Minnesota Wild Silently Taking Over Central Division

The Minnesota Wild  sit atop the Western Conference Central Division in the early going, but have been overlooked as a top team in the NHL

The Minnesota Wild have started the season 4-2-1 after seven games, and are currently first in the Central Division with nine points. Even with less than ten games played this season, it is remarkable that nobody is talking about the Wild.

The Edmonton Oilers are officially the NHL’s broken record, and the Montreal Canadiens have yet to lose a game in regulation. The Toronto Maple Leafs are still one of the worst teams, but finally have something to look forward to in Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner. Despite all the crazy storylines around the NHL, it is about time we discuss how good the Minnesota Wild have been, and if they can continue their success for the rest of the season.

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The Wild have developed several key players over the past few seasons.

Charlie Coyle is coming into his own as a strong two-way forward. He leads the team with three goals, along with newcomer Eric Staal, but has maintained a menacing physical presence. Playing on the second line with Staal and Nino Niederreiter for now, Coyle looks poised to have his strongest season yet.

Speaking of Niederreiter, the Swiss power forward has been waiting for an opportunity to land top-six minutes on a consistent basis. Playing primarily a third line role over the past two seasons, Niederreiter was able to crack the 20-goal mark for two straight years and should be able to contribute even more offensively while playing with Staal and Coyle.

Mikael Granlund is still a work in progress. While he has been a consistent first liner for the Minnesota Wild, there is still some untapped offensive potential. We have seen glimpses of it in the past, especially in the 2014 NHL playoffs, but he has yet to demonstrate the same skill in a full NHL season.

As it stands, the Wild are rolling with Jason Zucker, Zac Dalpe and Chris Stewart on the fourth line, which has proven to be a productive group thus far. Jason Pominville is still manning third unit, and has the help of promising prospect Joel Eriksson Ek and newly acquired Teemu Pulkkinen. With that said, the Wild finally have a sound group of forwards, which should help them get back to the playoffs in 2016-17.

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Before the Winnipeg Jets, the Minnesota Wild were the most recent team to try to roll with three goalies.

Josh Harding was coming off some of the best performances of his career, while Darcy Kuemper was making it very difficult for the Wild to send him back down to the AHL. Sadly, Harding continued to battle with multiple sclerosis and eventually lost the starting job for good.

Devan Dubnyk came out of the woodwork and earned the starting gig after Josh Harding’s eventual breakdown, which included him kicking a wall and breaking his foot. Darcy Kuemper was hoping to man the crease for the Wild, but the Dubnyk show is in full swing and there is no signs of it slowing down. For now, Kuemper will have to take a backseat to Dubnyk’s undisputed status, but the duo looks ready to help their team win down the stretch.

Strong Defense

Ryan Suter is one of the best in the league. He is the leader of this defensive unit and looks ready to be a Norris candidate by season’s end. The best story is his linemate Mathew Dumba, who went from trade candidate last season to top line pairing so far this year. He has a goal and three assists with two points on the power play and 12 shots on net. He is second on the team with 14 hits and looks much better defensively alongside Suter.

Jonas Brodin is another young defenseman who was inconsistent going into this year. However, playing on the second pairing, Brodin looks a lot like he did prior to his abysmal 2015-16 campaign, and is only three points away from tying his total of seven from last year. As long as he stays healthy, Brodin should be one of the best surprises on the Wild blue line.

Christian Folin is currently skating on the second unit with Brodin and has looked great. Despite having no points, Folin is playing his role to perfection, maintaining a plus-6 rating with 17 hits and five blocks in six games. He played 40 games for the Wild in  2014-15, but suited up for just 26 last year. By the looks of it, Folin wants to keep his spot on the Wild blue line and is making a great impression in the process.

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Even though the season is still very young, the Wild look like the real deal. As long as they do not lose any key players to injury, it looks like this unit is ready to produce on a consistent basis. They are undefeated at home and have a plus-5 goal differential, and have plenty to prove this season.

If they keep it up, it is only a matter of time before the Minnesota Wild join the numerous headlines surrounding the NHL this year.