The Minnesota Wild were projected to have one of the deepest forward groups in the league, an amount of depth that creates this constant plane of pressure and ability. Unfortunately, there was no one really around to lift the top and create an imbalance through the lines that most teams have.
Instead there are waves of solid, dependable forwards that just lack some shine—except of a youngsters of course. This is something that has been going on in Minnesota for a while now, so we’re used to it, but it makes sense when a player that was able to make a brief appearance last season just makes a seamless transition into the team due to some absences.