Postgame Hat Trick: Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase

After several days of on-ice practice and two games against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Wild wrapped up the inaugural Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase with a 4-3 shootout victory in the second game of the event.
That followed a 3-2 win in game one on Friday.
Here are three takeaways from the week that was at TRIA Rink in downtown St. Paul:

1. Mission accomplished

The primary objective for both clubs was to find an event that allowed prospects from both clubs to compete, while still getting better and gaining the proper rest ahead of training camp, which gets underway later this week.
In that regard, this format was an unquestioned success.
Both the Wild and Blackhawks have been going to Traverse City, Mich. for years for a similar event - one that is incredibly well run and organized.
But that event is a grind, as teams fly into Traverse City and play four games in six days and have little in the way of time for practice and additional coaching.

Those players return and jump right into camp, but have little in the way of time to rest and recuperate after what is often a physical week in northern Michigan.
This week was the best of both worlds.
Both clubs had plenty of on-ice practice time and two very competitive, closely-contested games. Now, prospects have a couple of days to get their bodies right ahead of camp, which for the Wild, starts Wednesday with media day, and Thursday with on-ice work.
The first preseason game is less than one week away, with Minnesota headed to St. Louis to play the Blues on Saturday.
"This was fantastic," said Wild General Manager Bill Guerin. "The set-up was great. We appreciate the Blackhawks coming in and getting together with us on this, because I think what we had was two games, you don't have to save anybody, they all get proper rest, they're not going to be burned out for training camp. So it gives these players the ability to play as hard as they can.
"Both sides played ... man, this was like mid-season hockey, these kids really played hard. Give both teams lots of credit."
While this was the first time the Wild and Blackhawks have gotten together for this event, it won't be the last. This showcase is scheduled to shift to Chicago next fall before coming back to St. Paul in 2023.

2. The big dogs barked for the Wild

Minnesota's prospect cupboard has really been on the upswing in recent years, highlighted by first-round draft picks like Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi.
Both of those guys were outstanding this week and they were clear difference makers in the Wild's comeback win on Sunday.
Boldy scored each of Minnesota's first two goals, banging home a couple of rebounds that couldn't have totaled more than a three or four feet from the goal line. That's a good sign.

Still, the Wild was trailing by a goal in the final seconds, until Rossi wired a beautiful shot past the Chicago netminder with 4.1 seconds remaining in regulation.
It was the second beauty of a goal for Rossi in as many games, as the 2020 ninth overall selection showed the kind of offensive firepower that made him one of the top teenaged players on the planet the past couple of years.
Both Boldy and Rossi are expected to be very much in the NHL roster mix once on-ice work commences on Thursday at TRIA Rink. Guerin has said he wants both players to earn their spots should they start in Minnesota, and this week's showcase was certainly a good first step in doing just that.
"I'm thrilled," Guerin said. "Our higher-picked guys came in and did what they were supposed to do, and that's produce and come through with big goals.
"[NHL training camp] is going to be different. I'm anxious to see them out there. It's really two different games; the rookie tournament games are high-intensity, high-pace, a little more scramble than what they get with the NHL guys, it's a lot high skill, more execution. It'll be interesting to see them. They'll get a good opportunity."

3. Depth for days

In addition to guys like Boldy and Rossi, who could crack the NHL roster as soon as opening night, the other thing this week's event showed Wild brass was that a number of other prospects aren't far away from contributing.
That doesn't mean guys will be coming up and playing top-line minutes, but there are several other players who made positive impressions in their effort to establish a pecking order when it comes to early season call-ups, whether to injury or ineffectiveness.
Calen Addison will compete for a job at camp, but may have to start in Iowa because of sheer numbers. He looked good.

Adam Beckman, a third-round pick in 2019 who is entering his first full pro season, is a guy who left both Guerin and Iowa Wild coach Tim Army impressed. Goal-scoring is always sought after, and Beckman has been a scorer everywhere he's played, and looks like he could be at the next level as well. He may have put himself in the conversation for an NHL opportunity with his week of work.
Damien Giroux wore an 'A' this week and was already expected to be in the roster mix when camp opens after a solid first season in Iowa a year ago. He didn't do anything to alter that notion.
Nick Swaney looks like a player who can help in all areas. He scored a beauty of a (winning) goal in the shootout, showing that he will be able to chip in offensively.
Ryan O'Rourke and Daemon Hunt continue to build on their seasons a year ago, where each played games in the AHL - and in the case of O'Rourke, where he played his entire season.
Recent 2021 first-round pick Carson Lambos was impressive in his first camp with the Wild.
And that doesn't even take into account some of the other guys who didn't play in this tournament but are likely to have prominent roles with Iowa to start the season, names like Brandon Duhaime, Connor Dewar, Mason Shaw and Will Bitten, or guys who saw extensive time on the taxi squad last season, like Joseph Cramarossa and Dakota Mermis.
Hopefully the Wild stays healthy this season, but should injury befall it at any point, there certainly looks like there is enough depth to weather some storms.
"It's encouraging to know that we're tracking in the right direction," Army said. "It got dry there for a little bit, the cupboards were a bit bare when I first got here in 2018. We didn't have this kind of depth with prospects. But not only has the amount [of prospects] improving, but so is the talent level is high."