Post by Minnesota Wild on Jun 29, 2022 22:49:35 GMT -6
Welcome to the fourth edition of Wild Times
It's official, the first season of the PFHL Minnesota Wild is in the record books, and what a Wild ride it was. The Minnesota Wild rode quite the rollercoaster this season, concluding it in spectacular fashion clinching the last playoff spot on the last day of the regular season. Was it spectactular? "I think we only won 3 of our last 10 games. The St. Louis Blues could've easily had the final playoff spot if they didn't tumble and fall even further than we did in the final weeks of the season. They opened the last playoff spot door for us, and we didn't exactly bust right through it, it was like 'okay, if you're not going to take it I guess we will' kind of scenario." Stumbled into the last playoff spot they did, the Wild somehow clinched the final spot, riding the fumes of a mid-season hot streak going 16-2-2 in a 20 game stretch. "If it wasn't for that, the pinnacle of our rollercoaster season, we wouldn't have sniffed the post-season." GM Eric Wolf admitted.
It was a valuable lesson for the Minnesota Wild. They didn't find the playoff success they wanted, but it was great for the franchise to get playoff experience. "In our inaugural season, I didn't expect to make the playoffs. We drafted this team to begin contending in Year 2. But it's always exciting when you play above expectation and get into the show. To me, it points to a lot of good signs that we're steering in the right direction." Despite the team seemingly going in the right direction, lots of areas of concern needing improving on for the Wild to take the next step in the upcoming 2022-2023 season.
"There's work to do. We were a little quiet in the front offices this past year, but it was by design. We wanted to develop this team this season and see where are players are, and where they are projected to be. We added Nathan MacKinnon in a mid-season blockbuster, and that move was made sorely because we are confident that this team is poised for the next step. His acquisition was a major building block in what we want to do here moving forward, the rest of the league will see soon enough what I mean." Interesting quotes coming from the head offices, indeed. But is Wolf all howl and no bite? Time will tell. There are areas the team need to improve on before they can be taken seriously. "We're aware. We hear the analysis out there and media critiquing our team. But we know what we're doing and how we're going to get there. The bite will come soon enough."
With no current pending UFA's or RFA's on the pro roster, you can expect most, if not all of the team to be returning next year. "No Wild Left Behind." Wolf quipped. "We view every member as an integral building block to our team moving forward. We want to add to what we already have to push us forward. I like the team we have, I believe in the team we have, they are just going to need... reinforcements." Wolf concluded in his presser.
It was a valuable lesson for the Minnesota Wild. They didn't find the playoff success they wanted, but it was great for the franchise to get playoff experience. "In our inaugural season, I didn't expect to make the playoffs. We drafted this team to begin contending in Year 2. But it's always exciting when you play above expectation and get into the show. To me, it points to a lot of good signs that we're steering in the right direction." Despite the team seemingly going in the right direction, lots of areas of concern needing improving on for the Wild to take the next step in the upcoming 2022-2023 season.
"There's work to do. We were a little quiet in the front offices this past year, but it was by design. We wanted to develop this team this season and see where are players are, and where they are projected to be. We added Nathan MacKinnon in a mid-season blockbuster, and that move was made sorely because we are confident that this team is poised for the next step. His acquisition was a major building block in what we want to do here moving forward, the rest of the league will see soon enough what I mean." Interesting quotes coming from the head offices, indeed. But is Wolf all howl and no bite? Time will tell. There are areas the team need to improve on before they can be taken seriously. "We're aware. We hear the analysis out there and media critiquing our team. But we know what we're doing and how we're going to get there. The bite will come soon enough."
With no current pending UFA's or RFA's on the pro roster, you can expect most, if not all of the team to be returning next year. "No Wild Left Behind." Wolf quipped. "We view every member as an integral building block to our team moving forward. We want to add to what we already have to push us forward. I like the team we have, I believe in the team we have, they are just going to need... reinforcements." Wolf concluded in his presser.
