Dobber’s offseason fantasy hockey grades – Minnesota Wild

For the last 17 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 18th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the summer…er, winter. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are what I take into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

Enjoy!

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Gone – Alex Galchenyuk, Mikko Koivu, Luke Kunin, Devan Dubnyk, Ryan Donato, Eric Staal, JT Brown

Incoming – Nick Bjugstad, Marcus Johansson, Nick Bonino, Cam Talbot, Ian McCoshen, Andrew Hammond

Impact of changes – A new general manager often comes with some sweeping changes as he tries to put his stamp on the team, and that's what happened her. The Wild still didn't add a top-line center and in fact subtracted a couple of veterans in Staal and Koivu who could have subbed in adequately for the job. So the onus will be on Marco Rossi to make the team and win the job. For now, the party line is that Johansson will be that first-line center even though he's best suited as a third-line winger and is injury prone. That's just Minnesota's way of taking the pressure off of an 18-year-old. But unless something changes (bring back Mikael Granlund?), Rossi could very well be the first-line center with budding star Kevin Fiala on one wing and Russian wunderkind Kirill Kaprizov on the other. That's a scary line in future seasons, but there may be some growing pains in this first one.

There is also a new goalie in town named Cam Talbot, who is coming off a rebound campaign in Calgary. He will take the reins as the No.1 guy for the next three seasons, unless prospect Kaapo Kahkonen takes over before that final year. This is a huge opportunity for Talbot, as he will receive a heavy workload on a team that employs a good defensive system.

The Wild moved out five regular forwards and brought in three others. Kaprizov will obviously take another spot. That leaves the other spot for Rossi or Nico Sturm. The bottom line is – these moves created room to give some of the kids a shot.

Ready for full-time – Kaprizov has been labeled the best player outside of the NHL for a couple of years now, so his debut in the NHL has long been anticipated. He's 23 now and based on how much he dominated the KHL over in Russia, his transition to the NHL should be seamless. Many prognosticators have him as their Calder Trophy favorite (on pretty much every preseason ballot if it's not Alexis Lafreniere, it's Kaprizov). Does he have fantasy value? Hells yes.

Rossi is not a lock to make the team, but given Minnesota's need at center he'll get a long…long … long look. The ninth overall pick scored at a ridiculous clip in the OHL last season, tallying 120 points in 56 games. He also boasts a gaudy plus-120 rating over his last two seasons. He's a smaller player at 5-9, but has excellent lower-body strength. Whether or not he makes the team this year, he and Kaprizov will be a scary duo for years to come.

Sturm is an undrafted prospect who starred in college for Clarkson. There was no shortage of NHL interest, but he signed with the Wild in 2019. His AHL debut was quite successful as he transitioned his two-way game to Iowa. He is a safe bet to make the team and offers size (6-3, 206 pounds) and defensive acumen, with a touch of offensive upside (he had 45 points in his last 39 ECAC games with Clarkson). He likely won't be a huge points player, especially early on.

Gerald Mayhew is a smaller player at 5-9, and as with many diminutive players he is a late bloomer. He'll be 28 on December 31. But at 26 he found his AHL game, posting 60 points in 71 contests. Last year he followed that up with an AHL-leading 39 goals and 61 points in just 49 games, earning several NHL recalls. The injury to Mats Zuccarello and the questionable history with Nick Bjugstad could see an opportunity open up for Mayhew on a scoring line. That's where he needs to be in order to be of any use to the team at this level. Wasting him on the depth line would be nonsensical.

Kahkonen is the reigning AHL goaltender of the year. He boasted a 0.927 SV% and 2.07 GAA in 34 AHL contests, and looked pretty good in an NHL stint when he played five games and boasted a 3-1-1 record. With Alex Stalock out "indefinitely", you could see Kahkonen getting some NHL spot starts already – even with the veteran Hammond signed. If Talbot is ever injured, Kahkonen becomes an immediate fantasy must-own in one-year leagues. He's already a must-own in keepers.

Minnesota Wild prospect depth chart and fantasy upsides can be found here

Fantasy Outlook – Having game-breakers in Kaprizov and possibly Rossi and Fiala, is a luxury most teams do not enjoy. Although the wins may be tough to come by over the next two seasons, if a player I own in my dynasty is traded to Minnesota I will actually be kind of happy. There is a lot of room in the top six right now, especially with Mats Zuccarello sidelined to start, and some prolific players to play with that can bolster the stats.

On defense, the Wild is starting to age. If Matt Dumba doesn't rebound then there will be a glaring weakness back there soon. Ryan Suter, who turns 36 in January, can't keep going forever (can he?). Prospect Calen Addison looks like a good one, but losing Brennan Menell to the KHL hurts. The forward prospects are fantastic, even after Kaprizov and Rossi they still have Matthew Boldy, Alexander Khovanov and Adam Beckman. And in net with Kahkonen, things look good there as well.

Fantasy Grade: B- (last year was C-)

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2020 Offseason Fantasy Hockey Grades

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