3Number of goaltenders (Josh Harding, Darcy Kuemper, Niklas Backstrom) with 20 or more games played last season, 4 if playoff games are included (Ilya Bryzgalov). Projected Roster HEAD COACH: MIKE YEO LW C RW 2nd Line Thomas Vanek Mikael Granlund Jason Pominville 3rd Line Matt Cooke Erik Haula Nino Niederreiter 4th Line Jason Zucker Kyle Brodziak Justine Fontaine D D 1st Pair Ryan Suter Jonas Brodin 2nd Pair Marco Scandella Jared Spurgeon 3rd Pair Keith Ballard Christian Folin G Starter Darcy Kuemper Backup Niklas Backstrom Scoreboard 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 Playoff Finish Conf SF Conf QF DNQ DNQ DNQ REGULAR SEASON 43-27-12 26-19-3 35-36-11 39-35-8 38-36-8 POINT TOTAL 98 55 81 86 84 SHOOTOUT RECORD 9-8 4-2 11-9 3-5 5-7 GOALS SCORED 207 122 177 206 219 GOALS ALLOWED 206 127 226 233 246 POWER PLAY % 17.9 17.9 15.1 18.2 19.1 PENALTY KILL % 78.8 80.7 82.1 82.8 82.7 last season, the native of Finland finished with 54 points (11 goals, 43 assists) while playing with Parise. A healthy season would go a long way towards improving the offense in the upcoming year. One player that came on late last year was Mikael Granlund. The former first-rounder put up 26 points once the calendar changed to 2014 while filling in for the injured Koivu on the top line and showed a flair for highlight reel goals. The Wild are looking for the 22-year-old to take the next step in his development. If he does, a 60-point season is not out of reach. Defense In the same year the team signed Zach Parise, the Wild management signed an All-Star to front their defensive group as they brought in Ryan Suter from the Nashville Predators on the same contract terms as his teammate. Suter has lived up to expectations in his first two years in Minnesota. While his offensive output took a little dip from year one to year two in terms of points per game, Suter doubled his goal output from four to eight. With 32 points in a strike-shortened season and 43 points last year, there is no reason to believe that Wisconsin-born defensemen will regress. He will continue to play nearly half of each game on average during the season and consistently be matched against the opposing teams’ top offensive line. Suter stands among the upper-echelon of defensemen in the league today. After Suter, the defense lacks offensive punch. One player that has shown a penchant for putting points on the score sheet is Jared Spurgeon. The diminutive defensemen has shown improvement in his end of the ice as his plus/minus rose from +1 in 12-13 to +15 in 13-14. If Spurgeon can sustain his newfound improvement in the defensive zone, the Wild will be able to give him some of Suter’s minutes to keep the topnotch defenseman fresh throughout the year. (84) Of the players that could push to make the roster, Matt Dumba is the
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