So far this season at both professional and collegiate levels, Minnesota hockey teams are playing well. With the Minnesota Gophers ranked No. 1 in the nation and the Minnesota Wild tied for fourth in the Western Conference, the state of hockey seems to have retained its dominance.
Much of the credit has gone to first-year Head Coach Mike Yeo, who has been able to get his team to play some solid hockey. Yeo is no stranger to successful hockey teams. Yeo was a member of the coaching staff that helped the Pittsburgh Penguins win the Stanley Cup in 2009. In 2010, Yeo was the head coach of the Wild’s minor league affiliate, the Houston Aeros of the AHL. Last season, the Aeros had the third best record in the league and went to the Calder Cup Finals where they fell to the Birmingham Senators four games to two in a seven-game series. Yeo’s success prompted the Wild to hire him as head coach.
Although Minnesota has dropped two of the last three games on their last five game road trip, the Wild remain one of the top-tier squads in the NHL. Like Yeo, new members of the Wild have made an immediate impact.
Minnesota’s two biggest off-season additions came in the form of forwards Danny Heatley and Devin Setoguchi. Heatley has posted six straight 60+ point seasons, including two in which he had over 100 points. Setoguchi has had one season over the 60 point mark in his three full seasons. Both players came over from trades with the San Jose Sharks organization, and both players have started the 2011-2012 season by putting points on the board. Heatley is leading the Wild in total points (11), while Setoguchi is tied with three other teammates with eight. It also comes as no surprise to Minnesota hockey fans that the assist leader is fan-favorite and team captain Mikko Koivu, who has nine assists this year in 16 games played.
While the offense has taken the spotlight in many games this year, one of the biggest reasons the Wild have been playing so well is that their goaltending has been phenomenal. Niklas Backstrom has given up just 2.15 goals per game while backup Josh Harding has given up just 1.78 goals per game. Harding is currently ranked fifth in goals allowed per game amongst NHL goalies. It remains to be seen who is the clear-cut starter and seems as if Coach Yeo will go with the hotter goaltender. Backstrom has started 10 games as opposed to Harding’s six.
Other Wild members making their presence known include leading goal scorer Matt Cullen (6), injury-free Pierre Marc-Bouchard and Guillaume Latendresse. Latendresse is currently battling a concussion and is sorely missed.
Minnesota will wrap up its five-game road trip Tuesday, Nov. 15, against Columbus, and then it will be back to St. Paul for their six-game home-stand. Currently, the Wild have a record of 5-2-1 at home, and they look to add more numbers in the win column.