Gameday Thread: Pre-Season Game 1 – Wild @ Blues

Just one more indication that it is indeed the most wonderful time of the year.

Wild Nation’s first Official Gameday thread.

Sure, it’s pre-season, but it’s hockey.  Why not get excited?

Tonight, after an extended layoff, the Wild will hit the ice for their first game under the new coach, under the new system and under the new management.  After a few days of scrimmages and practices, as well as the announcement that sniper Petr Sykora will be trying out for the team, the Wild will face the St. Louis Blues in their first test of the pre-season.

Lineups

Per Mike Russo, here is what the Wild’s line up will look like tonight:

Forwards: Brodziak, DiSalvatore, Gillies, Hilbert, Irmen, Kalus, Kassian, Milroy, Pouliot, Sheppard, Smith, Weller

Defensemen: Falk, Fraser, Hnidy, Noreau, Scandella, Scott, Zanon

Goalies: Khudobin, Hackett

 And, per Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Dispatch:

I don’t have the lineup yet, but goalie Chris Mason will start Tuesday’s preseason game against Minnesota. 

UPDATED – 2:50 PM

Forwards
Paul Kariya-Patrik Berglund-Brad Boyes
Andy McDonald-David Backes-David Perron
Chris Porter-Derek Armstrong-Aaron Palushaj
Ryan Reaves-Yan Stastny-Cam Janssen

Defense
Erik Johnson-Steve Wagner
Darryl Sydor-Alex Pietrangelo
Brendan Bell-Mike Weaver

Goalies
Chris Mason
Ben Bishop

From those line ups, this game could get ugly in a hurry.

What to Watch For
If it wasn’t already apparent by looking at the roster, tonight will be all about checking out the players trying to make the team.  At forward, Brodziak and Sheppard are likely the only two locks playing and, on defense it’s looking like Hnidy, Scott and Zanon will be the only sure bets.

The players to watch tonight for the Wild?  Benoit Pouliot and Colton Gillies.  These two are widely thought to be the two youngsters with the best shot at making the big squad right out of camp (though with the addition of Sykora, it’s been made that much more difficult for both) and both have looked good in the first couple days of camp.  They are likely the top tier of players shooting to make the squad, followed immediately by Danny Irmen, Craig Weller, Petr Kalus, Duncan Milroy and Andy Hilbert.

To be honest, making the squad for any of these players is going to be a very long shot, as the team already has twelve forwards that are pretty well entrenched in their line up.

On the defensive side, this will be the first look we get at newcomers Shane Hnidy and Greg Zanon.  The defensive side of things is also much similar to the offensive side.  Snidy, Scott and Zanon are pretty much locks for the squad.  This, combined with our top-four d-men, leaves little room for a young defenseman to make it.

Keys to the Game
This one won’t be a biggie, seeing as how it’s the pre-season and the first game, at that, but it’s going to be interesting to see how the holdovers from last season’s team react to Richards’ system on the fly.  The team will be holding practice before flying out today, but it’s going to be an interesting test of this team’s ability to retain all that has been thrown at them over the last few days.