Prospect Info: Wild Prospect Thread 2023-2024
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First thought is that he is looking unlikely to make our team and wants to play in the NHL somewhere else, and that his little Iowa stint this spring was hopefully an appeal to show other teams. But then we would trade him versus voiding the contract.
Comments in that tweet and Russo's are saying he is just planning to go back to Russia and play there from now on. I wouldn't be surprised but I'm not seeing anything anywhere (admittedly I did not look very hard). I'm assuming an Athletic Article will come out about it soon enough.
I still don’t know wtf BG was thinking. I think we have every right to be irate. What a horrible decision.
If true, bro played less than 20 AHL games and quit twice. Good riddance.
DANOZ28
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i don't know whats going on with firstov however im not blaming mgmt / billy for any of this.
Lindberg, Mennell, Firstov, McBain, Fiala, Nesterenko have all given up on Minnesota. None of them have really any significance in the long run, but you have to wonder...
Circulartheory
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DANOZ28
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Dr Jan Itor
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Saga of the Elk
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Marshall Warren also signed with the Islanders.
That said, other than Fiala, which was unfortunately due to cap issues rather than player quality, not really big losses.
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Getting rid of Fiala was due to cap issues in the same way that I choose to keep an expired block of cheese and throw out my two hour old leftover filet mignon due to fridge space issues
Not really; Fiala made it known he didn't want to stick around and Guerin threw a temper tantrum with Mennell.
I don't know much about Warren but he was like a super senior that the Wild passed on. I don't remember any real strong quotes about him not wanting to sign in Minnesota.
McBain is a decent 3rd/4rd line guy. I'd pick him over Lettieri or Lucchini.
Dr Jan Itor
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Taking the one year contract and going through arbitration, picking only LA to be traded to, Fiala didn't seem interested in sticking around since the money wasn't there and Guerin wasn't going to do anything to free up the money - like you know, trading Dumba.
JiricekSaveUs
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Fiala wanted to be here. It was Guerin who made it obvious that he wasn’t valued here long term.
The request for arbitration isn't strange at all. Most teams have a couple players going through that process every year. It just gives a deadline for the team/player to work out a deal.
Fiala ended up taking his $5.1m x 1 before the hearing started. He was looking at $6.5-$7m x 5-7 years (Russo? rumor). GMBG said he had 3 good months and gave Goli a $5m x 1 contract.
$5.1 is an insult for the numbers Fiala has put up the last 2 seasons (COVID shortened). Lead the team 1 year (70p pace), and 2nd on the team the next (65p pace).
Fiala had no say in where he was traded. LA made an offer offer GMG liked Faber + 19OA (Ohgren). The boards here were mad that the trade was made over a week before the draft and MN didn't get a top-10 pick (OTT maybe? was the rumor). Also, it was Kap that held out for as long as possible that same summer. He even missed the start of training camp.
This is on GMBG, not Fiala. The writing was on the wall in technicolor that Fiala was as good as gone after the GM's comments and Kap getting paid.
I can never figure out if you throw stuff out there just to get a rise from us, or if you really believe what you are saying(typing).
Dr Jan Itor
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The money not being there is a separate issue than "not wanting to be here".
I have not seen or heard anything that said he wouldn't be here if we would've/could've offered the same contract that LA did. Last I remember, he was being offered something like 3 x $6M.
Bazeek
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- Take any team in the league.
- Separate out all of the decisions that didn't work out as well as they possibly could have.
- Focus on those things to the exclusion of absolutely anything else.
- Repeat for 10+ years.
That said - I think there are legitimate points here about a continuing failure to build a successful farm system. The AHL team hasn't been all that good since moving to Iowa and it's history of turning prospects into professional hockey players is... modest. Fenton at least identified it as a weak point. I wouldn't say Guerin's done much to make it worse, but it's felt pretty status quo throughout his tenure.
I think Fenton was one of the best things to happen to the Wild honestly; he churned over a lot of guys that were from the Risebrough era that fans were complaining about.
It's kind of funny that Fenton is now working (or at least last I saw) for Florida, who have been doing really well since they hired Zito. They've made some aggressive moves that have actually worked out for the better. Reinhart, Bennett have been pretty solid pickups for them.
The biggest thing about the AHL is it has pretty much mirrored the NHL team. Not great, but not horrendous (except this past year, thank you injuries). They have been mediocre with maybe one or two bright spots here or there.
As for Fiala, I may be misremembering - though it's hard to remember some of the drama and if it's Guerin or if it's the player's fault.
Bazeek
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I don't think I'd go that far with Fenton, but I do think he was disruptive in a way that a stagnant organization probably needed. And he and Guerin both seem to have a better eye for talent than Fletcher did.
I think Iowa's main challanges have been:
- Some of our better prospects have come out of the NCAA or European leagues, and have made quick transitions to the NHL.
- Our flashier CHL prospects didn't have games that translated well to the professional game.
- Our cap situation has hurt our depth at the NHL level, which makes it harder to "slow cook" prospects in Iowa.
The biggest thing he did was demote Guy LeFleur from head scouting position. But I liked Fenton a lot more than Fletcher and Riser. He shook up the organization a lot and you're right, it shook up a stagnant organization that needed it.
I also think they haven't really grabbed any good AHL veterans. Petan being probably the best off the top of my head. But the issue is why the CHL prospects aren't translating well or why they keep picking these guys that aren't translating well? Dewar changed his game, Duhaime did well, Shaw is okay but injured. My biggest hope is Haight and Heidt change that (along with Kumps).
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