DES MOINES, Iowa — Steven Fogarty saw his team hit an “all-time low” in early February.
Fogarty, 31, the captain of the Minnesota Wild’s AHL affiliate Iowa, didn’t even have to see it, though. He felt it.
The losses kept piling up: 10 in 12 games right before the All-Star break. It was to be expected in some ways. This was a young team, with a green blue line and a first-year head coach in Brett McLean. The anticipated captain, defenseman Dakota Mermis, played just five AHL games before spending the rest of the season with the NHL club. Vinni Lettieri played just 10. Another potential leader, Jujhar Khaira, missed a huge chunk of the season with injuries.
The low point came on Feb. 2, in Hendersonville, Nevada. Iowa got whipped 8-1.
“We were slapping pucks around and not making plays,” Fogarty recalled. “Like, ‘Here we go again.’”
Something needed to happen. Needed to change.
So later that night at the team hotel, Fogarty spoke up. Others did, too. Even Fogarty will admit, his speech was nothing compared to Mason Shaw’s.
Shaw, a heart-and-soul bottom-sixer with the NHL team, was just six games into his return from a fourth ACL surgery. Initially, he didn’t feel it was his place to take center stage. But he knows everyone needs a pep talk when they hit rock bottom. He’s been there.
Shaw got up and unleashed.
“There were a few swear words,” defenseman Carson Lambos quipped.
This wasn’t a rip fest, though. Shaw reminded everyone that they were good players. It was a matter of believing in themselves. Trusting their ability. Knowing they were there for a reason. Shaw, who has feared losing his hockey career multiple times, told them not to take this opportunity for granted. They may not be in the NHL yet or on the fastest timeline, but they’re still here. “You get in what you put in.”
Iowa would rattle off three straight victories after that, including the next game in Henderson, with Shaw scoring the winner.
But while it played better down the stretch, finishing 13-12-3-2 after a 14-25-1-2 start, Iowa still finished the season 29th out of 32 teams.
Its young defense prospects, touted as the highlight of the system, didn’t develop as expected. New Iowa general manager Matt Hendricks said they were “drinking out of a firehose” — perhaps too much too soon.
The lack of offensive options, meanwhile, was felt from above in the form of ineffective call-ups. Adam Beckman and Sammy Walker combined for zero goals in 15 NHL games. Lettieri and Jacob Lucchini weren’t suited to play in the top six.
Minnesota Wild president and GM Bill Guerin made it clear at his exit-meeting press conference that fixing this is a priority: the organization needs to do a better job of creating depth. It will be discussed again this week at the team’s meetings. So will Iowa.
“This year,” McLean said. “Was kind of the perfect storm.”
It begs the question: What went wrong?
To get a better feel for what’s going on with the next wave of Wild’s prospects, The Athletic spent several days embedded in Iowa late in the regular season, from meetings and film sessions to practices.
It was 8 a.m. on March 26, and McLean had already been at Wells Fargo Arena for a while.
He wore a black Wild sweatsuit, sitting at his desk. But it wasn’t his office. His three assistants, Ben Simon, Cody Franson and Richard Bachman (goaltending), had seats at desks to his left and right. McLean’s predecessor, Tim Army, occupied this space on his own. But McLean, taking a page from former Wild coach Dean Evason’s approach with his TRIA office, prefers to have his staff in one place.
“It wasn’t, ‘You’re in charge of this. You’re in charge of that,’” Simon said. “It’s we. It’s ours. It’s very inclusive.”
That spirit showed as McLean went through the morning staff meeting and the group went over video clips.
“You watch tonight’s movie?” McLean asked, referring to the pre-scout of the night’s opponent, Milwaukee. The coaches looked at faceoff plays and the Admirals’ quick-strike ability. They then went over their own 1-3-1 forecheck. There were a lot of positive clips, like Fogarty’s play to set up a recent winning goal.
“Unbelievable effort by Fogs,” McLean said. “It all starts with effort.”
This is the first time McLean has run his own program. He wasn’t expecting the Iowa job over the summer, having spent the past few years as an assistant under Evason. But Guerin wanted a fresh voice for his AHL club, a different culture, and McLean — after talking with his family — was up for the gig. His wife, Brenna, and three kids (Nash, 8, Nixon, 12, Darian, 17) still live in the Twin Cities, and he commutes often on off days. It’s three hours, 15 minutes door to door.
Simon’s family is back in Michigan and Franson’s in Kelowna, which has created a bit of a bunker mentality.
The systems and drills in practice are pretty similar to the Wild’sles rangers de new york. Coach John Hynes invited McLean to a few of his early practices in Minnesota after the late November hire to build synergy. One thing that sticks out to players and staff is the positive and hardworking vibe instilled by McLean, a former NHL forward. Simon said McLean’s big phrase is “it’s not how you play; it’s how you act” — and that means players’ attitude in practice, toward referees and how they respond to teammates.
And McLean doubled down on team-building events. One day, players got a late text saying to come to practice at the field house the next day in shorts and T-shirts.
“We thought we were going to run sprints,” Lambos said.
Instead, McLean had organized a wiffle ball tournament. There are also team dinners on the road. A “pins and putts” mini-golf and bowling outing. For Master’s weekend, the team had food brought in and created a mini-golf course in the dressing room.
“Brett has been a breath of fresh air,” Iowa forward Michael Milne said. “He is very positive. It’s easy to get down when you’re losing a few games here or there. We had our stretches where we haven’t been as good. But it’s nice to have that calming presence and confidence from coaches, getting us to believe. It’s tough when your coaches are down on you. They do a great job of lifting us up. Learning through losses. We’re a very young team — there’s a lot of prospects — but the guys are getting better.”
That’s not to say this is a country club, McLean is quick to point out. There’s accountability. For example, each player is graded by scoring chances for/against while he is on the ice for each game (along with the plus-minus differential). It’s put on a sheet in the hallway so everyone can see it. McLean said, from an execution standpoint, he’s only been disappointed in a few practices all year, though. The kids didn’t give up.
“We’re not putting the screws to guys too much,” McLean said. “(The losses) are not what we wanted, but it’s about getting better and trying to take the positive. You still want to hold guys accountable. So that’s a bit of a balance for sure.”
McLean holds himself accountable, too.
He admitted that naming Mermis captain before the season might have been premature, knowing the defenseman’s place on the organization’s depth chart and the injury to captain Jared Spurgeon. AHL teams get just five veteran players (320 pro games of experience before the start of the season). There were nights Iowa had only a couple. Lucchini, their most consistent forward, was with the Wild a lot. Khaira, Mermis — these guys are hard to replace during the season with a PTO, though the team did add vets like Will Butcher and Turner Elson later in the year.
Minnesota assistant GM Mike Murray, the Iowa GM last year, said McLean isn’t evaluated on wins and losses, especially under these circumstances. But being in the basement hits hard.
“It weighs on you a lot as a first-year coach,” McLean said. “I feel very honored to have this responsibility to take care of the Wild prospects. So when you’re not winning, you wear it.”
One by one, the Wild’s top defense prospects popped into a side room with Franson.
It was like a professor’s “office hours” in college.
Franson, 36, a defenseman for 550 NHL regular-season games, was hired in late December to replace Pat Dwyer, who got called up to the Minnesota staff. He focuses on the blue line, including on-ice skill work after practice. But a bulk of his impact is felt in these five-to-10-minute film sessions. He’ll pull players in on a game day after meetings or a skate. On this particular Tuesday, Daemon Hunt — Iowa’s No. 1 defenseman — went first. Most of Franson’s notes were, he admitted, “nitpicky.”
Then came Lambos.
The 2021 first-rounder had an up-and-down rookie pro season after wrapping up his career in junior. At first, it was eye-opening — “a million miles a minute,” he said. But then came progress. Franson said Lambos “lives and breathes” the game and is like a sponge. In this meeting, Franson gave him pointers on positioning, breakouts and reads. The biggest thing is thinking the game faster. Franson showed a clip where Lambos was patient waiting for a pass behind the net but then took an extra handle with the puck, which made his breakout pass a half-second late.
“It’s what we’re working on,” Franson said. “Trying to get to playmaking quick.”
“I have to realize that,” Lambos replied. “I don’t feel comfortable when the puck is going away from me. You can see the guys chasing me. I feel the pressure. He has all the speed. I’m waiting for the puck. If I can get it under control, I shouldn’t have to worry about the guy coming so much.”
“Everything is a chess match,” Franson said.mascotte des canadiens de montréal
Franson has a unique perspective, having finished his career in a mentor role in AHL Rockford and Hershey. With Rockford, Franson said, the team treated him “like Reggie Dunlop, a player-coach.” He played with a five-game segment with every defense prospect, in their ear shift by shift on the bench. In Hershey, Franson did something similar but for 20-game segments.
It’s the kind of veteran mentor that Mermis was supposed to be for Iowa. Rookies Lambos and David Spacek went through growing pains playing on the same pair.
“It’s very difficult going from being defensemen in junior hockey to defense in pro hockey,” Franson said. “You have to be able to comprehend a lot really quickly. The forwards you play against are significantly better. You’re the best player in junior. You’re an average player to start here.”no 19 bruins de boston
That’s why these clips focus on the details — how to process the game faster and be in the right position quicker.
“He’s fresh out of playing so he remembers everything,” defenseman Ryan O’Rourke said. “It’s easier to relate to him.”
“He sees the things I’m struggling with, and he’s really good at communicating how to fix them,” Lambos said.
Can the Wild’s young defensemen develop properly without a veteran partner, though?
“It can be done,” Franson said. “It just takes longer. It’s a little bit more of a struggle for them to figure out when they don’t have that. ”
So the Wild just need to add a veteran defenseman to Iowa? The problem is there’s already a logjam at the position of prospects who need to play.
Hunt, Lambos, O’Rourke, Spacek, Kyle Masters, perhaps Simon Johansson (who is a restricted free agent).
On this night in March, Hendricks arrived mid-game with another in tow, Jack Peart, who had just signed after his junior year at St. Cloud State.
This doesn’t preclude Iowa from adding an experienced defenseman to the mix. But it should promote competition. Hendricks said the prospects need to get used to competing for jobs. There should be more urgency next season.
“That’s what they want,” Hendricks said. “They want to make it. It’s our job to deliver that kind of message.”
Hendricks had been the Wild’s assistant director of player development for five seasons after ending his 11-year playing career. He was promoted to Iowa GM this past month. Hendricks was a regular presence in Iowa last season, traveling often to see and work with prospects, sometimes on the ice. His focus this summer will be getting them some help in free agency.
The NHL blue line is pretty set, with Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin, Brock Faber, Jake Middleton, Zach Bogosian and Jon Merrill under contract. Waiver pickup Declan Chisholm, an RFA, is expected to be part of the group. With little room on the NHL roster, the Wild will likely have to sign veteran free agents to deals that pay them strong AHL salaries.
“We’ve got to stay patient as a group,” Hendricks said. “There’s a pedigree there. They were drafted here for a reason. … Playing defense at the highest level is extremely difficult. It makes what Faber was able to do so incredible, a wow moment. We’re not going to push a button and all of a sudden things look the way you want them to.”
Hendricks’ career is an example. He spent his first five pro seasons in the AHL. At 25, Hendricks got an offer to play pro in Europe. It was more money and stability. “My wife asked me, ‘You ever dream of playing in Europe?’” Hendricks recalled. “‘Well no.’ ‘Then why would we go?’ Two years later, I get four games (in the NHL) and finally made it full-time.”
So Hendricks understands the humbling nature of development.
Lambos said there were times this past season when he wasn’t playing with confidence — was just “trying to go out there and survive.” The key for him was recognizing how he felt in those games compared to the games where he was relaxed, having fun and making plays.
“I have the perspective that I’m grateful to be playing at this level and they’re paying me to do this,” Lambos said. “Just trying to be patient, and I’m confident in myself that through time I’m going to grow and get better where I can be a very good player at this level. I’m here for a reason. You can’t get too ahead of yourself and, of course, you want to get (to the NHL). I’m confident my time will come, and I’m going to earn it.
“You’ve got to be your own player and can’t try to be Brock Faber tomorrow.”
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Hendricks brought up the positives from last year in Iowa. Caedan Bankier returned ahead of schedule from an Achilles injury and ended up with 13 goals in his first pro season. Spacek just won a gold medal at worlds for Czechia. Milne showed how his speed and versatility could make him an NHL player. Hunt played huge minutes and earned 12 games with the Wild and hopes to soon compete for a full-time job.golden knights games in vegas
“I feel like I belonged there,” Hunt said. “I know I’ve got to work on my game a lot. The game in the NHL is way different than here — just way less mistakes. My game translates well. Guys are always in their spots. Time will tell, but I think I’m in a pretty good spot.”
Murray used Marco Rossi as a development success story. The 2020 No. 9 pick needed seasoning in Iowa in 2022-23 before making the jump to full-time regular this past season, scoring 21 goals. “It’s letting your prospects grow and giving them the time and not panicking or rushing because their development might take longer than we all want it to, whether it’s as an organization or a fan base,” Murray said.
The Wild have talked about using the Nashville Predators’ and Tampa Bay Lightning’s development programs as an example. Both teams are being patient with their players while also creating a winning culture.
“If you don’t develop that skill to win, people won’t want you,” Simon said. “When you surround the kids in a winning environment and a positive culture, it’s only going to get these players better quicker.”
This was a tight-knit group in Iowa. When veterans were called up or injured, younger players stepped up leadership-wise, including touted goalie prospect Jesper Wallstedt. Whether Wallstedt is part of the Wild’s NHL tandem next season remains to be seen, but Hendricks really likes the goalie they signed this spring in Samuel Hlavaj, who was one of the top goalies in the World Championship, playing for Slovakia.
But as Hendricks and the Wild staff meet to discuss the future, they’ll have to look back and revisit what made this past season so challenging.
Could they have been more prepared?
“We want to say we could have,” Hendricks said. “Because we went through it. And we hope we learned from it. And we hope we have the answers. But it’s difficult. It was a perfect storm. It really was.”
(Photos: Joe Smith / The Athletic)
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