Author: David Shama

The Wild could make a “splash” this week with a trade, a hockey source told Sports Headliners.  “I think they (the Wild) are really open to trading anybody except Mikko Koivu,” the source said.

General manager Chuck Fletcher and his staff are in pursuit of goal scorers in the draft and via other teams.  The NHL Entry Draft starts Friday and continues on Saturday in St. Paul.  NHL free agency begins July 1.

There is already excitement in the organization over wild prospect and goal scorer Mikael Granlund.  The Finnish player might join the Wild next season, but more likely for 2012-13.  “He’s considered the best potential goal scorer the Wild have had since Marian Gaborik,” the source said.

Fletcher is starting his third season as general manager and the franchise hasn’t participated in the playoffs for three straight years.  No doubt Fletcher and team owner Craig Leipold consider next season a priority year for the organization and one that needs to excite the fan base.

Fletcher signed former Houston Aeros coach Mike Yeo to coach the Wild last week after much speculation that Craig MacTavish would become the franchise’s third head coach.  MacTavish might have reduced his standing with Fletcher by interviewing for the Winnipeg position while the Wild was seeking a coach.

It’s also believed that MacTavish wanted a salary of better than $1 million per year.  That compensation would place MacTavish in the top one-third of highest paid coaches in the NHL.

Yeo’s salary is likely in the $400,000 to $500,000 range per season and similar compensation to what fired coach Todd Richards earned.  It’s likely that Yeo’s less expensive salary was a factor in not hiring MacTavish, but not the only reason.

The Wild expect crowds of over 12,000 at Xcel Energy Center on both Friday and Saturday for the NHL Entry Draft.  The Saturday attendance could be the largest of the weekend, partially because more players with Minnesota ties will be selected than on Friday.  Wild season ticket holders have been given priority with draft day tickets.

The entry draft hasn’t been held in Minnesota since 1989 when the North Stars hosted at Met Center.  The North Stars’ first pick was Rochester’s Doug Zmolek.

Tickets are $20 for the Wild Fan Fest at St. Paul’s downtown Crowne Plaza on Friday from noon to 5 p.m. and can be purchased on wild.com.  Celebrities expected to participate include Gary Bettman, Scotty Bowman, Brad Brown, Jack Carlson, Ryan Carter, Tom Chorske, Cal Clutterbuck, Chris Dahlquist, Karyn Bye-Dietz, Colton Gillies, Mikael Granlund, John Harrington, Darby Hendrickson, Phil Housley, Willard Ikola, Dave Jensen, Antti Laaksonen, Reed Larson, Craig Leipold, Gigi Marvin, Brad Maxwell, Rob McClanahan, Lou Nanne, Bob Paradise, J.P. Parise, Mark Parrish, Steve Payne, Shjon Podein, Jenny Potter, Tom Reid, Gordie Roberts,Marco Scandella, Jared Spurgeon, Brad Staubitz, Clayton Stoner, Wes Walz, Doug Woog, Tim Young and Tom Younghans.

Ricky Rubio’s parents are expected to live with the 20-year-old during the coming season.  Rubio said he’s excited about house hunting in Minneapolis.

Look for Tubby Smith’s Gophers basketball team to open with home exhibition games against Bemidji State on November 1 and Augustana November 7, followed by the regular season opener versus Bucknell at Williams Arena on November 11.  The schedule hasn’t been officially announced yet.

The Twins rank No. 39 among MLB, NBA, NHL and NFL teams in the annual ESPN The Magazine Ultimate Standings measuring how much franchises “give back” to the fans.  The Wild rank No. 92, the Vikings No. 106 and the Wolves 118 of 122 franchises.

The Twins, who continue Interleague play this week against San Francisco and Milwaukee after sweeping San Diego last week, are among baseball’s winningest franchises ever in games between the American and National Leagues.  The Twins’ record is 144-109.

The 38^th annual Minnesota High School All-Star Football Game will be played on Saturday starting at 7 p.m. in TCF Bank Stadium.  For the first time since 1979 teams will have North and South designations, not Metro and Outstate.  Players from the metro and outstate areas will be on both teams.  The game is one of the successful projects of the Minnesota Football Coaches Association.

Indicative of the trend toward winning warm weather baseball programs, Athlon Sports didn’t include a single Big Ten player on its 2011 college All-America team.

Ricky Rubio will be introduced to media and fans tomorrow at Target Center.  He signed a multi-year contract with the Wolves last week, ending two years of speculation about whether he would ever play for the NBA team housed at First Ave. North.

That commitment ended one phase of the Rubio story, but another begins when the much discussed Spanish guard plays his first NBA season.  Rubio’s NBA potential is hotly debated.  Detractors point to his single digits per game averages in scoring and assists in Europe, an inferior basketball environment to the states.  Admirers gush about Rubio’s court vision, passing and ball handling.

A psychic may know how Rubio’s NBA future looks, but the rest of us will have to see whether the Wolves, winners of only 17 games last season, have a savior or a dud in the controversial 20-year-old who has been playing against pros since he was 14.  The years ahead will tell if we’ve got another “Pistol” Pete Maravich or Marko Jaric, but Sports Headliners offers the following on what Rubio can expect during his introductory months in the NBA, and what his arrival means to the Wolves franchise and this town.

• Rubio can expect to be verbally and physically targeted by the many “characters” playing in the NBA.  Expletives and body blows will say, “Welcome to the NBA, Rook.”

• The greeting will be friendlier inside the Wolves’ locker room where forward Kevin Love will likely lead the friendship committee.  The Wolves are a team searching for both talent and leaders, and that will make the locker room chemistry a lot better for Rubio than if a veteran star or two (see Kevin Garnett) saw this club as his domain.
• Rubio will find the NBA more wide open and favorable to his fast break style of basketball.  He will play more minutes per game than in Europe and presumably have a coaching staff interested in building a system around him.
• The grind of the 82-game season will test the young body and mind of the 6-4, 190 pound Rubio who is still maturing.  That could be “code” for saying Rubio will play inconsistently, some nights making brilliant plays and other games making us pine for Jonny Flynn.
• The scouting report on Rubio is his passing and ability to drive to the basket are world class, but his shooting needs work.  And his defense might, too, because he lacks foot speed although his quick hands will compensate.
• Rubio can expect criticism from media and fans here, some of it nasty and undeserved.  Welcome to a cynical society.
• But he can also expect adoration.  He plays with flair and is good looking. The groupies are dancing in anticipation of his arrival downtown.