Good afternoon from gorgeous Helsinki. Was just having lunch with two broadcasting mavens, Bob Kurtz and Canes Hall of Fame radio announcer Chuck Kaiton. Let's say the decibel level was high.
We were looking out the window of the restaurant, and suddenly Kaiton goes, "This could be St. Paul." So true. As coach Todd Richards was saying this morning, now he knows why the Wild's Finns love Minnesota so much. Helsinki is Europe's Minnesota, from the weather to the overall look. Our 110-mile drive to Tampere yesterday may as well have been 35-N to Duluth.
This is just a neat place with the friendliest people.
I'm going to try to crank this out so I can begin writing. Just feeling pretty brutal today. Whether it was the three hours of sleep or the change in weather or the travel or the fact that I literally have been inside a bus, a hotel room or a hockey rink for since Friday, I've got a splitting headache, I'm weak and my back is killing me.
The big news today came after practice. Center/winger Casey Wellman and defenseman Justin Falk have made the opening night roster. When waivers come out at 11 a.m. CT, left wing Matt Kassian and defenseman Drew Bagnall will be on there. They'll be reassigned to Houston after the Wild returns to the United States on Saturday (if there's injuries, they could conceivably be recalled).
Clayton Stoner made the roster, and Richards admitted today he is concerned about the state of Stoner's game but is confident he can rediscover the old Stoner and it'll be up to the coaches to help him find it. I think Falk will be the No. 6 opening night and Stoner won't play though.
Richards praised Wellman, who again showed impressive speed and offensive creativity on the line with Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Cullen yesterday. Richards said though he's "99 percent" sure Martin Havlat will be able to play Thursday against Carolina, meaning Havlat likely takes his spot back next to Cullen.
Richards said he is worried where Guillaume Latendresse is. He's only practiced one in the last week or more, and even if he can play against Carolina, Richards said he's leaning toward keeping Clutterbuck on the line because he was so good alongside Cullen against Ilves.