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8 burning questions heading into Wild training camp: John Hynes one-on-one

17 September 2024Last Update :
8 burning questions heading into Wild training camp: John Hynes one-on-one

Minnesota Wild coach John Hynes’ summer was longer than he would have liked, but he kept busy.

While his NHL team missed the playoffs, Hynes was the head coach for Team USA in the World Championship in Czechia in late May. He spent time with his wife, Sarah, and their three daughters in their offseason home in Nashville. The family will stay in Tennessee this season as the middle daughter, Julia, finishes her senior year in high school.

Hynes now feels more at home in St. Paul, Minn., though, than when he took over in late November. He said joining a team in-season provided challenges in making major adjustments on the fly. But with a full training camp, opening Thursday at TRIA, there’s room for Hynes to put his fingerprints on this team.

“It’s a fresh start,” Hynes said.

Hynes’ staff has been tweaked, with veteran NHL coach Jack Capuano replacing long-time Wild assistant Darby Hendrickson, who took a job with the Nashville Predators after being let go. And after getting to know most of his players through the final five months of the season, from one-on-one talks on the plane through summer check-ins, Hynes has a game plan for how to attack the next month. The good news is that everybody is healthy entering camp, Hynes said, including captain Jared Spurgeon and Marcus Foligno, both coming off surgeries.

With seven of the Wild’s first nine games on the road, a productive training camp and getting off to a good start is an emphasis.

“It’s really a combination of wanting to establish your work ethic, your habits, the identity you want to play with,” Hynes told The Athletic this week. “At the same time, you want to install your structure that you want to play with. There will be changes that you weren’t able to make in-season. Not just because of limited practice time. Guys are kind of used to certain things. You can make some tweaks but not necessarily changes. Now you have the opportunity to make changes. You’re starting fresh. You’re starting over. You’re installing tactical things, the structural things. You’re drilling those in so they become automatic.”

Hynes covered several key questions heading into training camp.

How will the 3-goalie rotation play out?

Team president and general manager Bill Guerin was pretty open recently in saying touted prospect Jesper Wallstedt will get more games this season than the three-game cameo he had last season. Guerin said Wallstedt could either start and spend a chunk of the season on the roster or pop in and out from AHL Iowa based on the schedule.

The onus will be on Hynes to handle the three goalies, with Marc-André Fleury and Filip Gustavsson returning as well. It sounds like Wallstedt will have a real chance to push the veterans and get his share of starts. Hynes said there’s no plan in terms of how many games they expect from Fleury and Gustavsson (Guerin indicated the low 40s in games is “realistic” for Fleury, even at age 40). But Hynes said it’s about the trio making for some “hard decisions.”

“We have three real capable goalies that can help us win hockey games,” Hynes said. “Jesper had a really good summer, and he’ll really compete with Gus and Flower for the opportunity to play. … We want all three of those guys to play really well, push each other, push for games. To be able to come in and compete. It’s not about one guy. It’s about all three — and seeing where things play out during training camp and see where we go once the season starts.”

What will the lines be?

There shouldn’t be an overreaction on Day 1, because lines will be shuffled throughout camp, but one thing Hynes and his staff are focused on is reuniting Ryan Hartman, Mats Zuccarello and Kirill Kaprizov. That trio was dynamite together when Hartman racked up a career-high 34 goals in 2021-22. The goal would be to make for a deeper forward group — not just relying on a Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov line to dominate. So it could be, say, Eriksson Ek with Boldy and Marcus Johansson or Liam Öhgren on Line 2, and Foligno, Marco Rossi and Yakov Trenin on Line 3.

“We’ve had all kinds of discussions throughout the offseason with management, with our analytics department, with players at the end of the season,” Hynes said. “We know there’s been a lot of good combinations. Boldy, Ek and Kaprizov was an excellent line — one of the best in the NHL. But looking at some different combinations and splitting those guys up in camp, we think it would be more advantageous to our team right now. Marco could probably fit in some of those roles. Hartman could fit in some of those roles. We’re telling our players in camp that we’re going to try some different things and give guys different opportunities and see what comes out on top at the end.”

What role will Rossi play?

Hynes made it clear to Rossi in their summer chats that this would be a huge year for him. And Rossi took the advice to heart, skipping Olympic qualifiers for Austria and joining Wild teammates in workouts in mid-August. Rossi could end up as a third-line center with Foligno on his wing, but Hynes also indicated the former first-round pick is in the mix for top-six minutes. Rossi hasn’t been asked to try the wing “yet,” but it’ll be interesting to see if he’s asked to play that role.

“Marco had a really good season and he’s had a great summer,” Hynes said. “It’s an interesting situation, because Marco played really well with Foligno in a third-line slot. He’s a guy that can produce offense. He’s a responsible two-way player. He played well with Kaprizov and Zuccarello last year. You could see him in camp, try him with Zuccarello and Kaprizov. You could also see him with (Foligno) and whoever we have on the wing. There’s some flexibility there. But from everything we’ve seen, he’s put in the work to come back and have another good season. He’s going to get opportunities with some different people in camp and see what fits.”

How can they improve the PK?

One of the biggest on-ice adjustments Hynes will have to make is on the penalty kill, which finished 30th in the NHL last year at 74.5 percent. Getting Spurgeon back will be a big boost. Free-agent addition Yakov Trenin, a gritty forward Hynes knows well from their days in Nashville, will get penalty-kill time. Capuano is expected to take a role in tweaking the unit.

Hynes indicated there will be systematic and personnel changes. Hartman and Boldy, for example, could see more time shorthanded. Boldy got a chance on the PK at worlds under Hynes. In the past year, the Wild lost some regulars in Connor Dewar, Brandon Duhaime, Mason Shaw, etc.

“Obviously it’s about personnel, whether that’s combinations or different guys,” Hynes said. “Trenin is a very good penalty killer. Marat Khusnutdinov is a very good penalty killer from what we’ve seen. There’s some other players returning that were on the penalty kill and are good penalty killers. We know we can, and should, be better. So I think it starts there and then we have some tactical changes.

What’s next for Boldy?

Boldy, who is coming off 31-goal and 29-goal seasons, is a budding star and franchise cornerstone, having been given a seven-year, $49 million deal in 2023. But those who played with him at the World Championship and trained with him this summer see bigger things coming.

Boldy took off when Hynes became coach last season, saying he played with a lot of confidence.

“He had a very good year and really played to an identity that gives him a chance to be a pretty dominant player,” Hynes said. “It was nice to have the opportunity to work with him at the World Championship, where he was a top player, relied on in key situations, top-line minutes, top power play, introductory to the penalty kill, played against other teams’ top lines, played big minutes and was one of the best players in the tournament. But he played to a certain identity that gave him a chance to be a dominant player.

“He really put in the time in the summer. He worked with our conditioning staff. He’s bigger, stronger. That’s one of the things we talked about: How does he continue to be a dominant player and more consistent? And the big thing is, when he’s moving his feet, he’s playing a power game. He’s given himself more of an opportunity this offseason with the type of dedication he’s put into training to be a strong power forward that has excellent skill.”

Will regulars have bounce-back seasons?

Instead of making big offseason additions — which he didn’t have cap space for anyway — Guerin is relying on his veteran players to have bounce-back seasons. That means the likes of Johansson, Foligno, Freddy Gaudreau and, to an extent, Hartman. Hynes liked what he heard from players in exit meetings and their summer check-ups.

“It all starts with exit meetings,” Hynes said. “Those guys have felt, for numerous reasons, they didn’t have the year they wanted. But the summer has to be action. We can have conversations, but you have to take the bull by the horns as players when they leave here and they’re preparing themselves for the season. And both (Hartman and Gaudreau) did a really good job. Both of them were dedicated. They’ve come back. They’re healthy. They’re in great shape. That’s the start of giving themselves the opportunity to come back and have a bounce-back year.

“They’re hungry and they have pride, too. They want to be good players, want to help us.”

Who will run the top power play on D?

When Spurgeon went down at the end of camp last year, Brock Faber was thrust onto the top power play after not even playing much with the man advantage in college. He stepped in nicely, racking up 47 total points. Spurgeon is back and healthy now, though, and there’s also Declan Chisholm, a midseason waiver acquisition from the Winnipeg Jets who has the puck-moving ability and poise to get power-play time. So who will get the gig as the quarterback of PP1?

“It’s a good situation to have where we have three guys that you feel are capable of running the power play,” Hynes said. “It’s going to come down to having guys get opportunities in those situations in camp and compete. We have three guys that we’re going to try. It’s a bit different when you have two righties in Spurgeon and Faber and a lefty in Chisholm. We’re going to let it play out. At the end of camp, we’ll come to a determination of who is going to be running the top power play and who is running the second.”

Are there roster spots available?

The roster looks pretty much set, at least from the outside. Between the regulars returning, Trenin brought in and Jakub Lauko acquired for a potential 12th/13th forward role, there’s not much room. And there’s not much cap space, especially if Wallstedt is on the roster as a third goalie. Öhgren looks to have a great shot at being part of the lineup after his strong impression late in the season.

The one wild card appears to be Riley Heidt, a center prospect who was one of the top players in the WHL last season. Guerin has said Heidt will be given every chance and could earn a nine-game tryout. Our bet is Heidt will be one of the most-watched players in camp and get a lot of exhibition time.

“Are there a ton of spots? No,” Hynes said. “Are there some spots? Yes. But at the same time, you want to be able to see the players that are on the team — they’re also competing for roles, responsibilities, ice time and all those types of things. You want to be able to give players the opportunity to make the team.

“That’s how we’re going to progress during camp, and the objective is to make sure we’re a team that’s physically and mentally ready to go Game 1.”

(Photo of Mats Zuccarello skating toward Joel Eriksson Ek, Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov: Nick Wosika / USA Today)

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