While the Minnesota Wild capped off an atrocious nine-game stretch with a 6-0 loss to the Coyotes, an amazing announcement was made regarding the National Indigenous Junior Hockey Championships, and a program in Manitoba is giving disabled children to chance to play hockey.
Marc-Andre Fleury (29) and Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson (32) exchange words between periodsWelcome once again to Screen Shots, an ongoing THN.com feature in which we tackle a few hockey topics, and break them down in a few short paragraphs. Let’s get to the topics right away:
Minnesota Continues to Underperform
The Minnesota Wild got their doors blown off by Arizona Saturday, losing 6-0 to the Coyotes. They're now 1-7-1 in their past nine games, and they've been outscored 21-5 in their past four games, all of which were losses. They're now 10 standings points behind the Nashville Predators for fourth spot in the Central, and their next six games are all against teams that should beat them (the Islanders, Lightning, Panthers, Hurricanes, Capitals and Predators).
Some analysts expected more from the Wild this season, but this writer wasn’t one of them. There’s simply not enough elite talent on Minnesota’s roster to turn around the trajectory of their season, and it's high time Wild GM Bill Guerin began trading away veterans, whether they’re in the final season of their contract or not. There ought to be very few untouchable players on this roster, and having to play a half-season of relatively meaningless hockey should be a massive reality check for Guerin and Wild brass. Running it back with most of the team intact next season should not be an option.
We’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: imagine Wild fans’ joy if they had a legitimate collection of high-end players who could rival Central Division teams and put Minnesota in position to make a deep Stanley Cup playoff run. Instead, they’ve got this exercise in mediocrity, and unless something drastic is done, they’re going to be about as ineffective next year as they currently are this year. Guerin has already fired a coach this season, and that clearly wasn’t the main problem with this team. It’s about the makeup of the lineup, and major change absolutely is called for.
Date and Location Revealed for National Indigenous Junior Hockey Championships
Some great news was made this week with the announcement of a national Canadian indigenous tournament to take place in Toronto in the summer of 2025. The tournament, which will be an under-20 tourney, is scheduled for June 2 to 6 and will provide a competitive outlet for a community that is underrepresented in the larger world.
We’ve seen hockey embrace indigenous issues in recent years, but it’s this type of grassroots movement that will lead to more elite Indigenous players, which will hopefully snowball into even greater participation in the years and decades to come. We can’t snap our fingers and expect massive successes right away, but we can work with Indigenous groups and individuals to ensure the hockey landscape will be much more welcoming than it is at present. Here’s hoping that the tournament is a smash success, and leads to more programmes like this one.
Amazing Project Helps Disabled Youth Live the Hockey Dream
Finally, kudos to everyone involved with this amazing project, which gives disabled children a chance to play hockey.
The “Volt Hockey” program provides an opportunity for children with mobility limitations to enjoy the atmosphere of a hockey game. These kids want little more than to have fun, and it's wonderful to see this program giving them the chance to do so. And the Volt program is looking for volunteers in Manitoba to help them expand the program; If you have some spare time, you won’t find many more appreciative people than those who are participating or who have children who are participating in this project.
This is the community-minded spirit of what hockey is all about, and there’s no question it deserves widespread support. Take the time to learn about the program, and you won’t regret it.