Kevin Fiala - Fluke or star in the making?

[6ix]

Kevin Fiala went on an absolute tear in the second half of last season. I don’t know the exact stat but I think he was top 5 in point production during that time span.

He looked like an absolute star in the making, and poised to be “the guy” in Minnesota. He is currently pointless through 4 games and a -2. I haven’t been able to catch a wild game this year, is it a case of being snake bitten or was last season just a fluke?

With the arrival of Kaprizov he’s taken the spotlight this year. If Fiala can get going that would make a really good 1-2 punch.

EDIT - when I say fluke I don’t mean that he can’t be a good top 6 player, more of was it a fluke that he went on such a tear of being ppg+, and probably won’t get back to that going forward.

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[Oliewud]

pettersson has 1pt and bobby ryan leads the league in goals. It's a weird start so far.

based on what I saw from fiala last year he is absolutely nasty and just going through a minor slump in a weird season. I rate him star in the making.

 

[ThatGuy22]

Kevin Fiala went on an absolute tear in the second half of last season. I don’t know the exact stat but I think he was too 5 in point production during that time span.

He looked like an absolute star in the making, and poised to be “the guy” in Minnesota. He is currently pointless through 4 games and a -2. I haven’t been able to catch a wild game this year, is it a case of being snake bitten or was last season just a fluke?

With the arrival of Kaprizov he’s taken the spotlight this year. If Fiala can get going that would make a really good 1-2 punch.

Snake bitten. Looks good, putting lots of picks on net. They'll start going in.

 

[Mrfenn92]

4 games in. Silly threads.

 

[6ix]

4 games in. Silly threads.

Not disputing that. The only reason I was asking is because he doesn’t have a track record of being a “star” other than that tear he went on during the second half of last season. And what a tear that was, he was so impressive and on my radar to try and watch. Just haven’t had the time yet to catch any wild games.

 

[Gurglesons]

I think he got overrated by Wild fans, but I think he’ll be a 40-50 pt pace guy.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

I think he’s a good player, not sure if he’s a ppg but he’s super fast and super skilled

 

[Mrfenn92]

Not disputing that. The only reason I was asking is because he doesn’t have a track record of being a “star” other than that tear he went on during the second half of last season. And what a tear that was, he was so impressive and on my radar to try and watch. Just haven’t had the time yet to catch any wild games.

Don’t mean my post as a personal attack or anything. I get this is a fan and internet board. Just think there needs to be a reasonable amount of games.
He’s a young skilled player without history year in and out on his side. Until that changes like any young player it’s all a mystery:

 

[notsocommonsense]

I think he got overrated by Wild fans, but I think he’ll be a 40-50 pt pace guy.

Not a Wild fan. . Fiala was outstanding in the 2nd half of last year, I believe above ppg, while scoring multiple highlight reel goals . . Top 5 in scoring in the 2nd half if I remember correctly

I’m curious about the drop off too, tho as pointed out, it’s been a weird restart thus far

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

He’s got the 2nd or 3rd most shots per game right now in the league. He’s a streaky player as a lot of scorers are. He’ll get 2 points in 10 games and then follow it with 24 in 18 like he did last year. All in all, he’s probably about a 70 point player going forward. That was what his pace was last year. I don’t think he’s a superstar, but he’ll be a good 1RW.

 

[kthx]

I've watched Wild's games because I have Fiala in fantasy and IMO he looked quite good. He's not lazy, plays 2-way game and shoots a ton. He will eventually score a lot.

 

[Gargyn]

Kid is a stud. Unfortunately I’ve never in my 45 years seen a worse group of centres and supporting players than in Minnesota. Bjugstad, EE, Rask, Johansson, Greenway, Parise, Foligno and the rest are horrible. There is literally Fiala and Kaprizov who are good forwards. Such a horribly inept forward unit.

 

[Johnny HFBOARDS]

Has "better than A M" been said yet?

 

[Theodore450]

I've watched Wild's games because I have Fiala in fantasy and IMO he looked quite good. He's not lazy, plays 2-way game and shoots a ton. He will eventually score a lot.

Same I’m not dropping him, he’s not like 5 posts so far

 

[MarkusNaslund19]

Kid is a stud. Unfortunately I’ve never in my 45 years seen a worse group of centres and supporting players than in Minnesota. Bjugstad, EE, Rask, Johansson, Greenway, Parise, Foligno and the rest are horrible. There is literally Fiala and Kaprizov who are good forwards. Such a horribly inept forward unit.

It's an interesting question isn't it? Somewhat reminds one of the Canadiens' decade long search for top 6 centers (Suzuki is a stud and Kotka looks decent so far, jury's probably still out on him a bit).
Can anyone name teams from the past that had such a good D, decent wingers, and sub-expansion draft level of centers? Such an odd roster imbalance.

 

[Bounces R Way]

It's an interesting question isn't it? Somewhat reminds one of the Canadiens' decade long search for top 6 centers (Suzuki is a stud and Kotka looks decent so far, jury's probably still out on him a bit).
Can anyone name teams from the past that had such a good D, decent wingers, and sub-expansion draft level of centers? Such an odd roster imbalance.

The Calgary Flames 1995-2014.

 

[Bounces R Way]

Fiala seems like a good bet to settle into that 55-70 range top 6 winger. Don't really see him as a bona fide star in the future but you never know.

 

[Northerner]

In an organization like MN? I don't know. We haven't produced a whole lot of superstars.

If we put a decent center next to him, his prime years are like right now, so it's gotta happen quick.

I'd like to see him average around 30-35 goals a year for the next many years, maybe even push it into the 40s in a season.

 

[Tonystretcher]

As a Canucks fan that had to watch him destroy my team during the play ins last year I can tell you he is 100% legit. The shot generation is still there early this season just hasn’t been getting the bounces.

 

[MarkusNaslund19]

The Calgary Flames 1995-2014.

Even then, there's a bit of Marc Savard, Craig Conroy, Ollie Jokinen.

It's not the 2009 Penguins, but compare it to a discarded Nick Bjugstad or Marcus Johansson as your top center?

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Not gonna lie, was definitely counting him feasting on teams like LA and Anaheim, because it's sure not going to get easier against the top of the division. I'd be shocked if he doesn't pick it up, but our centers are looking like they might get us some nice deals on both Fiala and Kaprizov, though the latter is producing right now.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Even then, there's a bit of Marc Savard, Craig Conroy, Ollie Jokinen.

It's not the 2009 Penguins, but compare it to a discarded Nick Bjugstad or Marcus Johansson as your top center?

Right now we are:

Rask
Bonino
Eriksson Ek
Bjugstad

It's rough.

 

[MarkusNaslund19]

Right now we are:

Rask
Bonino
Eriksson Ek
Bjugstad

It's rough.

It's funny because my impression is that you couldn't really ask for a much better 3rd line Center than Eriksson-Ek, but he just doesn't have the skillset to move up so it's like:
1st line center: terrible
2nd line center: bad
3rd line center: great
4th line center: meh.

 

[Ctrain2k]

Slow start, he looks electric out there.

 

[notsocommonsense]

Right now we are:

Rask
Bonino
Eriksson Ek
Bjugstad

It's rough.

That really is a terrible list . . I’m amazed dumba ( or another top 4 D ) hasn’t been moved for an upper end C already