Prospects Showcase: Blues 5, Wild 1

Minnesota drops first game of the 2023 Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild fell 5-1 to the visiting St. Louis Blues Friday night at TRIA Rink in the first game of the 2023 Tom Kurvers Prospects Showcase, and it wasn’t because of a shortage of opportunities.

In fact, the Wild had the upper hand in the shot department, outshooting the Blues 33-26. Minnesota went 0-for-4 on the power play and didn’t take advantage of its breakaways and Grade-A chances from the slot and in front of the net with St. Louis goaltender Vadim Zherenko ending the night with 32 saves and a .970 save percentage.

The Blues on the other hand found their way past the Wild in all situations — scoring a 4-on-4 goal, two 5-on-5 goals, a shorthanded tally and a power play marker en route to their weekend opening win. The Wild’s penalty kill went 3-for-4 on the night.

“Obviously not the result we were looking for, but I don’t think the result was really indicative of the game,” Iowa Wild Head Coach Brett McLean said. “A lot of really good things, saw a lot of good plays from individual prospects, and their goalie played very, very well.

“That being said, there were areas where we didn’t play as hard as we needed to. Those are lessons that young players will learn, and you think of the goals against, and we weren’t hard getting pucks out of our zone, and we weren’t hard on sticks in front of the net, and we paid for that tonight. So, because of that, we probably got what we deserved tonight.”

THE GOALS

1st period — 18:46 STL 1, MIN 0: Mikhail Abramov opened the scoring near the end of the first period with a 4-on-4 goal. After throwing a backhand on net from the right circle, Abramov found his own rebound in the low slot and fired it past Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt (2021 1st RD pick), who finished the night with 21 saves.

2nd period — 6:47 STL 2, MIN 0: Keean Washkurak doubled the Blues lead by sliding the puck under Wallstedt’s pad on an odd man rush for a shorthanded marker.

2nd period — 13:41 STL 3, MIN 0: After the Wild turned the puck over in their own zone, Alexis Bonefon picked up the loose puck near the blue line and shot it from the right circle past Wallstedt blocker side for a 5-on-5 tally and three-goal lead.

3rd period — 3:39 STL 4, MIN 0: Nikita Alexandrov drove to the net and got behind the Wild’s defense and was rewarded with a power play goal on the doorstep thanks to Mathias Laferriere’s cross-crease pass to his tape.

3rd period — 6:03 STL 4, MIN 1: Hunter Haight (2022 2nd RD pick) got the Wild on the board and ended Zherenko’s shutout bid with a wrister that went in far side from the right circle, which stood as the lone goal for Minnesota.

3rd period — 7:56 STL 5, MIN 1: Zach Dean and Zachary Bolduc connected for a goal after another defensive zone turnover by the Wild. Bolduc’s backhand feed to Dean in the low slot gave him a prime scoring chance in front of Wallstedt, and he didn’t make a mistake.

Fans who missed the action on Friday night can watch the game on the Wild's YouTube channel.

THEY SAID IT:

McLean: “The message tonight to the guys was that pro hockey is hard. … You have to be tough in those hard areas, and that’s where we were kind of lacking a little bit tonight and cost us some goals. But this tournament and this showcase is about evaluating our prospects and them learning and growing from it. So they certainly will, and we certainly will out of this game.”

Haight on the keys to rebounding on Sunday against the Chicago Blackhawks: “I think just having a little more poise, possessing pucks, and we’re a little hesitant to make plays right now, and we’re just kind of chipping pucks and going after it. Our pressure’s great, we’re getting pucks back, but at the same time, I think there’s a lot of plays to be made and room for us to possess the puck more instead of chasing after it.”

AARON’S THREE STARS FOR WILD

1. Haight scored the Wild’s lone goal and fought Washkurak in the second period, falling just short of completing a Gordie Howe hat trick. The 19-year-old’s mix of skill and speed wasn’t difficult to find Friday as one of the Wild’s top forwards.
2. Riley Heidt (2023 2nd RD pick) played his first game in front of fans since the Wild drafted him in July. The 18-year-old who tied Connor Bedard with 72 assists for the Western Hockey League lead last season made an impression Friday. “He had some really good moments,” McLean said. While Heidt received a tripping minor in the first period, he drew a penalty, recorded three shots and showcased his playmaking ability.
3. Sammy Walker (free agency ‘22) had some of the best looks of the night and tied Rasmus Kumpulainen (2023 2nd RD pick) for a team-high five shots on goal. While he didn’t find the back of the net, Walker generated offense and utilized his speed to his advantage throughout the night.

UP NEXT

The Minnesota Wild prospects will face the prospects from the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday at 3 PM at TRIA Rink. Tickets for this event are soldout but fans can stream the game for free on Wild.com or  YouTube starting around puckdrop.