ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Wild open up their season against the Florida Panthers at home inside Xcel Energy Center on Thursday night. While the Wild will be without captain Jared Spurgeon [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild/news/wild-need-blueline-to-step-up-after-jared-spurgeon-injury], they enter the 2023-24 campaign on the right note after winning five of six preseason games. Why can the Wild finish in the top-3 in a more competitive Central? Here are five preseason observations: 1. Sammy Walker, who scored 27 goals and 48 points last season in Iowa, had an impressive showing over the past month between the Tom Kurvers Prospects Showcase, training camp and in the preseason before being assigned to AHL Iowa last week. The 24-year-old not only got on the scoresheet with two goals and four points in three preseason appearances, but he played the right way and used his speed to his advantage. Walker also had three goals and four points in two games at the prospects showcase. It's just a matter of time before Walker is up with the big club. 2. Speaking of Iowa, the Wild's AHL affiliate is poised to make some damage this season with the depth they have now. Iowa has a strong returning cast with Walker, Nic Petan, Steven Fogarty, Adam Beckman, Nick Swaney and Mike O' Leary up front and Dakota Mermis, Daemon Hunt, Ryan O'Rourke and Simon Johansson on the backend. But the depth Iowa has added has strengthened them from the top to the bottom of the lineup, which was on full display in preseason and training camp. The additions of Vinni Lettieri, Jujhar Khaira and Casey Dornbach at forward and defenseman Carson Lambos, David Spacek and Kyle Masters among other depth pieces should make them a threat. 3. Just like Walker, the pair of Hunter Haight [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild/features/his-speed-and-shot-are-elite-hunter-haight-strives-to-be-a-name-they-need-to-talk-about#:%7e:text=ST.,they%20need%20to%20talk%20about.%E2%80%9D] and Riley Heidt [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild/news/wild-prospect-riley-heidt-building-toward-a-complete-game-i-know-what-im-capable-of] made an impression in September. Both displayed their offensive skillsets, weren't intimidated by the moment and had production to show for: Haight had three points in the showcase and a preseason assist, and Heidt had two preseason assists. They're both rising through the ranks of the Wild's prospect pipeline and have continued their success from September with strong starts this season with their respective WHL clubs. Haight has four goals and six points in three games with the Saginaw Spirit, and Heidt has five goals and 11 points in six games with the Prince George Cougars. 4. Brandon Duhaime and Connor Dewar are important pieces on the Wild's fourth line, and they both were especially noticeable in the preseason in elevated roles. Duhaime finished the preseason with a primary assist, a fight and six shots. Dewar, who especially stood out, recorded two points, nine shots and won 57.45 percent of his draws, an area the Wild need to improve in this season. Dewar also scored the overtime winner against the Blackhawks on Sept. 30, where he cut across the slot and scored glove side on Chicago's Arvid Soderblom. 5. As we noted after the trade [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild/news/why-the-minnesota-wilds-acquisition-of-pat-maroon-is-even-better-than-it-looks], the Pat Maroon acquisition via trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning this summer looks like it's going to turn out really well for the Wild. Maroon appears to be an upgrade over Ryan Reaves as the former brings more to the table outside of purely the physicality element. The three-time Stanley Cup winner showed exactly that in his three preseason appearances with the exhibition finale being his most notable performance, where he scored a goal and fought Jamie Benn. REQUIRED READING • Kirill Kaprizov named alternate captain [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild/news/wild-announce-kirill-kaprizov-as-new-alternate-captain] • Wild top prospect, Marat Khusnutdinov, traded to HC Sochi [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild/news/report-wild-top-prospect-marat-khusnutdinov-sent-to-hc-sochi] • Wild extend Ryan Hartman [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild/news/wild-sign-ryan-hartman-to-three-year-extension], Marcus Foligno [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild/news/wild-sign-marcus-foligno-to-a-four-year-extension] and Mats Zuccarello [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild/news/wild-sign-mats-zuccarello-to-two-year-contract-extension] THN.com/Free [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNjEyMTE2NDA1NjkxNzY4/my-thn-ad-banner-1500x150.jpg] THN.com/Free
