Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1030244
RUSSO'S PREDICTED BEST ROOKIE: The Wild have a couple rookies that should make the team. One is Jordan Greenway. The other is Nick Seeler. We'll go with Seeler as the likely best rookie. The native of Eden Prairie and former Gopher had a heck of a 22-game debut for the Wild last season (he's technically still considered a rookie). He's big, physical, plays with a bit of a nasty streak and offers the Wild an element they just don't have on their undersized but high-scoring blue line. Greenway got a six-game regular-season look last year and then arguably was one of the Wild's best players in the playoffs. But he's still barely out of col- lege at Boston University and hasn't played a second of minor-league hockey, so as big as he is and as enticing as he as a power forward, there could be growing pains. M H J ON L I N E . C O M | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 30 A healthy Zach Parise could be a game-changer for the 2018-19 Wild. POSSIBLE CALL-UPS: Assuming Greenway makes the team, the top call-ups will be rookie Luke Kunin, NHL veteran Matt Read and former Gophers stud Kyle Rau up front. Kunin likely won't make the team because the Wild would love him to play at least half a season in Iowa after tear- ing his ACL last season. Read, a former Bemidji State standout, has 437 games of NHL experience with the Philadelphia Flyers. Rau is fast and provides energy and looked good in his short stint last season. On the back end, one of Olofsson or Prosser may not make the team, so they'd be a call-up option. The Wild also have right- shot defensemen Ryan Murphy and Louie Belpedio. PREDICTION: Winnipeg and Nashville are still the class of the Central. St. Louis addressed its center need and should get Robby Fabbri back from a knee injury, so they should be much improved. Dallas still has Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, Colorado still has Nathan MacKinnon and emerg- ing star Mikko Rantanen. Oh, and if Chicago gets Corey Crawford back in goal, there's no discount- ing the Hawks. But the Wild have made the playoffs six straight years and know how to do that. I see them getting a wildcard spot, but that will hardly be satisfying to fans if they lose in the first round for a fourth year in a row. So it'll be up to this same core to once again prove the naysayers wrong and prove they can do it when it matters. Michael Russo enters his 14th sea- son covering the Wild and writes for The Athletic. He has covered the NHL since 2005. He co-hosts the Russo-Souhan Show on tal- knorth.com and can be heard on KFAN (100.3-FM) and seen throughout the hockey season on Fox Sports North. Follow Russo on Twitter at @RussoHockey. To subscribe to The Athletic at a 30 percent discount ($3.49 per month), go to theathletic.com/ michaelrussohockey. If you're a student, you can get 50 percent off ($2.50 per month) at theathletic.com/student. P R E S E N T E D B Y Russo's Rants