Wild Team Preview Part 1 of 4- Prospect Camp

Yesterday, the Wild announced their roster for their prospect camp, along with the announcement that the Wild will participate in the NHL’s prospect tournament in Traverse City, Michigan.

The prospect tournament includes ten draft picks, and those attending are:

Player- League

Forwards

Cody Almond- WHL

Cal Clutterbuck- AHL

Chris Culligan- QMJHL

Colton Gillies- WHL

Ryan Graham- QMJHL

Justin Hodgman- OHL

Matt Kassian- ECHL

Kevin King- WHL

Tomas Knotek- QMJHL

Morten Madsen- AHL

Carson McMillan- WHL

Jordan Mistelbacher- WHL

Scott Wasden- WHL

Defenseman

Tyler Cuma- OHL

Eric Doyle- WHL

Justin Falk- WHL

Alexandre Neron- QMJHL

Maxim Noreau- AHL

Frederic St. Denis- CIS

Marco Scandella- QMJHL

Tyler Schmidt- WHL

Goaltenders

Anton Khudobin- AHL

Cody St. Jacques- OHL

Steven Stanford- WHL

Let me first say the obvious in that most of these kids won’t make the team. However, I see a few of them making it out of camp or at least in the foreseeable future.

I could see Colton Gillies making the club out of camp. Gillies had 24 goals and 47 points in 58 AHL games, which could really help out on the second or third line where scoring will be a big problem.

I think Cal Cluterbuck might also be worth a look towards the end of the season. He has put up decent numbers at the AHL level, although he might benefit from another season in the AHL; only time will tell.

Also, don’t sleep on Cody Almond. He played in the WHL last year and put up great numbers. He’s the Wild’s fifth round pick, and a long shot to make the team, but I think you could see him in a Wild uniform in the coming years.

Keep an eye on goaltender Anton Khudobin from Houston. He only played 12 games last year, posting good numbers, but I’d really like to see more games played out of him. Moreover, I don’t think the Wild can fit him in. Unless the Wild decide to carry three goalies which is highly unlikely, the Wild have no place to play him.

The Wild have a very young goaltending corps in Backstrom and Harding, so if Khudobin pans out in the near future, expect the Wild to use him as a trade chip.