MVN - Most Valuable Network

Jacques Lemaire says he’ll be back for 2008-09 season; Blake Wheeler goes pro

There was a collective sigh of relief across the State of Hockey when Minnesota Wild Head Coach Jacques Lemaire said he’d return for the 2008-09 season.  After the Minnesota Wild had their season conclude due to a 6-game playoff defeat at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche the coach was rather cryptic when asked if he would return for next season.  The two-time Jack Adams Award winner as the league’s best coach said he’d have to talk to Wild General Manager Doug Risebrough before he made a decision on whether to return.  Well apparently that talk went rather well and Lemaire announced on Saturday he will return as head coach for the 2008-09 season.

Lemaire told wild.com, “At the end of the year, I said I wanted to ask questions of Doug (Risebrough). I wanted to make sure my boss is happy with the work I am doing and with the way I manage the team. This is what we talked about in our meetings. I am reassured of my work and I want to coach again.”  It is very different to hear Jacques Lemaire be dependent on the confidence of another; but its a very practical concern to have.  Lemaire helped guide the team to its 2nd best record of 44-28-10 in franchise history as well as its first Northwest Division title.

With the team seemingly about to have an offseason of significant changes, there was some concern amongst Wild fans that he might not want to be part of team that is in transition.  The impending free agency of Pavol Demitra and Brian Rolston have many fearing the worst; that next season could be a rebuilding year.  One could hardly blame Lemaire for having a sense of urgency as he is getting closer and closer to finally concluding his NHL career.  To hear he is not only coming back but excited about it really goes a long way to arresting Wild fans’ collective apprehension about next season.  When asked about possible changes and challenges he’d have to face next season, Lemaire said, “Every year, there will be changes, and, you know, it’s great to work with that, great to get that puzzle, put every piece together and try to make that team as good as possible,” he said.  “It’s always a good challenge.”

Blake Wheeler leaves Gophers to go pro

University of Minnesota Golden Gophers’ star Blake Wheeler has decided to make the jump to the pro’s by leaving the team after his junior year.  Wheeler surprised many by being drafted 5th Overall in 2004 by the Phoenix Coyotes.  With fellow college hockey players Kevin Porter, Chad Kolarik and Kyle Turris signing early so there was some outside pressure for him to leave early.  Wheeler is the third Gopher opting to leave early as Jeff Frazee signed a professional deal with New Jersey a month ago, and Kyle Okposo’s far more notable defection mid-season.  The former Breck School star was the closest thing the Golden Gophers’ had to a go-to player offensively during a year where the goals were hard to come by, as his 15 goals and 20 assists led the team.

The smooth skating, deft stickhandling big forward hopes to develop his game further at the next level so he can earn a shot in the NHL as soon as possible.  Wheeler told the St. Paul Pioneer Press, “It’s just time for me to take the next step. I just want to develop my game and hopefully sooner rather than later be in the National Hockey League.”  The State of Hockey News estimate Wheeler will likely have a few years in the AHL before making the jump; and most likely will start laying on the wing rather than center like he did this season with the Maroon and Gold.

So with Wheeler’s departure who is going to pick up the scoring slack for the Gophers?  The Gophers will be hurt a bit by Wheeler’s decision, but they have to look forward to the return of Ryan Stoa from a knee injury as well as the debut of Nick Larson who has good finishing ability but had to miss last season due to an undisclosed injury.  The Gophers also have a promising freshman class led by Roseau defenseman and 2008 Mr. Hockey Aaron Ness.  Wausau, Wisconsin’s Nate Condon and International Falls skilled forward Jake Youso should also debut for Minnesota’s “Pride on Ice” next season.  The departure of Jeff Frazee and the graduation of former Elk River star Brent Solei means there is an opening between the pipes for a backup for Alex Kangas.  This means Plymouth, Minnesota-native Kent Patterson will get his chance after having an impressive year with Cedar Rapids of the USHL.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 11th, 2008 at 6:29 pm and is filed under Wild Editorials, Minnesota Hockey News, Wild News & Notes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.