Mike Yeo: Wild starting job in goal wide open

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As we make our way towards the NHL season there's more hockey news starting to emerge. The Wild are going to have a stable of goalies this season. According to Minnesota Wild head coach Mike Yeo, the position is wide open.

NHL Insider -- The Minnesota Wild will enter training camp next month with three goaltenders, Josh Harding, Niklas Backstrom and Darcy Kuemper, competing for the starting job. Wild coach Mike Yeo said each will have a chance to win the No. 1 job.

"I have to say we're kind of open right now, to be honest with you," Yeo told Michael Russo of the Star Tribune on Wednesday during an appearance at the Minnesota State Fair. "We're going to have some scrimmages … but we're going to have to pretty quickly determine who we want to give a greater workload to after that. That's going to be a good challenge."

Obviously, they Wild are going to  need to sign Darcy Kuemper who remains an unsigned restricted free agent. There's also many questions about Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding's health. Neither has been able to play a full season the last two years.

Related articles

• Trib: Leave the hockey coverage to Russo

Burton Family ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

My family did the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge... I know, I know, someone is missing.

Hockey East: To Broadcast 25 Games

Hockey East announced their NBC Television Schedule today. The schedule includes six Hockey East match-ups. Notre Dame will have a 20 game schedule.

Friday, October 10 RPI at Notre Dame 7:30 p.m. NBC Sports Live Extra

Sunday, October 12 Minnesota at Notre Dame 3:30 p.m. NBC Sports Live Extra

Friday, October 17 Lake Superior State at Notre Dame 7:30 p.m. NBCSN

Saturday, October 18 Lake Superior State at Notre Dame 6 p.m. NBCSN

Friday, October 24 Niagara at Notre Dame 7:30 p.m. NBC Sports Live Extra

Saturday, October 25 Niagara at Notre Dame 7 p.m. NBCSN

Friday, October 31 Vermont at Notre Dame 8 p.m. NBCSN

Friday, November 7 Boston University at Boston College 8 p.m. NBCSN

Saturday, November 1 Vermont at Notre Dame 7 p.m. NBC Sports Live Extra

Thursday, November 20 UMass Lowell at Notre Dame 7:30 p.m. NBC Sports Live Extra

Friday, November 21 UMass Lowell at Notre Dame 7:30 p.m. NBCSN

Friday, November 28 Union at Notre Dame 7:30 p.m. NBC Sports Live Extra

Saturday, November 29 Shillelagh Tournament 7:30 p.m. NBC Sports Live Extra

Friday, December 5 Boston College at New Hampshire 8 p.m. NBCSN

Saturday, December 6 Maine at UMass Lowell 8 p.m. NBCSN

Saturday, January 3 Union at Boston University 7 p.m. NBCSN

Friday, January 9 Dartmouth at New Hampshire 7:30 p.m. NBCSN

Saturday, January 10 Western Michigan at Notre Dame 6 p.m. NBCSN

Friday, January 16 Connecticut at Notre Dame 7:30 p.m. NBCSN

Saturday, January 17 Massachusetts at New Hampshire 6:30 p.m. NBCSN

Friday, January 30 New Hampshire at Notre Dame 7:30 p.m. NBC Sports Live Extra

Saturday, January 31 New Hampshire at Notre Dame 6:30 p.m. NBCSN

Friday, February 13 Providence at Notre Dame 7:30 p.m. NBCSN

Saturday, February 14 Providence at Notre Dame 8 p.m. NBCSN

Friday, February 27 Boston College at Notre Dame 7:30 p.m. NBCSN

Saturday, February 28 Boston College at Notre Dame 6 p.m. NBCSN

AHL Hockey: Education, drug testing program implemented

I am actually surprised that they didn't have one already.

NEW YORK/SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... An education and drug testing program will be implemented for American Hockey League players, effective for the 2014-15 season, the National Hockey League and American Hockey League announced today.
The details of the AHL program, which was the result of a collaborative effort between the two leagues (NHL and AHL), the National Hockey League Players’ Association and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (which represents AHL players in collective bargaining), substantially replicate the collectively bargained policies already in place for NHL players.

The AHL drug testing program will be administered by the doctors who supervise the NHL/NHLPA Performance-Enhancing Substances Program and the Substance Abuse/Behavioral Health Program.

UND Hockey: Zane Gothberg legally changes surname to McIntyre

An interesting turn of events, UND goalie Zane Gothberg has changed his last name is now officially now Zane McIntyre. I am sure I will screw this up once or twice.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – University of North Dakota junior goaltender Zane Gothberg announced today that he has legally changed his surname to his mother’s maiden name of McIntyre.

“My grandmother and my mother have been very influential in my life,” said McIntyre. “With the passing of my grandmother and my mother getting re-married, as well as my sister getting married, I’ve made the personal choice to carry on the family name in their honor.”

McIntyre, a sixth-round draft pick of the Boston Bruins in 2010, went 20-10-3 last season and was a finalist for the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s (NCHC) Goaltender of the Year award. He led the NCHC with a 1.99 goals against average and ranked second with a .926 save percentage. In 50 career appearances, the Thief River Falls, Minn., native is 29-14-6 with a 2.15 goals against average and a school-record .924 save percentage.

Who's the All-Time Greatest UND Fighting Sioux Hockey Player?

I am conducting a poll. All-Time Greatest UND Hockey Player... http://t.co/SiiSO0V6Nv
— Eric J. Burton THW (@goon48) August 28, 2014

I am conducting a non-scientific poll. Who is the Greatest All-Time Fighting Sioux Hockey Player?  There's multiple ways that you can vote.

1.) Vote at Sioux Sports, there's a link provided in the embedded tweet.
2.) You can post a comment on this blog post.
3.) Tweet my your vote on twitter to  @goon48, if you own a twitter account.
4.) Finally, send me an email at thegoon48@gra.midco.net ...

Preseason Power Rankings

Well it's almost time for NHL training camps to open up again so I went through each of the 30 rosters and put together my complete power rankings based on what I thought the depth of the roster was going into the upcoming season. So, here it goes.
1. LA Kings
2. St. Louis Blues
3. Boston Bruins
4. Minnesota Wild
5. Chicago Blackhawks
6. San Jose Sharks
7. Detroit Red Wings
8. Anaheim Ducks
9. New York Rangers
10. Pittsburgh Penguins
11. Colorado Avalanche
12. Dallas Stars
13. Montreal Canadiens
14. Philadelphia Flyers
15. Tampa Bay Lightning
16. Vancouver Canucks
17. Toronto Maple Leafs
18. Washington Capitals
19. Nashville Predators
20. Columbus Blue Jackets
21. Carolina Hurricanes
22. Arizona Coyotes
23. Edmonton Oilers
24. New Jersey Devils
25. Calgary Flames
26. Ottawa Senators
27. New York Islanders (might be a little low)
28. Winnipeg Jets (again maybe a little low)
29. Buffalo Sabres
30. Florida Panthers

Now I know that everyone will think that there should be some tweaking somewhere in this power ranking, but remember, it is the preseason and it is only the opinion of me based on the current rosters. However, do remember that I predicted that the Blue Jackets would make the playoffs in September last year and almost everyone laughed at me. Just saying. I'd love to hear your opinions on the subject. Tweet me your top 5 @siouxhockey33, comment on this post, or even email me your complete 30 team power rankings at siouxhockey33@gmail.com to see where we are similar or differ in our opinions.

NHL Hockey: Four More Teams by 2017?

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According to Chris Peters of CBS Sports, the NHL could add as many as four more teams by 2017. The more you look into this deal, the more it looks like a possibility. The NHL in Las Vegas could be a big draw.

Chris Peters, CBS Sports -- Here's why it's not completely outlandish to envision Vegas as a future NHL city. For one, they have two open spots in the Western Conference to even things out and bring some competitive balance. The Eastern Conference currently has 16 teams, while the West has 14. If the NHL expanded to the most long-rumored top candidate of Seattle, that would help even things out. It's definitely not as simple as that, though.

Another barrier for Las Vegas would have been an arena, but that may no longer be an issue. The city has been home to minor-league hockey for years, but now Vegas is in the process of building a new arena however with the aim of bringing either an NHL or NBA team to Vegas.

MGM and AEG, owner of the Los Angeles Kings, are teaming up on the project that broke ground in Las Vegas in May. The new arena is due to open in 2016 and will have 20,000 seats, but a projected capacity of 17,500 for hockey. The company building the arena, ICON, is also building the Edmonton Oilers' new arena. Kings great Luc Robitaille was on hand at the ground-breaking.

The markets listed seem like good choices. I do like adding more teams in Canada. One city that stands out is Toronto. 

NHL expansion – four teams added by 2017, Quebec City, Toronto, Seattle, and Las Vegas $1.4b in expansion fees — Howard Bloom (@SportsBizNews) August 27, 2014

NHL expanding to Las Vegas

Viva Las Vegas! According to the Providence, the NHL is expanding to Las Vegas, Nevada. Place your bets. I picture an arena with one armed bandits and black jack tables in it. All jokes aside, I think it's a great move. Now, I wonder if we can get a Frozen Four there?

Tony Gallagher, The Providence -- Sources close to the situation have indicated Las Vegas is a done deal, the only thing to be determined being which owner will be entitled to proclaim that he brought the first major league sports franchise to Sin City.

And given how dead set against a team in the gambling haven the commissioner was 10 years ago, this move into another player friendly state-tax-free zone represents a considerable about-face indeed.

But people have been betting on hockey games for years and to pretend games couldn’t be fixed just as easily anywhere as in Vegas is pretty ridiculous, so that posturing has fallen by the wayside.

A new team close to the newly renamed Arizona squad and California’s big three is all but assured, the only question being when and with which other city. Or should that be plural?

With all the activity going on in the Seattle area in the last little bit it would be quite a stretch to imagine that much time and effort being spent by so many wealthy men being frittered away for nothing.

Report: #NHL expansion to Las Vegas ‘a done deal’ http://t.co/r8p1ZNDNkv pic.twitter.com/TP3zPmXwFE
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 27, 2014

This Day in Hockey History

So sitting between classes looking for something to do, I decided to look up what happened on this day in hockey history, but quickly found out that not many interesting things happened on August 26th for the sport of hockey. However, here are the few things I did find in order by year:
1938- Montreal Maroons dropped from the NHL
1971- Then all time shutout leader, Terry Sawchuck, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame

1980- The Stastny brothers, Peter and Anton, were signed by the Quebec Nordiques becoming the first pair of non North American players to play in the NHL. This signing was huge for the future of the NHL because if this doesn't go down, there could have possibly been no Lidstrom, no Ovechkin, no Malkin, no Datsyuk, no Sedins, and the list could just go on and on.

43 Days until the NHL season - Links...

There are 43 days until the NHL season begins.


UND football starts in two days and six - nine freshmen could end up having their red shirts pulled.


The UND football insider has the two-deep depth chart for the UND football team.


The UND Hockey team took the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. To date, that's the best one that I have seen.


Apparently, the Penguins aren't in a hurry to re-sign their goalie.


Talk is starting to emerge about the NHL in Seattle.

NCAA Hockey: Six Part Must-See Non-Conference Series

Atlantic Hockey: Five Must-See Non-Conference Series http://t.co/oXAtQNjJFu
— NHLFantasyPlus (@NHLFantasyPlus) August 25, 2014

I just finished up six blog posts: Five Must-See Non-Conference Series. I am in the process of writing a 10 Must-See NCAA Hockey Series. It should come out this week. As we move towards the 2014-15 college hockey season, this has been the most uneventful off-season that I can remember. For those that are wondering, the NCHC CBSSN television schedule is going to come out sometime in the next six weeks.

Hockey East: Five Must-See Non-Conference Series - http://t.co/exzbOdnZOU #hockey #THW pic.twitter.com/ddqwDiGwCx
— The Hockey Writers (@TheHockeyWriter) August 15, 2014

WCHA Hockey: Five Must-See Non-Conference Series - http://t.co/NFnkuFtXDE #NHL pic.twitter.com/5S7jQy2ivf
— THW Hockey (@HockeyLinks) August 13, 2014

Big Ten Hockey: Five Must-See Non-Conference Series http://t.co/PEJLOVDELc #THW
— The Hockey Writers (@TheHockeyWriter) August 9, 2014

ECAC Hockey: Five Must-See Non-Conference Series http://t.co/uZTLyjpxSn #THW
— The Hockey Writers (@TheHockeyWriter) August 7, 2014

\

#NHL #Hockey NCHC Hockey: Five Must See Non-Conference Series http://t.co/oa1IDdmeVj
— Hockey Fan (@HockeyFanLV) July 30, 2014

NHL Hockey:Forty Four Days

Checking out the calendar, there's 44 days until the hockey season begins.

Darcy Kuemper's new goalie mask

Here's the new goalie mask that Minnesota Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper will wear for the 2014-15 season.  Now, let's hope the Wild can get the young goalie locked into a new contract.

Video: Ric Del Basso Goal Celebration

This is from the Australian Ice Hockey League. The player that scored the goal in the sixth round of the shootout is Ric Del Basso of the Perth Thunder def Melbourne Ice. Should be the goal celebration of the year.

Jonathan Toews Ice Bucket Challenge

Former Fighting Sioux and current Chicago Blackhawks forward Jonathan Toews did the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and this is by far the best ALS Ice Buckets Challenge that I have seen to date.

Former Wild Forward Devin Setoguchi signed by the Calgary Flames

Former Minnesota Wild forward Devin Setoguchi has been signed by the Calgary Flames. It would appear that the Flames got a bargain signing Setoguchi for $750,000. One could make the argument, that his is a smart contract, especially if he recovers from the miserable season that he had last season and scores 20 goals. That would be a big win for the Flames.

CGY signs Devin Setoguchi. One year. $750K AAV.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) August 23, 2014

Don Cherry Tweets About Team Canada's Win in the Ivan Hlinka tournament

1) Just want to give a congrats to the Team Canada Under 18 team for winning the Gold Medal . We’ve won the Ivan Hlinka tournament 7 years
— Don Cherry (@CoachsCornerCBC) August 22, 2014

Don Cherry tweeted this today... Last weekend, team USA lost to the Canadians in the semifinals of the  Ivan Hlinka tournament. USA would go on to win the bronze against the Swedes.

1) Just want to give a congrats to the Team Canada Under 18 team for winning the Gold Medal . We’ve won the Ivan Hlinka tournament 7 years
— Don Cherry (@CoachsCornerCBC) August 22, 2014

3) One is the Olympics with the NHL players playing, which we have won 3 out of last 4 Gold Medals. The other is the Ivan Hlinka tournament,
— Don Cherry (@CoachsCornerCBC) August 22, 2014

5) We beat the US 11-5 in the semi finals and then beat the Czech in the finals 6-2.
— Don Cherry (@CoachsCornerCBC) August 22, 2014

6) Great job. Like I’ve always said, we’re the best and always will be
— Don Cherry (@CoachsCornerCBC) August 22, 2014

46 Days Till the NHL Season

There's also 43 days until the College Hockey season begins.

Grand Forks Herald: UND, NDSU to play in 2015, 2019, ending 12-year hiatus

Good times have come our way... Finally, the North Dakota State University and North Dakota will resume their rivalry in football. It’s a start, and it’s also a step in the right direction. Seriously, the Bison didn’t have to play us and while some UND fans aren’t happy that the games will only played in Fargo for now, the series will eventually return to Grand Forks, ND. I would bet on it.

Now if you want some comical, thoughtful analysis on the resumption of the historic rivalry, head over to Belligerentville aka Bisonville.

One final note, according to Dom Izzo and Tom Miller, the two teams will “not” play for the Nickle Trophy.

Brad Elliott Schlossman, Grand Forks Herald -- The UND-NDSU football rivalry is back.

The schools will play in games in Fargo on Sept. 19, 2015, and Sept. 7, 2019, ending a 12-year hiatus that began after the 2003 contest when NDSU moved to NCAA Division I status.

“I want our football players to have the full experience of being a UND football player and, to me, that includes playing North Dakota State," UND coach Bubba Schweigert said. "True rivalry games are a big part of college football. You see Iowa State playing Iowa, Michigan State playing Michigan, Auburn playing Alabama and so on. There is no reason North Dakota and North Dakota State should not be playing.

“As I traveled around the region talking to some of our football alums, one of their fondest memories is playing against our rival North Dakota State. Too many young men have missed out on that opportunity over the last 11 years.”

This also means no FBS/BCS game for #NDSU in 2015; at Montana, home vs. Weber State and #UND
— Dom Izzo (@DomIzzoWDAY) August 22, 2014

Former #NDSU AD Gene Taylor outlined deal for games with #UND according to release, 500 tickets go to #UND as well
— Dom Izzo (@DomIzzoWDAY) August 22, 2014

In contract; #UND will receive 125K for the 2015 game and 140K for the 2019 game with #NDSU #FCSFootball
— Dom Izzo (@DomIzzoWDAY) August 22, 2014

Unfortunate. Such a great part of the rivalry "@gfherald: UND-NDSU won't play for Nickel Trophy in renewed rivalry http://t.co/ziNKP4AvMu”
— Tom Miller (@tommillergf) August 22, 2014