Wild Signs Powe, Extends Qualifying Offers To Seven Players

Evening, State of Hockey legion. All of us here in Wild land are recovering from the very busy weekend that was the 2011 NHL Entry Draft at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild has been in preparations for nearly two years and I think it’s safe to say the big event was a huge success. The organization was thrilled with this weekend’s events, especially all of the fans who came to St. Paul to showcase their love of hockey, including the more than 17,000 that attended the Draft Friday and Saturday.

There was certainly plenty of excitement during the two days of the Entry Draft, much of that coming from the hometown team. Click here for the Wild’s Draft Central page, which has stories and video from Wild management and some of the top selections in the Draft. Additionally, Wild radio’s Kevin Falness today spoke to Charlie Coyle, who was a big part of Minnesota’s first-round trade Friday night. Click here to listen to the interview and hear Coyle’s wicked Boston accent.

The 2011 NHL Entry Draft might now be over, but that doesn’t mean the Wild Hockey Operations department is taking a rest. In fact, the Wild made another trade today, acquiring 26-year-old forward Darroll Powe from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Powe is considered a physical player who totaled 17 points (7-10=17) while leading the Flyers with 196 hits this past season. Click here to read the wild.com write up on the trade and here to listen to Powe’s reaction.

The guys in Hockey Ops weren’t done yet, and also used the day to extend qualifying offers to seven players: Justin Falk, Colton Gillies, Jarod Palmer, Jeff Penner, Darroll Powe, James Sheppard and Casey Wellman. The Wild did not tender a qualifying offer to Patrick O’Sullivan.

There isn’t much rest for the weary as the Wild decide whether to sign restricted free agents this week and then jump into the free agency pool starting Friday. Plenty of action to come, hockey fans!

Palmer: “100% Planned”

It’s the debate that’s sweeping across the State of Hockey, and no, I’m not talking about the uninformed souls who are suggesting that the Wild paid too much for Mikko Koivu. I’m talking about the Jarod Palmer mystery. Was this shootout goal planned, or did he recover from a horribly missed slap shot?

Watching the replay, I thought it was pretty obvious that he did it on purpose. Nobody whiffs on a slap shot by that much. Plus, he never broke stride and just looked too smooth. Most people who whiff on a slap shot in a shootout would just immediately skate off the rink and head toward their car without taking off their gear. Also, if you watch goalie Matt Hackett, he didn’t really flinch at the miss, which would seem to mean he was watching the puck pretty closely and wasn’t fooled (much) by the stick missing.

Still, there are some doubters, so today I went right to the subject of the phenomenon: Jarod Palmer himself.

“That move was 100% planned,” he confirmed. “I made that move up a long time ago.”

Palmer, who of course is one of us since he’s a Fridley native, said he’s pulled off the move once or twice in college – in practice of course.

“I didn’t do it too often, because you’re only going to pull it off once.”

But he’s worked on it so much, that he’s gotten pretty consistent with it.

“I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t miss it with my foot,” he said. “That’s the toughest part because you create so much torque with the fake shot, it’s hard to know where your feet are and where the puck is.”

So there you have it. The goal was planned, and also legal because Palmer never stopped moving forward, and neither did the puck. But will he ever have the moxie to pull it off in a game?

“Maybe.”

Blasi on Palmer

I wasn’t able to get in touch with Miami University head coach Rico Blasi before posting yesterday’s story on Jarod Palmer. But I did want to talk to him today to get a feel for what kind of player and person we can expect with Jarod Palmer, the most recent college free agent signed by the Wild.

Among other things, Blasi calls some of Palmer’s skills “absolutely stupid,” (he means that in a good way so he must be one of those hip coaches) and suggests his game is more tailored to the NHL style, than the college style.

Here are Blasi’s quotes from our interview today:

On Palmer seemingly very mature:

“He has matured so much over the last few years. He’s had a tough life, a tough family background. He’s the type of guy that you can have a conversation, and he’s going to be talking to you at a high level. He’s really mature, and he understands a lot because of what he’s gone through. He used to have a real hard time trusting people, and over the years he’s really developed that part of his life. He’s probably one of the most mature kids leaving our program that we’ve ever had.”

On his leadership role during this past season’s tragedy – the death of student manager, Brendan Burke:

“He was right there. If guys wanted to talk, as a senior he was right there at the forefront. He didn’t wear a letter because we didn’t have any assistant captains this year, but I think the players knew that he was a captain. He was very vocal, he led by example and he was there for everybody so there was no question that he was great through all of that.”

On his hockey ability and breakout senior season:

“He’s always been a skilled player, so that’s not even an issue. The stuff that he does on the ice is absolutely stupid. He can do things with the puck that many players can’t. The thing that he had to understand in his game was to simplify and understand when and when not to do it…When to dish, when to go to the net. It was the decision making. Although it can continue to get better, it is leaps and bounds better than where it was a year ago, and that’s the maturity in his game.

And he just came to work every day. He’s always working on things before practice. He’s constantly trying to help other players with their shot, or making tight moves or working along the wall. He’s just one of those guys that loves the game. If he’s not playing, he’s going to be coaching, or teaching, or working at some capacity in the game.

He’s really come into his own about what he can and can’t do with his skill set.”

On what he needs to do to get to, and stay at the NHL level:

“For me, knowing the guys that have played in the NHL that we’ve coached, he’s more of a controlled player than [former Wild draft pick and current Edmonton Oiler] Ryan Jones is.

I think the NHL might suit him better than the American Hockey League, because he is a control-type player. He’s not going to waste energy. He’s a great passer. He’s got a pretty good shot. He understands the game so he knows where to go offensively, defensively.

The college game, for a lot of reasons, probably didn’t suit him as well as the NHL will, because it’s helter skelter at times. And he’s all about controlling the play and making good decisions.

If there’s one thing I think he needs to continue to work on, it’s his speed. He’s not slow, and he’s got speed, but I think he can still gain another step.”