On Day 1 of camp, Wild leadership calls for more intensity

Bill Guerin fielded a stream of questions Thursday after the teams first day of training camp and wasnt receptive to anyone trying to read much of anything into one day of camp.

In the same breath, the Wild general manager acknowledged that he and head coach John Hynes already need one thing to change.

ADVERTISEMENT The scrimmage could be more competitive, which (Hynes) will address, Guerin said.

But its Day 1, and youve got to start somewhere, so Day 1s a good place to start.

Yeah, its Day 1.

Day 2 has got to be better.

That candor from the GM after the teams first preseason practice is a sign of how serious Guerin and Hynes are about changing the way the team approaches practices and games.

The Wild missed the postseason last year for the second time in 12 seasons, and with largely the same cast of players back, something has to change and not just the teams bad luck with injuries last season.

Last season was derailed early by a 5-10-2 start that cost Dean Evason his job, and as Guerin noted, We were pretty healthy at the start of the year.

So, guys better be ready.

Hynes said he was pleased overall with the first day of camp as he and his staff installed new schemes and set some early line combinations before the team travels to Winnipeg for its first preseason game Saturday night.

But Hynes also expressed disappointment in Thursdays two-period scrimmage between the A and B practice squads.

ADVERTISEMENT With Marc-Andre Fleury in goal, the B squad won 3-0.

Id like the scrimmages to be a little more intense tomorrow than it was today, he said.

One group plays tired, and we need to see more from that.

We need to see a little bit more speed and pace, a little bit more direct, faster play.

I thought the practices were very good.

I thought the scrimmage was a little like summer hockey, and were going to have to change that tomorrow.

ADVERTISEMENT On Wednesday, Fleury said, the Hynes and Guerin spoke to players specifically about ramping up the urgency of every practice.

We had a good talk yesterday about starting right, pushing each other so when that first day comes around, were ready to go, said Fleury, back on a one-year deal for his 22nd and final NHL season.

This is a big year for the Wild, which has been playing with many of the teams core veterans since 2020-21.

All but a few are signed beyond this season, so starting over after another disappointing season would be difficult.

In addition, with star winger Kirill Kaprizov eligible to extend his contract after this season, its imperative for this core to prove to him it can compete for a Stanley Cup.

ADVERTISEMENT Whether they were injured or just underachieving, veterans such as Marcus Johansson, Freddy Gaudreau, Marcus Foligno and Jon Merrill need to play more and do more if the Wild are to rise in the competitive Western Conference and return to the postseason.

Youre giving the guys maybe a second chance at where they were in the lineup, and ...

its great pressure on those guys, including myself, Foligno said.

We all have to produce more than what we did last season.

And at the same time, its understanding that its due to a start.

You have to have a good start.

Our best season (113 points in 2021-22) was because of a (18-6-1) start.

So, its getting back to those ways and being mentally sharp from the first puck drop in a home opener.

The man who created this roster, and signed so many veterans to long-term extensions, is a little anxious, as well.

ADVERTISEMENT I feel urgency.

Pressure is different, Guerin said.

I havent talked much about last year.

I dont like the way it went.

I dont like a lot about it, and I want to make sure that we have urgency this year, that we are afraid to fail.

This is serious.

Theres no room for how we started last year and how we were up and down.

Forward Marcus Foligno and defenseman Jared Spurgeon each said they are fully healed from surgeries that ended their seasons prematurely last year.

I feel good, and now its just kind of getting back into the conditioning and right now, said Foligno, who had surgery to repair injuries to his core muscles in April.

This is really the best Ive felt in a long time.

No setbacks, nothing like that.

It was a really good offseason.

ADVERTISEMENT Spurgeon, limited to 16 games because of shoulder, hip and back injuries last season, said he feels 100 percent and is chomping at the bit to scrimmage on Friday.

After hip and back surgeries last February and March, he said, he must add new off-ice work to stay healthy.

Theres a full-year plan, he said, just to go through to make sure that youre doing the right things and everything like that.

The early top line of Kaprizov, Ryan Hartman and Mats Zuccarello was scoreless for the A squad in Thursdays scrimmage.

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The B teams goals were scored by Jake Middleton, Joel Eriksson Ek and Brendan Gaunce, who signed a two-way deal with Minnesota on July 1 after earning two goals and four points in 24 games for Columbus last season.

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To prospects Riley Heidt and Hunter Haight played on a line with Sammy Walker for the B squad, with Haight playing center.

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