Showing posts with label Ryan Suter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ryan Suter. Show all posts

Monday, December 28, 2015

What's Wrong with NHL Officiating



In another episode of blow the f#*king whistle. I have no problem with Wild defenseman Ryan Suter locking up with Detroit Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader behind the net. That's two guys battling hard, that's hard-nosed hockey. In my opinion, Sutter started the incident. The box score will read:

19:44 DET Justin Abdelkader Roughing - 2 min against Ryan Suter
19:44 MIN Ryan Suter Roughing - 2 min against Justin Abdelkader

I do have a problem with the mugging that Zach Parise took from Danny Dekeyser. There should have been a minor penalty or two called on Dekeyser. The refs are again letting the obstruction go. They need to call the penalties that happen right in front of their eyes.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Suter Gets Two Games

The Department of Player Safety has made the ruling that Minnesota Wild defenseman, Ryan Suter, will be given a two game suspension for his hit to the head on Penguins player Steve Downie.

The hit would happen in the second period of Tuesday night's contest when Suter and Downie were battling for a puck out front of the net. Suter's elbow would then come up and hit Downie in the face. For video on this, scroll down some on the blog, there is a video and a gif posted.

This is the first offense for Suter and will miss the game tomorrow night in Buffalo and Saturday's Hockey Day Minnesota celebration at Xcel Energy Center against the Arizona Coyotes. I guess when it rains, it pours for the Minnesota Wild. I think the team has finally hit its rock bottom.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

(Video & Vine) Wild Defenseman Ryan Suter Elbows Pengiuns Forward Steve Downie



There used to be a theory that if a star player like Ryan Suter committed an egregious act on the ice against a player with a reputation like Steve Downie, he wouldn’t get suspended.

I believe this dirty, questionable hit is going to test that theory. I don’t like optics of this hit, either. I predict that this hit should get a look from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety. Downie was also hurt on the play. I am a Wild fan, but I can't defend this hit. Do you think this hit deserves a suspension? Thoughts?

Tuesday, December 09, 2014

(Video) Matt Martin Hit on Keith Ballard



"It's a dirty vicious hit, up high, he put Ballard into the Glass," Minnesota Wild color commentator Mike Greenlay said.

You can decide for yourself what you think of the hit. I agree with Wes Walz, it's a questionable hit. It's in the grey area. The thing that might do Martin in, he came from a long way to hit Ballard and he was injured on the play.

If you watch the video, it looks like an elbow "might" have made contact with the head.


Wednesday, November 26, 2014

NHL Quarter Awards

With the season already a quarter over, lets take a look at who should win the Hart, Vezina, Norris, Calder, and Jack Adams trophies if the season were to end right now.

Hart: Sidney Crosby
Well no surprise here as Crosby is tops in the NHL in Points and second in assists. The Pittsburgh Penguins captain is leading the charge in the NHL and showing off the superstar like player we have all come to know very well, like him or hate him. Crosby is on pace for 119 points this season, scoring at 1.45 points per game. Scoring at this rate, Crosby, and Pittsburgh will be very tough to beat.

Norris: Ryan Suter
The league's top work horse is proving once again on why he is one of the elite NHL defenders. Suter leads all defenders in plus/minus at +13, which is also third in the NHL, and is a +6 in his last five games. Even though Mark Giordano leads all NHL defenders in points, Suter's 11 is still nothing to sneeze at for a defenseman at the quarter point. Give it time and the points will come for Ryan Suter.

Vezina: Pekka Rinne
Probably on one of the biggest surprise teams this season, Rinne is putting up the best numbers between the pipes in the NHL this season. He tops the
league with 14 wins. His 1.97 goals against average and .927 save percent also find him in the top five in the NHL among his fellow goalies. In 18 games played, Rinne is 14-3-1 and looks to remain among the NHL elite goaltenders for the remainder of the season.

Calder: Filip Forsberg
The 2012 first rounder for Nashville has turned heads in the early season and has become a big part to the Preds success so far. His +18 rating is tops in the NHL and his 22 points find him leading all NHL rookies as well, this is also good enough for 12th in the NHL too. Forsberg is in the top 20 in all major statistical categories in the NHL and leads all rookies in them as well.

Jack Adams: Jack Capuano
The Islanders coach has had one of the toughest coaching jobs since taking over a sinking New York Islanders in 2010 and last season was no different. Making the playoffs just one time since taking over, 2012-2013 first round loss to Pittsburgh, the Islanders have established their young talent and have found themselves sixth in the NHL in total points right now. Capuano has done a wonderful job turning this team around this season, and if the
success continues, look for a nice playoff run for the boys on Long Island.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Early Minnesota Wild Line Combinations

On my way home from classes this morning, I was listening to Paul Allen and Michael Russo on the Nine to Noon show on KFAN for some preseason Minnesota Wild talk. Right now it looks as if Parise is playing with Granlund and Pominville, which puts Vanek down with Koivu and Coyle.

Now I know that many of us Wild rubes wanted to see Vanek with Pommer and Granny, however, according to an interview Russo did with Coach Yeo yesterday, he said that Parise playing with Granlund and Pommer was the lethal combination at practice thus far.

Russo also believes that come opening night, you will see Jared Spurgeon playing along side of Ryan Suter due to his outstanding play at the end of last season and in the playoffs. I couldn't agree more, however he has a lot of proven chemistry with Marco Scandella already, so why screw that up when it already is a pretty good combination?

                                                                                   That being said, I am not too sure if Jonas Brodin
is worthy of top line defense minutes right now. After his facial injury last season, his play really fell off and was not the dynamic defenseman pre injury. I think that his playing style should be well complementary of Scandella so I see no problem if these two start out the season together, giving Spurgeon the top line minutes he has earned.

Then you also have to address the third defensive pairing. Keith Ballard was plagued with injury for much of last season, so that was a disappointment for all you Gopher fans who follow the Wild as well. Ballard is almost a shoe in right away to be playing as a defender on that third pair, but who plays with him? As of right now, it looks as if Christian Folin will be along side him to open the 2014-2015 season, but I still say don't count out the hard hitting youngster, Matt Dumba. In his games with the Wild last season, before going back to juniors, Dumba proved that he had what it took to be a solid NHL defenseman, who holds a legit scoring threat on the blue line. However, in the one game Folin was able to suit up for Minnesota last season, he recorded an assist, his first NHL point, and was a plus three against the always tough St. Louis Blues. It will be interesting to see how the third defensive pairing plays out. Could Ballard even be the odd man out? I doubt it right now, but it is an 82 game season so lets see if he stays healthy, or is a little more present on the blue line when he is playing.

Transitioning back to the forwards, specifically lines three and four, you know almost for certain that Haula will be centering Nino on that line, but who will be the winger on the other side? Will it be Matt Cooke, or Jason Zucker? With Zucker being out most of last season with injury, he is a great unknown as to how he is going to preform this season, however, when he is healthy, he has shown us that he is deserving to play with the big club no matter what. I think you start Zucker on that third line with Haula and Nino and put Cooke down with Brodziak and Justin Fontaine. The Cooke-Brodziak-Fontaine was a line that had shown some chemistry last season, and sure, why not have a potential 20 plus goal scorer on the fourth line with Fontaine?

With training camp starting this Friday, it should be interesting to see how the lines pan out come October 9th when the Colorado Avalanche roll into town.

Monday, August 11, 2014

Minnesota Wild All Time Greatest Player



Well we all heard Eric's opinion on who the greatest player in franchise history for the Minnesota Wild is, Marian Gaborik, and that will probably be a lot of other peoples choices because of how dynamic of a goal scorer he is.

However, one has to argue for Mikko Koivu. The captain has been with the team for 601 games played, plus three playoff runs.  The captain is much deserving of this honor along with his 452 points and a +26 rating in his career, I'd say this honor goes to Mikko Koivu.

Sunday, August 03, 2014

Tuesday, July 01, 2014

Now They're all on the Same Team

Now all three are on the same team.  Anyone else excited about Thomas Vanek being a member of the Minnesota Wild?

Tuesday, May 06, 2014

Ryan Suter Injuiry (GIF)


Hopefully, it's only a stinger and not a separated shoulder. But Wild defenseman Ryan Suter seemed to land awkwardly on his shoulder. Suter went to the locker room after the play.
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Sunday, January 05, 2014

Minnesota Wild: Ryan Suter scores a Hat-Trick to help Wild beat Caps 5-3.



Wild defenseman Ryan Suter became the first Minnesota Wild defenseman in their team's history to score a hat-trick. That was also the first hat-trick of Suter's NHL career. The Wild scored five goals on 11 shots. That's not a misprint or a typo. The Wild have now won two-games in a row.


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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Yeah in Review 2013



Personally, I think that 2013 was a crummy year, however, it was a very good year for sports. There's been some really nice stories. When it looked like the Boston Bruins were going back to Chicago for game seven, but it wasn't meant to be, as the Blackhawks scored two goals in 17-seconds to win the Stanley Cup over the Boston Bruins.



The last team in the NCAA tourney, wins the NCAA tourney by going through a bunch of one and two seeded teams. Also, Yale becomes the first Ivy League school as well as the first ECAC team since 1989 to win the NCAA title. With the NCAA title win, the ECAC sheds the EZAC label.

The Minnesota Wild sign the big-time free agents Ryan Suter and Zach Parise in the summer of 2012 and the Minnesota make the Stanley Cup for the first time since the 2006-07 season. However, the Wild playoff drive is short lived as they are quickly dispatched in five games (4-1) by the eventual Stanley Cup champion the Chicago Blackhawks.



After much discussion, hand wringing and teeth gnashing, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference begins play in Oxford, Ohio as North Dakota and Miami play in the first ever game. North Dakota would go on to win game one by a score of 4-2.



The Toronto Maple Leafs looked like they were headed to the second-round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Leafs had what looked like a comfortable 4-1 lead. Then the roof fell in on the Maple Leafs during the third period. The Bruins would move on to face the New York Rangers in the second round of the playoffs.



Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand, aka the Little Ball of Hate, would get things rolling in round two of the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the Boston Bruins would win in overtime.

Like I mentioned earlier, personally, for me, 2013 has been one of those years that I will soon hopefully forget, but there's been some great sports stories. Happy New Year and see you next year.
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Thursday, November 14, 2013

Are the Wild a soft team?

English: Kadri at the 2010 world juniors
English: Kadri at the 2010 world juniors (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
From Michael Russo's blog today. Russo asked Yeo about the Wild being called a quote-unquote “soft” team.
“First off, obviously who’s the first [player] to jump on top of him [Kadri]?” Yeo said. “[Ryan] Suter. So to say that we didn’t do anything, that’s false actually. And if you want to get into it, it’s this simple really: They’ve got [Colton] Orr on the bench, they’ve got [Fraser] McLaren (he actually didn’t play, so I’m not positive whom Yeo meant), they’ve got [Mark Fraser]. They’ve got one after another. So if we go after Kadri, well, are they going to go after Konopka? No. They’re going to go after one of our top guys. They’ve got more down the line where they can keep playing that game.

“So where we have to be better is on the power play. Teams have to be afraid to pull that crap on us [because] they’re fearful of our power play. But at the same time, what I like is that our guys continued to play the game. I’ll take exception with anybody that tries to call us soft because that’s not true. Where it’d be soft is if they tried to have a physical impact on us. And as far as I’m concerned, we raised our game. And that to me is tough[ness]. It’s a different type of tough.
I think there's a good point here. Does Ryan Suter beat the crap out of Nazem Kadri and negate the power play or do the Minnesota Wild wait and pick a time to challenge Kadri later in the game. I say take the power play. The best way to make the Leafs pay is on the power play in that situation. Also, the Toronto Maple Leafs are full of cement heads and the Wild only have Zenon Konopka and Clayton Stoner, there's not a lot of other fighters on the Wild. That's not their game. I don't think their a soft team either.
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Monday, October 28, 2013

Minnesota Wild: Brodin picks shield over the bird cage



Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin has decided to go with the shield instead of the bird cage. According to Michael Russo, Brodin skated today. Hopefully, the Wild defenseman will return to the lineup soon.
Jonas Brodin skated on his own again today and his face is apparently still swollen, so it’s uncertain if he’ll practice Wednesday yet (Wild has the day off tomorrow). Charlie Coyle is improving and hopes to play Friday, but he said understandably he will only do so if he’s 100 percent. Keith Ballard and Mike Rupp again practiced today.
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Sunday, August 18, 2013

Minnesota Wild depth chart



Michael Russo of the Star and Tribune has the depth chart posted on Russo's Rants and apparently this this team that the Minnesota Wild are going to go forward with. Looks like a decent lineup.
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Tuesday, August 13, 2013

WILD GM: Core in place

I have been on record to saying this when it comes to the Minnesota Wild. In my opinion, the Minnesota Wild are "very" close to being a very good hockey team for a very long time, based on the make-up of their current roster and the young players that the Wild have in their farm system. I don't think it's a stretch to say that they could be a Stanley Cup contender with the right mix of players. A player like Thomas Vanek would put the Minnesota Wild over the top and to the next level.

The GM of the Minnesota Wild had this to say about his hockey team.
"We were fortunate to sign both Zach and Ryan," Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher said. "Looking back now, in hindsight with a year removed, I can't even say how lucky we are that we did sign them. You hear horror stories of all these big free-agent signings that don't pan out, and we signed arguably the best defenseman in the League and one of the best goal scorers in the League. Both players lived up to expectations. They're great people."

The Wild's return to the postseason was short-lived. Minnesota was ousted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Quarterfinals in five games, scoring seven goals. The team obviously was frustrated, but the emergence of defenseman and forwards Charlie Coyle and Jason Zucker has everyone within the organization excited about what lies ahead.

" Fletcher said. "We have a good mix of veteran players and young players up front. We like our defense with the addition of Ballard. Certainly, with Nik Backstrom and Josh Harding and the emergence of Darcy Kuemper last year, we like our depth in goal. Every team could always use upgrades, but right now we're really happy with where we're at. There will be some good competition in camp and we're excited to see where some of our young players will sort out." [Brian Compton - NHL.com ]
The Wild if they get the right breaks and some players develop I think they could, this could be a breakout season for the Minnesota Wild. Young players like Charlie Coyle, Jason Zucker and Mikael Granlund. I have to say that I am excited for the season to start.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Men's National Team Orientation Camp Roster Set

Zach Parise, the United States during the 2010...
The Minnesota Wild have landed two of their star players (Zach Parise and Ryan Suter) on the U.S. Men's National Team Orientation Camp roster, The orientation camp will take place from Aug. 26-27, at Kettler Capitals IcePlex in Arlington, Va. If you look at the roster you will see a good number of players on team USA played Division I College Hockey

Also, there are two former Fighting Sioux forwards on the U.S. Men's National Team Orientation Camp roster in Zach Parise and T.J. Oshie. 

GOALTENDERS

Name
Height
Weight
Date of Birth
Shoots
Hometown
Current Team
6-2 (188)
180 (82)
1981-05-21
L
Park Ridge, Ill.
6-3 (191)
209 (95)
1993-07-14
L
Pittsburgh, Pa.
6-0 (183)
218 (99)
1984-03-26
L
Syracuse, N.Y.
Detroit Red Wings (NHL)
6-2 (188)
175 (79)
1980-07-17
L
East Lansing, Mich.
Buffalo Sabres (NHL)
6-1 (185)
218 (99)
1986-01-21
L
Milford, Conn.
Los Angeles Kings (NHL)
6-2 (188)
195 (88)
1986-03-18
L
Marblehead, Mass.
New Jersey Devils (NHL)
DEFENSEMEN
Name
Height
Weight
Date of Birth
Shoots
Hometown
Current Team
6-3 (191)
215 (98)
1990-07-15
R
Massena, N.Y.
Winnipeg Jets (NHL)
6-5 (198)
265 (120)
1985-03-27
R
Roseau, Minn.
Winnipeg Jets (NHL)
6-3 (191)
212 (96)
1990-01-10
R
Colonia, N.J.
Washington Capitals (NHL)
6-3 (191)
198 (90)
1990-03-07
L
Clay Township, Mich.
Detroit Red Wings (NHL)
6-0 (183)
215 (98)
1992-03-20
R
South St. Paul, Minn.
Carolina Hurricanes (NHL)
6-1 (185)
196 (89)
1991-03-05
L
Farmington Hills, Mich.
Anaheim Ducks (NHL)
6-2 (188)
184 (83)
1990-07-04
L
Minnetonka, Minn.
Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL)
6-4 (195)
232 (105)
1988-03-21
R
Bloomington, Minn.
Colorado Avalanche (NHL)
6-1 (185)
231 (105)
1987-01-13
L
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL)
6-4 (195)
206 (93)
1994-10-03
R
Plano, Texas
Nashville Predators (NHL)
6-0 (183)
191 (87)
1991-03-20
L
Eden Prairie, Minn.
Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)
6-1 (185)
200 (91)
1981-03-05
L
Minneapolis, Minn.
Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)
6-1 (185)
213 (97)
1989-06-13
L
St. Paul, Minn.
New York Rangers (NHL)
6-2 (188)
219 (99)
1980-09-26
L
San Francisco, Calif.
Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)
5-11 (180)
207 (94)
1989-01-29
R
Greenwich, Conn.
St. Louis Blues (NHL)
6-1 (185)
198 (90)
1985-01-21
L
Madison, Wis.
Minnesota Wild (NHL)
6-1 (185)
196 (89)
1994-02-26
R
Rochester, Mich.
Winnipeg Jets (NHL)
6-1 (185)
190 (86)
1986-09-09
L
Boston, Mass.
Phoenix Coyotes (NHL)
FORWARDS
Name
Height
Weight
Date of Birth
Shoots
Hometown
Current Team
6-1 (185)
219 (99)
1987-02-25
L
Muskegon, Mich.
Detroit Red Wings (NHL)
6-3 (191)
221 (100)
1984-05-01
R
Minneapolis, Minn.
St. Louis Blues (NHL)
6-2 (188)
207 (94)
1991-11-27
R
Gardena, Calif.
Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)
6-6 (198)
215 (98)
1992-07-17
R
Minneapolis, Minn.
Florida Panthers (NHL)
6-0 (183)
212 (96)
1984-11-04
L
Ithaca, N.Y.
Los Angeles Kings (NHL)
5-11 (180)
180 (82)
1985-03-21
R
Rochester, N.Y.
New York Rangers (NHL)
6-1 (185)
196 (89)
1994-02-12
L
Milwaukee, Wis.
Montreal Canadiens (NHL)
5-11 (180)
181 (82)
1988-11-19
L
Buffalo, N.Y.
Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)
6-2 (188)
202 (92)
1984-08-31
R
Livonia, Mich.
Vancouver Canucks (NHL)
6-0 (183)
202 (92)
1987-10-02
R
Madison, Wis.
Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL)
6-1 (185)
199 (90)
1987-01-08
R
Salt Lake City, Utah
Los Angeles Kings (NHL)
6-0 (183)
212 (96)
1988-03-16
R
St. Paul, Minn.
New York Islanders (NHL)
5-11 (180)
189 (86)
1986-12-23
R
Warroad, Minn.
St. Louis Blues (NHL)
6-2 (188)
219 (99)
1988-11-20
L
New Canaan, Conn.
Montreal Canadiens (NHL)
5-11 (180)
197 (90)
1991-02-01
R
Smithtown, N.Y.
Anaheim Ducks (NHL)
5-11 (180)
190 (86)
1984-07-28
L
Minneapolis, Minn.
Minnesota Wild (NHL)
5-11 (180)
190 (86)
1984-07-11
R
Plover, Wis.
San Jose Sharks (NHL)
6-2 (188)
200 (91)
1987-03-17
R
Cherry Hills, N.J.
Ottawa Senators (NHL)
6-1 (185)
202 (92)
1992-10-27
L
Gibsonia, Pa.
Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)
6-1 (185)
202 (92)
1989-09-05
R
Madison, Wis.
Nashville Predators (NHL)
6-0 (183)
205 (93)
1985-12-27
L
St. Louis, Mo.
Colorado Avalanche (NHL)
6-0 (183)
196 (90)
1990-06-18
R
Hastings, Minn.
New York Rangers (NHL)
6-3 (191)
200 (91)
1989-05-04
L
Middletown, N.J.
Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL)
6-5 (198)
205 (93)
1986-08-31
R
Robbinsdale, Minn.
Winnipeg Jets (NHL)

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