Ready for camp

The Minnesota Wild are almost prepared to start their true pre-season warm-ups. The third jersey has been introduced, players are arriving, and the Prospects Tournament is almost over. In fact, with few exceptions, everyone who has hopes of wearing that scripted "Minnesota" across their chest is already in the Twin Cities, enjoying time on the ice with teammates new and old.

Of course, the start of training camp also means the (official) start of speculation as to which players will be on the 23-man roster when the puck drops in October. There are holes that need to be filled in a number of places, either due to departures or gaps left behind by the former front office. Also, with the expected change in playing style, former Wild stalwarts could find themselves on the bench, looking to make themselves useful in a system that's completely foreign to them.

That being said, here's some quick predictions about how the roster may very well shape up.

Forwards

Brunette/Koivu/Havlat

This line is probably a fairly good bet to be the top line, at least at the start of the season. Mikko Koivu and Andrew Brunette are pretty familiar with each other on the ice, and Martin Havlat fills in the spot vacated by Marian Gaborik. Clearly, Koivu is the heart and soul of the Minnesota Wild, and he's earned his place as the top center. The biggest question with this line will be whether or not it can stay healthy. After all, Havlat's been almost as injury-plagued as Gaborik over his career, and it's not like Brunette is getting any younger.

Miettinen/Sheppard/Bouchard

The Wild desperately needed to pick up a second-line center, and haven't been able to do so as of yet. Unless Pierre-Marc Bouchard returns to his "natural" center position, James Sheppard is the most likely candidate to take the draws after Koivu. Antti Miettinen will be one of a few Wild wingers that will need to switch sides. If Sheppard can prove that he fits better into an offensive system than the one the Wild had run previously, then concerns about the second line may dwindle. Bouchard needs to return to his play-making form of two seasons ago.

Nolan/Belanger/Clutterbuck

Just like Antti Miettinen on the second line, look to Owen Nolan to switch to the left for the third line, allowing Cal Clutterbuck to continue his development in the more natural right wing position for him. Eric Belanger has carved out a career for himself as a definitive third-line center, and, unless he wears a different jersey by the time the season starts, he should continue to take that position. Nolan's veteran leadership with Clutterbuck's spark could make a very scary line for opponents to deal with.

Boogaard/Brodziak/Weller

Fourth lines are often called on to shut down opposing teams, and to be a physical presence. The Wild don't get much more physical than Derek Boogaard and Craig Weller. With Kyle Brodziak centering the line, Minnesota may even pull a few surprise goals out of it's fourth line group.

Gillies/Kalus/Pouliot/Irmen

Colton Gillies and Benoit Pouliot should theoretically have the inside track to making the big club, but both need to show more than they did last year. Petr Kalus may be a surprise, especially if his dedication to the Wild organization is stronger. Danny Irmen may be looking at his last real chance to make it outside of the AHL level.

Defense

Burns/Schultz

If Brent Burns returns to the dominant defensive force he was two seasons ago, he's a lock to be placed on the top defensive pairing. Placing him with Nick Schultz allows the Wild to have a confident stay-at-home presence, along with offensive firepower.

Zanon/Zidlicky

Former Nashville teammates Marek Zidlicky and Greg Zanon could prove to be a dangerous pairing. Unfortunately for Minnesota, if Zidlicky doesn't shore up his blue-line game, the pairing could be dangerous for the Wild, and not for opponents. Still the team's power play leader should be more comfortable this season.

Johnsson/Hnidy

Kim Johnsson still hasn't convinced many Wild faithful that he's worth the contract he was given, but pairing him with "Sheriff" Shane Hnidy could allow him to be a little more free-wheeling, quarterbacking the play from behind the net. If Johnsson doesn't step forward, he could see his playing time cut seriously down.

Scott/Stoner

The biggest rookie splash for the Wild last season was a guy name Clutterbuck. If John Scott had played as many games in the Xcel, he could have made the leap. He needs to work on his skating, but having both Scott and Boogaard on the ice could scare a lot of players. As for Clayton Stoner, he may be looking at one of his last chances to suit up in the NHL, but faces an uphill struggle, as Wild defense has always been fairly solid.

Goal

Backstrom

No question, Niklas Backstrom is the Wild's starting goaltender. However, there's also no question that the previous Wild system helped out netminders tremendously. Can Backstrom continue to be a stud in net, or does he need a defensive system to make him sparkle?

Harding/Dubielewicz

Wade Dubielewicz was brought in as an experienced and valid back-up. Josh Harding could still start with any team in the league. Is Harding still wearing a Wild jersey to be used as trade bait later in the season, or is there possibly a chink in the Wild's goaltending that we haven't seen yet?

Ultimately, a lot of these questions won't really be hammered out until pre-season ends, and some of them may still be up in the air a couple of weeks into the season. Ultimately, though, once again the Wild look to be a team that should be solid in net, strong on the blue line, but missing some key pieces in the forward corps. With some of the free agents left available, will Chuck Fletcher make a splash, and will the Wild return to the Stanley Cup playoffs after missing this past season?