One year ago, Erik Haula was a breakout player for the Wild and integral part of its playoff lineup. One year later, Haula has been unable to crack the lineup three games into the Wild’s first-round series with St. Louis.
There are multiple reasons.
As a center, Haula hasn’t been able to unseat veteran Kyle Brodziak, whom coach Mike Yeo said Monday has been a “real solid player for us for quite a long time.”
Yeo also has indicated that with the Blues being a hard-nosed team, the matchup is one that doesn’t suit Haula. But mostly, Haula had a disappointing sophomore season and Yeo felt others played better during the late-season, so-called auditioning phase for fourth-line spots.