Will we see this reaction a lot this season from Minnesota Wild fans?
Charlie Coyle was the main acquisition back in 2011 when the Minnesota Wild traded defenseman and fan favorite Brent Burns to the San Jose Sharks. The trade never would’ve happened if Charlie Coyle was not included as part of the first big blockbuster trade made by Chuck Fletcher. The trade also included Devin Setoguchi and the Sharks 2011 1st round pick (28th overall, the Wild chose F Zack Phillips.)
Devin Setoguchi was the big name when the trade went down, having come off three straight seasons of 20+ goals (31, 20, 22 from 2008-2011) and being a factor in the playoffs for the San Jose Sharks. Devin looked ready to be a top 6 player on a growing Minnesota Wild team. Turns out Mr. Setoguchi may have been a product of the players around him in San Jose as he couldn’t live up to that top 6 role for the Wild. He scored 32 goals & 31 assists over 2 seasons & 117 regular season games for the Wild and ended up being traded to Winnipeg for a 2014 4th round pick after the 2012-13 season. Maybe it just wasn’t a good match of player and team.
Setoguchi never realizing his potential with the Wild just reaffirmed Charlie Coyle being the main player in the trade. When the Wild acquired him, Charlie had just finished his freshman season of college hockey with the Boston University Terriers of Hockey East. He won New England & Hockey East Freshman of the Year* scoring 26 points on 7 goals and 19 assists in 37 games. He also played for Team USA in the 2011 World Junior Championships, helping them win a Bronze Medal and tying for the team lead in points with 6 on 2 goals and 4 assists.
*In his 1st collegiate game, Charlie scored a goal and had an assist in a 4-3 win over Wisconsin. Us Minnesotans like that! Yeah, CHARLIE!
In his sophomore season at BU, Charlie would only play in 16 games for the Terriers before making a decision to leave Boston University to join the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).
“Yes, I have made my decision to leave BU because I’m done being a student-athlete and I want to focus on just hockey,” Coyle said via text. “I was not failing out.”
“It was definitely a hard decision to make and I will miss my teammates and coaches. BU was a great place to be and I enjoyed my time there.”
Once he joined St. John, Charlie went on a tear, collecting 38 points (15 Gs, 23 As) in only 23 games. In the playoffs, he lead the Sea Dogs to the QMJHL President’s Cup and became only the 2nd American-born player to be named Playoff MVP scoring 15 goals & adding 19 assists in only 17 games.
Charlie played for Team USA at the World Junior Championships in 2012 as well but this time, they wouldn’t fare well, failing to make it to the medal round. I remember watching Charlie Coyle though and loving the way he played both ends of the ice, backchecking hard no matter what the score or how much time was remaining in the game.
The 2012-13 NHL season didn’t start on time due to a lockout so Charlie Coyle started the season in the AHL with the Houston Aeros, the Minnesota Wild’s minor league affiliate at the time. Head coach of the Aeros, John Torchetti felt Charlie Coyle was going to “make an impact on the Wild for two reasons: He’s no-maintenance, high-character and he’s so good, so willing defensively.”
Torchetti loved Coyle’s terrific skating, eagerness to go to the dirty areas, great release and, of course, the fact that he looked like a future top scorer but he didn’t think you could play in today’s NHL without the defensive component, and Coyle was his “most consistent, complete forward night in and night out since the start of the year.”
The NHL season began in January with a shortened 48-game season. The Wild called up Charlie Coyle for the 9th game of the season and put him on the 2nd line and moved him to the top line soon afterwards. He’d play in 37 games that first season and have only 14 points (8 goals & 6 assists) but would show flashes of being the power forward most of us expect him to be. He’d have several Beast Mode* shifts in the offensive zone where he’d possess the puck for 20 seconds or so and the opponent couldn’t muscle him off the puck or get it off his stick.
*I now refer to this as Coyle Mode as it seems to be something only he can do.
Since that first season, he’s been moved around to different lines playing center or wing. He’d have a better 2nd season in terms of points with 30 (12G, 18A) but his +/- suffered as he was no longer on the top line and was still adapting to the NHL game and Mike Yeo’s system.
In late January last season, Charlie Coyle scored an amazing goal on a breakaway in Edmonton. You have to see it to believe it. Words don’t do it justice but I’ll try. He forced a turnover in the neutral zone, getting a breakaway coming up the left side of the ice but he has two Oiler players chasing him down forcing him to keep going to the left of goalie Viktor Fasth so he just around Fasth behind the net and somehow moves the puck back towards the net with his backhand and has just enough room to get the puck in front and tap it in all while still moving.
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on the fourth line trying to teach them to play a complete game saying he did this to give them a “chance to reset their game,” take pressure off and give them the mindset to get in on the forecheck, play in the offensive zone and simplify things in order to start feeling confident in their games again.It worked pretty well. Charlie Coyle was playing his best hockey after the All-Star break. In 36 games, he had 16 points (6G, 10A) and was a +17 for plus/minus. Compare that to 19 points (5G, 14A) and a -4 in 46 games before the All-Star break.
There’s several reasons why Charlie Coyle is poised to Go Wild and have a breakout season for the Minnesota Wild:
He is 6’ 3” tall and weighs 221 pounds so he can be physical in on the forecheck. We’ve already seen him use that size to protect the puck and be a physical force in the offensive zone. He knows what to expect from a full season now, especially after going through two full seasons. He’s learned how to use that big frame to his advantage.
He’s improved defensively so he won’t be a liability when he’s out on the ice and coach Mike Yeo can rely on him to do the right things on the ice. That should get him more time on the ice.
He’s versatile. He can play center or right wing so he can fill different roles on different lines. He has been used on the power play and on the penalty kill in the preseason. He could replace Kyle Brodziak’s minutes in PK situations.
He’s improved his faceoff skills making him an option to be used in some situations where the Wild need a faceoff win in either zone.
He’s only 23 years old and his new contract kicks in this season. Last season he took the All-Star break to get his confidence back and he finished the season very well.
He led the Wild in preseason scoring with 8 points on 1 goal & 7 assists in 4 games played. Yes, it’s the preseason. I know but it shows progress.
What would a Charlie Coyle breakout season look like? How many points, goals & assists does he need to be considered Going Wild? I would say he should have 15+ goals & 35+ assists for 50+ points. That would definitely help the Wild take the next step for this franchise.
So, do you think Charlie Coyle will Go Wild this season? Let us know in the comments, on Facebook, Twitter or Google+!
You’ve been….CLUTTERPUCKED!!!
Thanks for reading and always….
Bring the Clutter! Every Day! In Every Way!
Posted in Hockey In Minnesota, Minnesota Wild | Tagged 2015-16 Minnesota Wild, Charlie Coyle, devin setoguchi, houston aeros, John Torchetti, Mike Yeo, minnesota wild, National Hockey League, nhl, San Jose Sharks, Zack Phillips | 
Will the Minnesota Wild take the next step to become a Stanley Cup contending team?
The Minnesota Wild will be primarily the same team for the 2015-16 season. The same team swept in the 2nd round of the playoffs by a familiar opponent, the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks. Down 3-0 after the 1st period of Game 1, they came back with 3 goals in the first 10 minutes of the 2nd, and I’m sure most fans thought “Here we go. This is the team I remember!” Once they came back though, Chicago adjusted and turned it up a notch and the Wild lost that 1st game on a late 2nd period goal.
From that moment on, the team we saw go on that great run to make the playoffs seemed to disappear. As if all the hard work to get into the playoffs and get past the St. Louis Blues in round 1 had taken its toll. The energy and confidence in their game was gone. They looked tired physically and defeated mentally. It was difficult to watch.
So why should we expect a better Wild in 2015-16?
The Wild were 18-19-5 with 40 games to play. That’s not the worst record to have in 42 games but it was how they got there that had everyone throwing the season away. From December until January 13th, they went 5-10-4 after starting 13-9-1. They were getting worse, not better and a 41 points in 42 games pace does not a playoff team make.
The Wild have solved their goalie situation. Darcy Kuemper was thrust into the starting role at the beginning of the season and he, like the team, started off well but wasn’t ready to be a number one goalie this early in his career. Niklas Backstrom, once again, was battling through injuries and wasn’t really an option so the Wild rode Kuemper until they realized he wasn’t the answer. He looks to have that ability but needs more time. Not many people thought a little trade for Devan Dubnyk, the backup in Arizona, would make a difference but the Wild would finish with 100 points and make the playoffs as the first Wild Card team and the 7th seed in the Western Conference. Devan Dubnyk re-signed with the Minnesota Wild for 6 years/$26 million in July.
Every player who played over 20 games is still on the roster except for Kyle Brodziak. He played in 73 games, providing a bottom-6 role last season. Now, every role is important and though most people weren’t big fans of Kyle Brodziak, he played his role well. That being said, the Wild have other players and prospects that should be able to step in and fill the spot vacated by Kyle Brodziak signing with the St. Louis Blues as a free agent.
They chose not to bring back Chris Stewart, Sean Bergenheim and Jordan Leopold. They brought back Nate Prosser and Ryan Carter and added Mike Reilly from the Minnesota Gophers. So the core of this team is still here. There’s very few players that have to come in and learn Mike Yeo’s system.
The Wild have youth on their side. They have players ready to take the next step in their careers and help this team be successful. Mikael Granlund, Charlie Coyle, Jason Zucker, Nino Niederreiter, Matt Dumba, Marco Scandella, Jonas Brodin, Erik Haula, etc… Now they just have to do it.
In the next week, we will #BringTheClutter with articles about who could be Going WILD this season. The season starts in just 8 Days!!! EIGHT DAYS!!! ONE WEEK from tomorrow!!! ARE YOU READY???
You’ve been….CLUTTERPUCKED!!!!
Thanks for reading!
Bring the Clutter! Every Day! In Every Way!!!
Posted in Hockey In Minnesota, Minnesota Wild, NHL Hockey | Tagged 2015-16 Minnesota Wild, Charlie Coyle, Darcy Kuemper, Devan Dubnyk, Erk Haula, Jason Zucker, Jonas Brodin, Kyle Brodziack, Marco Scandella, Matt Dumba, Mikael Granlund, Niklas Backstrom, Nino Niederreiter, Stanley Cup | 
