It is July. The draft is over. Free agency is (all but) over. The trade market has cooled as executives look to get away to the cabin (or “cottage” as they say in the Great White North). The first pre-season game isn’t until September 17. What could possibly be going on in the hockey world?
Development Camps baby. They’re an opportunity to see the future; an opportunity to hope. Yes, the Wild’s current roster has skill, age, and salary issues, but we can watch talented youngsters play hockey in the middle of summer and imagine better times.