I’m not saying Chaffee can’t or won’t play games for Minnesota. Add in the tendency of GMs to fill out the rest of the line-up with NHL veterans on cheap deals that can be “trusted,” and suddenly, there is little room left for Chaffee. Liam Öhgren and fellow 2022 first-rounder Danila Yurov project as top of the line-up players too. Beckman might be a middle-six shooter, and that’s already with a third line of Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno, and Jordan Greenway excelling in those spots. The names ahead of him on that list are all offensively gifted. Unfortunately, that’s where Chaffee’s problems as a prospect begin. He scored each of his goals in different ways, displaying the talents and versatility of the soon-to-be 25-year-old. However, Minnesota is wasting Chaffee’s skill when they play him seven minutes with few opportunities to play offensively.Ĭhaffee scored a natural hat trick against the San Diego Gulls on Jan. Dewar and Duhaime, his linemates in his two NHL games, can slide in and do the dirty work required of a fourth-liner. But Chaffee is not a fourth-line grinder type. His 39 points in 49 games ranked fourth on Iowa.Īnd when Chaffee made his NHL debut on April 19th, he looked solidly in place next to Duhaime and Dewar.Ĭhaffee has earned a chance to be in the same conversation as Beckman and Shaw, even though the Wild didn’t draft him. Last season, he scored nine power-play goals as the benefactor of the outside shooting of Calen Addison and Rossi.
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The Wild signed Chaffee as an undrafted college free agent in 2020-21, and he is a right-shot forward who can play in various situations. Where does that leave Mitchell Chaffee? Minnesota announced on July 17th that they had re-signed the former UMass captain, who scored 23 goals and 16 assists in Iowa last season.
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Finally, a full season of health allowed him to tally 52 points in the AHL and make two separate injury fill-in stints with Minnesota. Shaw is another prospect who has a lot of promise. The Wild like Beckman and are invested in his success. He also captained one of the groups in prospect camp this summer. Beckman made a strong case to make the club in training camp last season. That doesn’t include other draft picks that are next in line, like Adam Beckman, Mason Shaw, and Sam Hentges or Nick Swaney. It’s a perfect storm for success.ĭuhaime, Dewar, Boldy, and Rossi are all former Wild draft picks. Oh, and the chances are on a team that will remain competitive throughout it all.
Plus, the smaller purse to pursue free agents has left ample opportunities for more prospects to get a chance.
Marco Rossi is poised to do the same this season. Prospects like Brandon Duhaime, Matt Boldy, and Connor Dewar graduated to the NHL full-time. The Wild added more talent to an already highly touted stable. The Minnesota Wild’s prospects had a great summer.