Series Talk: Round Two: Iowa Wild versus Chicago Wolves

[a79krgm]

AHL Central Division Finals - (best-of-7)
Game 1 - Wed., May 1 - Iowa at Chicago, 7:00
Game 2 - Thu., May 2 - Iowa at Chicago, 7:00
Game 3 - Sun., May 5 - Chicago at Iowa, 3:00
Game 4 - Wed., May 8 - Chicago at Iowa, 7:00
*Game 5 - Fri., May 10 - Chicago at Iowa, 7:00
*Game 6 - Mon., May 13 - Iowa at Chicago, 7:00
*Game 7 - Wed., May 15 - Iowa at Chicago, 7:00
*if necessary... All times CST

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[a79krgm]

Tough break for the baby Wild last night as they dropped to Chicago 3-2 in OT. Mayhew got both Iowa goals. Hammond was a workhorse in net.
Back at it for game 2 tonight. Hope the Wild can recover and even the series.

 

[Wild11MN]

Think they give Kahkonen a shot at some point?

 

[Wabit]

Think they give Kahkonen a shot at some point?

Not unless Hammond gets injured or blows up.

 

[a79krgm]

Another tough loss. Hammond let a soft one in, but made a couple of spectacular saves later. Mayhew scored his 7th of the playoffs. Kunin got two. The Wild had had Chicago pinned down in their zone during the last 90 seconds, but couldn't get any pucks through. Chicago up 2-0 in the series.

 

[Wabit]

Iowa up 1-0 going into the 1st intermission.

 

[Wabit]

 

[Wabit]

 

[Digitalbooya]

Kunin the game winner. Really being a difference maker for Iowa.

 

[a79krgm]

Read played well. Goal and Assist. Worked well with Kunin. I thought the Wild frustrated Chicago who carried the play at times, but couldn't get off good shots. Nice win.

 

[Wild11MN]

Baby Wild win. Series tied 2-2.

Mayhew has 9 goals in 9 games. Will he get a legitimate shot to make the team next year?

 

[Wabit]

 

[2Pair]

Baby Wild win. Series tied 2-2.

Mayhew has 9 goals in 9 games. Will he get a legitimate shot to make the team next year?

Have to sign him to a contract first

 

[Wild11MN]

Have to sign him to a contract first

Sounds like it is in the works, depending on your trust level of certain sources.

 

[AKL]

Would be nice if he could contribute at the NHL level. My expectations are very low though. Not many guys break into the league at 26.5 and end up as much more than 4th liners. One thing he has going for him is being a natural right wing on a team with 1.5 of those. And 1 of those 1.5 is potentially a center, and the .5 of the 1.5 is predominantly a LW.

 

[2Pair]

Would be nice if he could contribute at the NHL level. My expectations are very low though. Not many guys break into the league at 26.5 and end up as much more than 4th liners. One thing he has going for him is being a natural right wing on a team with 1.5 of those. And 1 of those 1.5 is potentially a center, and the .5 of the 1.5 is predominantly a LW.

Yanni Gourde

 

[AKL]

Yanni Gourde

The fact that you only came back with one player pretty much proves my point that "not many guys" do it.

Like I said, it would be awesome if he became the next Yanni Gourde, but my expectations are quite a bit lower than that.

 

[Nharris31]

Would be nice if he could contribute at the NHL level. My expectations are very low though. Not many guys break into the league at 26.5 and end up as much more than 4th liners. One thing he has going for him is being a natural right wing on a team with 1.5 of those. And 1 of those 1.5 is potentially a center, and the .5 of the 1.5 is predominantly a LW.

But then the question becomes did they ever get a chance?

 

[AKL]

But then the question becomes did they ever get a chance?

I'm a firm believer that if a guy is good enough to get the chance he will. Mayhew, it sounds like, will get his chance next season. We'll see what he does with it.

 

[Wabit]

Would be nice if he could contribute at the NHL level. My expectations are very low though. Not many guys break into the league at 26.5 and end up as much more than 4th liners. One thing he has going for him is being a natural right wing on a team with 1.5 of those. And 1 of those 1.5 is potentially a center, and the .5 of the 1.5 is predominantly a LW.

He went the USHL then 4 yrs of college route, so this was only his 2nd (full) pro season. He's old for a prospect, but I think he still has some room for development (mental more than physical) because of the route he took.

 

[AKL]

He went the USHL then 4 yrs of college route, so this was only his 2nd (full) pro season. He's old for a prospect, but I think he still has some room for development (mental more than physical) because of the route he took.

I don't disagree, but it's still not likely.

 

[Bazeek]

Very cool for Mayhew and it'd be great to see him earn a spot next year. Seeing guys rewarded with contracts sends the right message to everyone down there.

 

[DANOZ28]

if i were gm i'd try to always keep one big club roster spot open on the 4th line to rotate / give an iowa player a shot. for motivational purposes if nothing else. i thought it was a mistake to sign brown ; fehr ; Hendricks ; read when plenty of iowa players were waiting / hoping for their shot. bottom line i'd dangle a carrot.

 

[Wabit]

if i were gm i'd try to always keep one big club roster spot open on the 4th line to rotate / give an iowa player a shot. for motivational purposes if nothing else. i thought it was a mistake to sign brown ; fehr ; Hendricks ; read when plenty of iowa players were waiting / hoping for their shot. bottom line i'd dangle a carrot.

4th line isn't really the ideal spot for a lot of the guys in Iowa. Some can play that checking role okay, but it would be a waste for guys like Sokolov, Shaw, Ladonia (next year), etc.

Iowa might have had guys waiting (mostly hoping) for their shots, but really none of the kids below Kunin were ready/skilled enough for the NHL. It's why old man Read was the main callup and Hendricks ever saw the ice.

 

[Bazeek]

4th line isn't really the ideal spot for a lot of the guys in Iowa. Some can play that checking role okay, but it would be a waste for guys like Sokolov, Shaw, Ladonia (next year), etc.

Iowa might have had guys waiting (mostly hoping) for their shots, but really none of the kids below Kunin were ready/skilled enough for the NHL. It's why old man Read was the main callup and Hendricks ever saw the ice.

Yeah, Hendricks in the 13th forward slot is what really blocked any of the Iowa guys that may have deserved a shot. And I'm not sure that there really were any that point.

Having Mayhew or Beck or whoever in that spot next year would be preferable.