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Minnesota Wild Development Camp 2008 finale, 5 Wild signings, and Veilleux

When you were a kid, did you look forward to going away to camp as much as I did?  For me, it was the opportunity to get out of my small town and meet new people. all while doing something I liked such as music or Girl Scout type activities.  Monday, marked the end of such a camp for the “kids” of the Minnesota Wild.  Some got their first taste of what this team is like, while others were making a push to make the team once training camp concludes later this summer.

The highlight of yesterday’s (if not the entire week’s) activities, was the scrimmage.  While the scrimmage provided a game-like experience for the Wild’s youngsters, it was not your typical game.  First off, the contest was an abbreviated two periods long.  The first period featured 5-on-5 play, while the second period demonstrated the players’ abilities at 4-on-4.  Considering that these young players are vying for spots with the Wild, it should come as no surprise that the scrimmage had to go to a shootout.  Possibly carrying on the tradition of success with Finnish players on the shootout, Eero Elo found the back of the net.  One can only hope that Elo has finished his Finnish military obligation (or will do so shortly).  I don’t think fans can wait for him as long as they did for fellow Finn, Mikko Koivu.  However, it was the Wild’s fourth round pick from this year, Sean Lorenzto break the 4-4 tie at the end of the second scrimmage period.  Other scorers in the scrimmage include Petr Kalus, Benoit Pouliout, Cody Almond, James Sheppard, Morten Madsen, Cal Clutterbuck, Brian Kaufman, and Maxim Noreau.

Houston Aeros head coach Kevin Constantine said that this camp was about much more than on-ice development.  While the skills demonstrated on the ice are extremely important, with young players, the Wild and Aeros coaching staff as well as front office personnel are also concerned about the mental game as well.  All involved, including the player, need to know if they have what it takes to be a professional athlete off the ice.  It is the importance of finding a well-rounded person beyond athletic ability, that found the organization taking the prospects to the Metrodome in Minneapolis to play softball as well as excursions for playing paintball.  Seeing how people who have lived and breathed hockey since they could walk, interacting with their peers doing things besides hockey, is what those activities were all about.  Plus, it brought the all-important element of fun.  On top of everything, the prospects were able to meet with the Wild’s trainers, physicians and nutritionists.  Hopefully, this extra attention to player development will ensure the longevity of this current bunch of Wild prospects.

In other news, the Wild signed five players in their system.  First off was Danny Irmen.  Irmen was selected in the third round of the 2003 Entry Draft.  During the 2007-08 American Hockey League season, Irmen played 77 games, notching 10 goals and 23 assists.  Prior to his just over two seasons with the Houston Aeros, Irmen played for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers for three years.

One of the Wild organization’s more recent acquisitions found himself signing a contract with the Wild.  Corey Locke, was acquired by the Wild from the Montreal Canadiens for Shawn Belle.  Like Irmen, Locke was also drafted in the 2003 Entry Draft, albeit in the fourth round.  Locke has been a member of Montreal’s primary development affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs, for the past four seasons.  In those for seasons, he played 313 games, scoring 85 goals and 144 assists for a total of 229 points.  He finally made his NHL debut this past season with the Canadiens against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Also signing with the Wild were Bryan Lundbohm, John Scott, and Brandon Rogers.  Lundbohm, a Rosseau, MN native played two seasons with the Houston Aeros, and played last season in Denmark.  Scott, if he stays in St. Paul after training camp, will most likely play the roll of backup for Wild enforcer, Derek Boogaard.  With the loss of Todd Fedoruk, Chris Simon, and Aaron Voros, Boogaard might need some assistance, especially since Boogaard faced some injury problems of his own this past season.  Scott has the size and presence to provide that assistance if needed.  Rogers was drafted in the 4th round by the Anaheim Ducks in 2001.  Last season with the Houston Aeros, Rogers tallied 28 points in 63 games.

In other important Wild news, Wild wingerStephane Veilleux has fired his agent, Paul Corbeil.  Veilleux, a restricted free agent decided he was at a place in his career where he should negotiate on his own, and not pay the 4 percent to his agent.  Now, because Veilleux is without an agent, it fell to the National Hockey League Players Association to file for arbitration on his behalf.  However, Veilleux is doing everything he can to avoid going to arbitration.  According to Veilleux, negotiations are going well and he doesn’t think his case will go to arbitration.  Now if his fellow Quebecois teammate Pierre-Marc Bouchard would fire his agent Allan Walsh.  Wild fans remember Walsh as the agent who represented both Marian Gaborik and Pascal Dupuiswhen they were contract holdouts in the 2003-04 season.  Hopefully neither Bouchard or Walsh took any pages from that fiasco.

It would be nice if there were events like this that happened between now and training camp.  However, we all know the abyss of hockey news that we’re heading into.  At the very least, there are contracts still at large to keep the speculation going.  And with the somewhat lacklustre signings this off-season, we should also have fun playing the “how is this all going to pan out” game.  I love that game.  Kind of sounds like some of the crazy games I played at camp.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 at 8:28 am and is filed under Wild News & Notes, Wild Prospects. 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.