With time on ice sparse, defensemen could be sent down for more experience

By Chad Graff

St. Paul Pioneer Press

ST. PAUL —Again Saturday, Wild rookie defenseman Christian Folin watched his teammates beat the Colorado Avalanche 1-0 from his perch high above the ice at the Xcel Energy Center, a healthy scratch for a fourth straight game.

For much of this season, the Wild have operated with a simple rule for their two rookie defensemen, Folin and Matt Dumba: If they’re not getting enough playing time in the NHL, they’re sent to the American Hockey League to further their development.

But despite not playing since Jan. 27 in Edmonton, Folin remains on the NHL roster, raising the question of whether the 23-year-old can fully develop without regular game action.

“Definitely that’s something you can do,” Folin said. “You’ve got to be a sponge and just soak it all in. Practicing against these guys like Zach (Parise) and those guys that always go 110 percent in every single drill, that’s really good for my development, too.”

But the Wild’s core philosophy remains intact, only slightly altered by a scheduling quirk.

The Wild had two consecutive days of practice leading to Saturday night’s game, a rare chance for NHL coaches to work with players for long stretches on back-to-back days.

“There are benefits when you look at a week like this week when we had some good quality practice time,” coach Mike Yeo said. “So to be here at this level and try to build some of the habits back in that — especially for a young player not getting a lot of games — could start to slip a little bit.”

In Folin’s first pro season after signing with the Wild out of college, he has played in 29 NHL games and eight games in the American Hockey League. He has one goal and five assists in the NHL.

Keeping him out the lineup of late, though, has been Dumba. The 20-year-old has played well since his call-up Jan. 29 and, more important, the Wild have won with him in the lineup. They have 18 wins in 26 games with Dumba in the lineup and six wins in 24 games without him, making it difficult to send him to the AHL even if that is what’s best for his development.

Because the Wild like playing Nate Prosser alongside one of the rookie defensemen — rather than both rookies together — they likely will have to decide in the next week whether to send one back to the AHL.

“Quite possibly,” Yeo said. “But I don’t want to make that decision (now). There’s a lot of time between now and then. As far as the guys in the lineup, let’s see what kind of job they do, then evaluate that and see if we go in the same lineup or need to make a change back there.”

But their initial philosophy remains intact.

“I don’t want a young kid sitting around and not playing for a period of time,” Yeo said.

—Distributed by Tribune Content Agency