I wonder how Dalpe is doing? He started off the year pretty well, then got injured. Haven't heard anything about him since.
If the goal is to get Staal going again swap Pommer and Tuch. No need for Stall to have to worry about a rookie that way.
I actually completely forgot about Dalpe.
Bluntly, for the Wild to take the risk of putting a 6-foot-5 center on waivers tells you all you need to know about what the coaches and brass think of his game lately.
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“All three of them (Stewart, Graovac and Schroeder) need to be a lot better, but the fourth line can’t give up that many chances. Our whole team can’t, but for a fourth line like that, they can’t play the way that they have been playing. They have to win more battles and turn fewer pucks over. That’s not a recipe for success. It’s not all Graovac certainly. I think all three of them have slipped in the last couple weeks and we have to try to get a better recipe for what we want to do with that line.”
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On the fourth line, Boudreau said frankly, “Come playoff time, they have to be good. We have to be able to have the confidence that we can put them out, especially on the road,” when the other team has last change and can put their best scoring line on the ice. Boudreau continued, “I have to have the confidence that they can play. And right now, faceoffs in our zone, they’ve struggled with that. Hopefully this will work out.”
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Boudreau said the Wild wants to make room for Coyle in the middle. He handles the puck more in the middle and it’s been noticeable.
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On Tuch, Boudreau said he did OK in his first stint and in his first experience, players usually play much better after going back to the minors and coming back up.
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Dalpe is still out, he has been on the ice and skating. However I don't see him playing for Minnesota anytime soon unless something drastically changes. In my opinion (especially if Grao gets claimed) Grayson Downing being healthy finally has allowed him (rightfully) to leap from Dalpe. At this point we know what we have here, and Tuch's head is already above Dalpe's ceiling.
Staal will get a few games to think about why he has decided to take on last year's role of Vanek.. Last night was hard to watch, turnover machine and no back check. Idk if he is hurt or tired or what, hope the regression isn't long term.
Yeah, I don't get it. First 1/2 of the season he was one of the teams best players. All of a sudden he hits a wall and turns into last years version of himself. Seems really odd.
Eh, players go through stretches. Pominville might have been the worst player in the league in the beginning of the year and now he's the 1st star of the week. Staal will be fine, I'm not too worried.
Yeah, except Schroeder is now up to 23 games played with no more points to show for it than that article listed.
When he's not getting points, he's not providing anything of value at all. That's why he's such a borderline player in the NHL at best.
Schroeder kind of reminds me of Veilleux. Great speed, that's it.
But remember when Schroeder and Stewart were magic? Where did those players and that chemistry go? He can contribute but not consistently.
This, people have to realize that inconsistency is the norm. Only players like Crosby/McDavid (and I guess Staal when he was in his early 20s) have the ability to score all season long. Don't be too surprised if Granlund goes cold next month and ends the season with less than 70 points.
The good news is our team is so deep that a couple players having droughts here and there won't cause us to lose games. Look at when Coyle was struggling, we still kept our .700+ pace b/c Koivu's and Haula's lines were able to score. Come playoff time I obviously hope we can fire on all lines, but it's good that we're not peaking too early. Allow Staal more time to adjust and hopefully we can go into the playoffs on a high.
But remember when Schroeder and Stewart were magic? Where did those players and that chemistry go? He can contribute but not consistently.
Schroeder kind of reminds me of Veilleux. Great speed, that's it.
Good he cleared. Maybe being sent to Iowa will wake him up. Put a chip on his shoulder to make it back up to the NHL.