Adam Beckman Deserves a Shot

On today's episode of Locked on Wild, we start by recapping the Wild's 4-3 overtime win against St. Louis in their fourth preseason game. Should we be concerned that Kaapo Kahkonen got rocked early again by the Blues? Or should we take comfort in the fact that he tightened up after a rough first period to keep St. Louis in check the rest of the way. The Wild's young prospects Adam Beckman, Marco Rossi, Calen Addison and Brandon Duhaime all helped the Wild complete the comeback, while also showing that the Parise/Suter buyout years might not have free agents but that doesn't mean they won't have talent. We also campaign for Adam Beckman to make the team with his very impressive preseason.

We move to Player Expectations for Kevin Fiala, Freddy Gaudreau and Victor Rask. For Fiala, a successful season for him proving to the Wild that he's worthy of an extension. If Fiala plays exceptionally well, he might play himself out of the Wild's budget. Fiala can work on his consistency, but that will also come with better linemates. 28 goals for Fiala feels like a goal that is easily reachable for him, and if he hits that the Wild will have to pony up to keep him around.

For his linemates Freddy Gaudreau and Victor Rask, the key comes in just playing a role for this Wild team. If they can find something that this team needs, faceoff wins in the case of Gaudreau, and can excel at that role, the Wild will have themselves a pretty good third line. But if either or both players struggle to fit in, the Wild have plenty of candidates waiting to take their spots in the lineup.

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