foot player, the American Hockey League is,
you know, Kevin is a difficult league to play, and
especially for a young kid. For a number of reasons.
It's grown men out there. It's guys fighting for their
paycheck and for their hockey careers in some aspects. And
(32:54):
then you also have the mix of like really young
talented players and the bus travel and all those things
to go into playing so many back to back in
three games in three days, like, it's not an easy league.
He had twenty goals and I'm telling you right now,
a twenty goal season the AHL for a young player
like that tells me a lot. So I'm excited to
see him if it is tonight or early in this season. Again,
that the injured Nicostorm really sucks for this Wild team.
(33:16):
He was one of their free agent acquisitions obviously, you know,
arguably their biggest as far as that free agent signing goes.
It's a tough blow for the Wild. They really wanted
him for the face off dot of the penalty kill
and his experience. So it's gonna be a it's a
big mess to not have Nico Stern for what peer
is going to be like a long time. You know,
it's a significant injury that he's going to have to
(33:37):
have something done about in a long rehab process. It
sounds like I mean John Hines is not very optimistic
about him being back anytime soon, So hopefully a young
kid like Hay can fill the void at least for
tonight or early in the season. We'll see where it
goes from there.
Speaker 4 (33:51):
Yeah, and another guy that they did get in the
off season, not only Nicostm they got Vladimir and Terasenkle
And we've been talking about a lot of the other
pieces within this line up in the first hour and
change of this broadcast, how about Latimer and Tarasenko a
tremendous upside. Definitely didn't have the best showing in the
couple of stops that he's had since he's left Saint Louis,
(34:13):
But what do you make of the possibility of him
in that top six role in certainly the twilight of
his career. But still a guy that I've seen it,
he can definitely shoot the puck.
Speaker 6 (34:24):
Yeah, he's a goal scorer over three hundred career goals,
a lot of them in a blue sweater. So this
is an interesting debut for the Wild and season opener
for him in a place he spent so many years
winning a Stanley Cup. Here at twenty nineteen, I'm looking
for big things from Tarasenko. You know, if he gives
them twenty goals, I think it's a huge win. It's
(34:44):
you know, it was a low risk, high reward possibility
when they made that trade. You know, didn't really give
up anything to get Tarasenko this summer, and he's got
something to proved. There are people out there probably doubting
him after the year he had in Detroit. So I'm
looking forward to see what he brings. I think he's
going to help out the power play mentally, you get
you have a real shooting threat now on the man advantage,
(35:05):
as we saw in the final preseason game when he
had a power play goal against the Blackhawks. I think
that'll open up some things up top for a boollyam
to maybe have a little bit more room patrolling the
blue line on the on the top power play unit.
So I'm thinking big things are in store for Tarasenko.
You know, the thing I'll be looking for is Howsie
moving out there. You know, as he fluid, is he
(35:27):
able to push the pace on that line with jule
Eric Sinak like or is he more of just kind
of at this point in his career a little bit
more of a stationary player and just a shooter. H
if he can give the Wild some pace to his
game uh and find some chemistry with Eric Sanak and
whoever else they eventually find to fit on that other wing,
I think there's a big chance for tarasenk go to
(35:47):
to deliver for this Wild team. Uh, and I think
they're certainly gonna need it. You know, goal scoring for
Minnesota was a big time issue down the stretch last year.
Late in the regular season, the goal scoring really dried up.
Now again, no Preese off, no Eric Snack for a
large stretch, you know, obviously after the four Nations face off.
So let's see what Tarasenko can give them. But I'm
hoping twenty find in the back of the net for
(36:09):
him is pretty realistic and he comes through on that.
Speaker 4 (36:11):
To me, the big moves that Bill Garon made in
the off season was locking up those guys that were
hanging out there in the potential of expiring contracts. You
lock up Carill caprice Off, you lock up Marco Rossi,
you lock up Philip Guslsson. To me, that's huge, especially
with that Now, what's making up two thirds of your
top line? I know from my vantage point and I'm
(36:32):
not there in arena for those road games, but watching
Carell Caprice off, Marco Rossi and Matt Bouldie working their
magic on that top trio, I was excited for what
I saw and the potential going into.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
The regular season. All that could change.
Speaker 4 (36:46):
I get that after even one shift, but it looks
like that's going to be your top line going into
the regular season opener. What did you think about the
chemistry those guys have developed and how excited are you
about the possibilities for these three?
Speaker 5 (36:59):
I love it.
Speaker 6 (37:00):
All three of them were dynamic in their limited preseason action.
I thought I loved the chemistry. Rossi looks quicker. We
know that he you know, continues to add strength and
size uh to his frame. So I'm looking for another
big year for Rossi, who had sixty points last season.
Matt Boldi led the team in scoring again in large
(37:21):
part because the pre soft mess half the year. But
remember when the prisoft went out, he was pacing the
NHL in points. So you have the potential there to
be a dynamic, dynamic top line, one of the best
in the National Hockey League. The question then will be
what else do you have right? You can't be a
one line team in this league, So that's depth scoring
that second line with no Matt Cucuerello for a while.
(37:43):
Minnesota's death is going to be tested early because of
the injuries of Stirm and Zucuerello, and it'll be kind
of interesting for me to see who else steps up.
You know, ken Yakov Trendon have a better year. Just
a handful of goals last season wasn't good enough. He
looks quicker. We know he's lost some weight. He scored
a couple of goals in preseason. What can he give you?
Can Marcus Bellino for fifteen goals this year? Can Ryan
(38:04):
Hartman get back anywhere near that thirty four goal for
him from a couple of seasons ago. So I'm really
excited about the top line. I think they're going to
be dynamic and excellent most nights and probably helped carry
this Wild team to a lot of their success. But again,
after that, you know, where's the rest of the scoring from.
I think that's a big question.
Speaker 5 (38:23):
For the Wild.
Speaker 6 (38:23):
I hope we have answers to it, you know, sooner
rather than later, and this team performs offensively. But I
think that top line overall is going to be asked
to do a lot, and I.
Speaker 4 (38:32):
Fully expect them to deliver duckies and bunnies, rainbows and unicorns.
It's game one of the regular season, so everybody's feeling
good about themselves.
Speaker 1 (38:41):
Cariill Caprisov looked great.
Speaker 4 (38:42):
We talked about how good he looked on that top line,
but he's coming in healthy. He looks like a fire
hadrant with legs the way he is just can fend
off attackers. We're setting me over under at forty five
goals and one hundred points. Joe O'Donnell if he plays
seventy games, do you take the over in both?
Speaker 5 (39:00):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (39:01):
Absolutely. I think it's the fifty goal season. It'll be healthy.
I don't see any reason why that's not, you know,
a realistic expectation for him. He's got a chance to
surpass Marion Gabrick for most goals in Wild history this
season if he stays healthy. I fully expect him to
do that. He's, you know, on the cuff of two
hundred in his career, which would pass Careazy and put
(39:23):
him top three all time in Wild history. I think
there's more records to be broken this year for capriz
Off and I look forward to him getting started early
in this campaign and really with that contract situation behind him,
leaving the scene in the right direction.
Speaker 4 (39:36):
All right, give me a preview of game one of
the regular season. It'll be a seven to fourteen pluck
drop tonight from Saint Louis, but it.
Speaker 1 (39:44):
Could have been worse. Seven to fourteen, will take it.
Speaker 4 (39:47):
Give us kind of a preview of the Central Division
collision against their arrival, the Singles Blues.
Speaker 6 (39:54):
Well, we know Jordan benning Kin will be in that
for Saint Louis. They've made a couple of changes in
the offseason. Puce Suitor brought in this summer. He's a
guy that actually had a really good year offensively last year,
one of his best in finding the back of the nets.
So he'll kind of slot in and be I'm assuming
like in that third line center ice role. We all
(40:15):
know about Jordan Tyro Robert Thomas, two of the top
guns for the Blues offensively over the last few years.
And we'll get our first glance or I will anyway.
Jimmy Snugger Root, you know, burst onto the team with
the Blues late last year after finishing up his collegiate career.
Had a really good playoff run for Saint Louis. Remember,
the Blues had a chance to up end the Winnipeg
(40:37):
Jets in Game seven and and you know, heartbreaking fashion,
drop that contest in overtime after the Jets rally to
tie it in the final second. So they're probably a
little stung from how their playoff run ended last year.
You know, both teams are pretty much regulars in the
playoffs over the last handful of years. I think that's
gonna be again an important early season up from Minnesota. Again,
(41:02):
one game's not gonna make or break your year, but
if you can get off with two points out of
this building and divisional game on the road to kick
things off, I think it really just sets the table
for a month October where six of the first eight
are on the road. You've got a couple of back
to backs this month, including next week when you host
LA and then go to Dallas. That's a tough back
to back. So definitely a big opportunity for Minnesota to
(41:23):
get off on the right foot here.
Speaker 4 (41:24):
Tonight, less than eight hours until we're on the air
with the pre game from Saint Louis. Between now and then,
what happens with you. You're gonna watch the skate then
to you and Tom Reid go get lunch. Are you
buying what happens between.
Speaker 1 (41:36):
Now and then?
Speaker 6 (41:38):
Well, you know I'm not buying. I'm gonna jump into
Jim Montgomery's presser here in a moment and then get
ready for the while to hit the ice, finish up
a little bit of game prep, and then you know,
hopefully get ready for a win.
Speaker 4 (41:51):
Good luck, Joe, if you see Gorge telling the mute
TV and we'll be listening.
Speaker 1 (41:54):
For you tonight. All right, thanks Kevin.
Speaker 4 (41:57):
There he is the play by play voice of You're
a Minnesota Wild Mister Joe O'Donnell, He and Tom Reid
all the play by play action. When we drop the
puck tonight on the regular season seven fourteen on your
radio dial, we'll get things underway. Pregame starts at six
forty five, and not only we can hear from John
Hines and Tom Reid, We've got a conversation with Philip Gustafson,
(42:17):
we got a conversation with a rookie Hunter Hate. It
should be a lot of fun to get things going
here in the regular season as we make our way
towards the eighty two game grind, make our way towards
the postseason, and who knows, could this be the year
they get out of the first round for the first
time since twenty fifteen.
Speaker 1 (42:34):
I think so.
Speaker 4 (42:35):
There's something going to be magical about the twenty fifth
season of Minnesota Wild Hockey. Go ahead and take in
all the action for yourself, including tonight on your radio dial,
and of course you will hashtag mute TV when we continue.
We'll continue with those talkbacks giving away tickets to the
home opener Saturday in Saint Paul when the Wild hosts
the Columbus Blue Jackets. But on the other side of break,
(42:57):
what a treat we have. America's favorite blogger is going
to grace your airwaves, Michael Russel from The Athletic. When
we continue on the fan
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