Guillaume Letendresse!

Quickly, name the last true effective power forward the Wild has had on their roster...I'll give you more time. Darby Hendrickson? Nope. Derek Boogaard? Not quite. I'll answer this for you: never. The Wild have never had a good power forward. They drafted James Sheppard with the hope that he'd become one, but that hasn't worked out. Now with the dumping of Benoit Pouliot to Montreal, the Wild has a big winger who can crash the net. Welcome to Minnesota, Guillaume Latendresse.

Latrendresse is exactly what this team needs, a big dude who can wreak havoc in front of the net. Sort of a bigger version of Cal Clutterbuck. With just one trade, Wild GM Chuck Fletcher has already eclipsed Doug Risebrough's achievements. Getting the Habs to take Benny was a stroke of genius. Anything Latendresse can contribute is gravy, and I love gravy.

Random Thoughts

Good win by the Wild last night despite poor goaltending from Nik Backstrom. The first line looked very good (Koivu-Kobesew-Brunette) and the new guys (LaTrendesse and Ebbett) brought energy. Hopefully they can bring the same tonight in Denver.

I think I’m done with the show “Flashforward.” It had some promise early in its run, but the last couple of episodes felt prodding, like they’re just filling time slots until 2010. I’m staring to dislike the brooding Fiennes character and his wife as well. I’ll give it one more week before I delete it from my DVR rotation.

I saw “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” on Thursday and enjoyed the hell out of it. It has a great stop-action animation look to it and was very, very funny. Think “Royal Tennanbaums” meets “Chicken Run”. I’d see it again in a heartbeat. Side note, there were 8 people including myself and 2 kids in the theater on opening night, not a good sign.

I can’t make up my mind about my 13 year old’s upcoming birthday gift. He desperately wants “Call of Duty 2″, but it looks a bit graphic. Unfortunately all reports indicate it’s an awesome game. Then again, he’s seen far worse violence on TV and in film.

My other son’s Squirt hockey team is having issues. After winning their initial game 4-3 they’ve lost two straight by scores of 6-0 and 8-0. Much like the Wild, they’re having some defensive issues and commit plenty of turnovers. Maybe we should think about going to the neutral zone trap until these kids can figure out Coach’s uptempo scheme.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for today. Sorry for the mismatch of topics. Roy out.

Bruins v. Wild ~ Live Tweeting Tonight!

This will be my first time doing this, so bear with me a bit. I plan on tweeting during tonights Boston Bruins / Minnesota Wild game from the comfort of my recliner. I can't promise you the tweets will be very informative, but I can promise you they'll be somewhat entertaining. In that vein I do plan on stopping by the liquor store before the game to pick up a 6 pack of Czechvar.

So give it a try, click here for my Twitter account.

What Has Happened to Brent Burns?

What is going on with Brent Burns? Not that long ago he was considered to be among the better young defensemen in the game, mentioned in the same breath with Dion Phaneuf, Jay Bouwmeester and Mike Green. Two years ago he had an All-Star caliber season and was thought to be on the brink of greatness.

Last season he faltered a bit. Between being moved to forward and suffering a concussion, his 2008-09 season was hopefully a mirage. Under the wisdom of an up-tempo coach and system, he's surely take off this year, right?

But alas, his game has limped along. As of this morning he has played in all 19 games, amassing 2 goals and 7 assists and also sporting a team-worst -14 plus/minus. He was once thought to be a near lock for the deep Canadian Olympic team, but I'm sure that won't happen now.

The big question is why. Why has his play fallen? I offer these possible answers:

1. He isn't surrounded by much talent. He's a good player on a bad team.
2. He simply isn't that good. I'm not buying this one, but it's been suggested.
3. His houseful of zoo animals is wearing him down. Come on, it's possible. Do you know how much time it takes to clean up after an alligator?
4. He's a young defenseman. This position takes time to grasp.

I think the answer lies in a combination of the above reasons. Hopefully it's more #4 than #2, but we're sure to find out more as the season progresses.

Squirt Practice

I am writing this post from my son's hockey practice. He is 10 years old and a C level squirt. The typical practice consists of 40 minutes of skating drills and 20 minutes of hockey drills. Too much time is spent skating. Let the kids play. Teach them the breakout.

Then again, if I have any complaints I should help coach, right?

Improvement

Well it appears that the team has pulled out of their piss-poor play over the last week or so and has showed signs of improvement. With good games played against Dallas, Toronto and Tampa Bay, the Wild have shown some good signs. Namely, they're putting more pucks in the opponent's goal. Hell, even Shep had a point last night.

Tonight the team is in Washington, D.C. for a game against the Capitals sans #8. I look forward to watching the Caps, namely the young goalie, Varlamov, to see if he's legit. He played great last year in their playoff run and looks to be their future number one.