It’s Game Day; Cuts Coming

In just a few hours, the Wild will be hitting the ice for pregame warmups, and their will be another team at the end of the rink. Tonight’s game will be just another step in the Wild’s quest for a perfect season. Thus far, the club is 4-0 after tearing through Traverse City with a bunch of young, fiery kids.

Phase II begins tonight. The club will aim for a 7-0-0 preseason, followed by 82 regular season wins, and 16 playoff victories. By my count, that would be a 109-0-0 record, and I’ll have to do some background checking, but I’m guessing it would be an NHL first. We should expect no less.

Others here on the banks of the Mississippi might be a little more cautious when talking about 109 wins. They might say something more to the tune of “preseason games don’t matter” or “let’s take it one game at a time.”

Fair enough. Let’s take tonight’s game. The Blues are coming in with a mish-mash of NHLers and minor leaguers. They’re also coming off a loss at home to Colorado last night. I predict it will take them awhile to get their legs going, and the fresh Wild players will take advantage.

Brent Burns opens the scoring, with Brad Boyes tying the game late in the third. A big second period by the Wild stretches the lead to 3-1 on goals by Chuck Kobasew and Andrew Brunette. Matt Cullen adds an empty netter, and there you have it! The Wild moves to five wins, zero losses on the season.

The Wild is expected to make its first roster cutdown following tonight’s game. It will most likely be guys who will go back to junior teams, but there might also be some AHL guys that get cut early. It’s pretty clear that the majority of these six North American preseason games are going to be played by veterans. Houston Aeros training camp starts Monday, so that will give some guys the chance to get down there and get settled before camp kicks off.

Speaking of Houston, Aeros General Manager Jim Mill is slated to be the next Wild.com live chat guest tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. Didn’t I tell you the guests would get more interesting than me? Jim can talk Aeros hockey, Aeros coaches, training camp, Traverse City or anything else you can think of. Granted, there might be some questions he can’t answer, but he’s a nice gentleman. I’m guessing he can answer some questions without really answering them. That’s the true test of a General Manager anyway.

Enjoy the game tonight if you’re coming, and if you’re not, there will be live in-game commentary for all home preseason games. Road preseason games are for suckers.

Mike Yeo Hired As Houston Aeros Head Coach

A month ago, Minnesota Wild Assistant to the General Manager, Jim Mill was sifting through stacks of resumes from potential coaches of the Houston Aeros. Mill said he hoped to have his man to lead the club’s primary developmental affiliate prior to the NHL Draft.

With more than a week to spare, Mill’s search is over after tabbing Pittsburgh Penguins assistant, Mike Yeo to lead the club.

Yeo joined the Penguins as an assistant in 2005, and he helped lead the club to a Stanley Cup title in 2009. Yeo’s primary responsibilities were coaching the power play and defensemen.

The 36-year-old returns to the team he spent five years playing left wing for from 1994 to 1999. As team captain, Yeo led the Aeros to the International Hockey League’s Turner Cup in 1999.

The following year, however, Yeo suffered a career-ending knee injury, and he turned to coaching the following year as an assistant for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He served in that role for six years before moving on to Pittsburgh under head coaches, Michel Therrien and Dan Bylsma. His promotion came in 2005, when Wilkes-Barre set an AHL record for the best start to a season by boasting a 21-1-2-1 record with 15 straight wins.

All tolled, Yeo remained in the Penguins organization for 10 years.

While coaching at both levels, he worked with players such as Brooks Orpik, Ryan Whitney, Maxime Talbot and Marc-Andre Fleury.

Yeo takes over the Houston reins following the departure of Kevin Constantine, another former coach in Pittsburgh.

More information will be available on Wild.com later, including interviews with Yeo and Mill.