Niklas Backstrom

Got my computer reformatted so I'm back and it's time to blog!

I'll start with saying it is great to see the Minnesota Wild play with 100% effort, winning on the road and starting to become a team no one can take lightly.

Yes, the team is starting to get the system. Yes, Havlat is starting to get on the board. Yes, Lats seems to bring a lot more to the team than Pouliot did. But Backstrom is the reason this team is where it is. The Wild pepper teams with shots, forecheck teams' defenses into the ground and are playing aggressive hockey. However, they still lack goalscoring.

I have to eat crow for a second. I was worried about Backstrom when we first hired Richards. We all knew he was a very disciplined goalie, in that he is calm and positionally sound. I was worried that he didn't have the acrobatics or athleticism to be able to stop odd-man rushes. Boy, was I wrong. Over the Wild's recent road trip, Backstrom has made key saves at key times. He was already receiving well deserved recognition over the past few seasons but is now being mentioned as an elite goalie.

At first, I thought his contract would hinder the Wild since I felt the Wild would not make the playoffs the next few seasons as CF rebuilds the team. But, it is hard to argue that having one of the best goaltenders in the game is a bad thing. So, cheers for Backstrom.



Clayton Stoner played in his first game tonight against Montreal. I thought he played a very basic and smart game. I hope he continues to get ice time and proves to be a good 5th-6th defenseman. He can play physical, can pass, is mobile and is young. Having this many defensemen come the trade deadline should make things interesting.



Tyler Cuma and Matthew Hackett did not make the Canadian Junior U20s team but Marco Scandella secured his spot. It will be good to see how both Cuma (who everyone thought would be a shoe-in a few months ago) and Scandella respond. Hopefully, it lights a fire under Cuma's ass and Scandella shows the world what he has to offer. Either way, it appears that the Wild do have great defense prospective depth.