Wild roster hopefuls face a key game in St. Louis

When the Wild plays host to the St. Louis Blues in its final exhibition game Saturday, it plans to dress "very close to if not the lineup" it plans to go with in next week's season opener against the Colorado Avalanche.

That means Thursday's preseason game in St. Louis presents one final chance for several roster hopefuls to make one lasting impression on the Wild suits.

"If you want to compare it to school, that's going to be the final exam and probably the grades in that one are going to count a little bit more than the ones from the start of the year," coach Mike Yeo said. "We will evaluate everything as a whole, but what we're looking for is the progress."

The microscope especially will be on eight players — forwards Jason Zucker, Michael Keranen, Cody Almond, Brett Sutter and Stephane Veilleux, and defensemen Matt Dumba, Christian Folin and Stu Bickel.

Right winger Justin Fontaine will miss a couple of weeks, including next Thursday's season opener, because of a lower-body injury. There could be three spots available for Zucker, Keranen, Almond, Sutter and Veilleux to win. There conceivably could be room for Dumba, Folin and Bickel to all make the team, although management has indicated Dumba and Folin can both make the team only if both were among the top six defensemen.

It's not easy to play in St. Louis, where the Blues are physical and intimidating. The Wild brass has designed Thursday's game to be a big gut check for those vying for jobs, especially skilled players like Zucker and Keranen.

"We want to see who can go in and play in a tough building and who can play against a very good hockey team and show that they're able to perform in those conditions," Yeo said.

Keranen has flashed impressive skill, but Yeo wants to see him perform in the St. Louis pressure cooker for 60 minutes. There might not be room for the former Finnish standout on the power play if he makes the team, so the Wild wants to determine if he'll be able to contribute in a fourth-line role.

Veilleux has proved his worth in an energy role in the past, while it feels as if Almond, 25, and Sutter, 27, are competing for the same spot.

"That's been a good competition there," Yeo said. "Our top two lines are pretty set, our power play is pretty set, but we need penalty killers, we need physical guys, we need momentum players and we need guys that are very responsible defensively."

Almond is on a one-way contract and has a clause in his contract where he can return to Switzerland if he clears waivers.

"I feel like I belong in this league," Almond said. "I feel like I'm more than ready to play, and we'll see what happens."