ST. PAUL, Minn. \u2014 Two seasons ago, when hits were significantly down in the NHL, the league did a midseason audit, having a third party rewatch games and retabulate the hit totals for scores of players.<\/p>\n
Ever since, the \u201chits\u201d statistic, which can be subjective with off-ice officials in all 32 buildings, has been constantly monitored, audited during and after games and is, frankly, much more liberally recorded for players.<\/p>\n
The Minnesota Wild\u2019s defensemen could use even more help in the area. Through Sunday, the group ranked 24th in the NHL with 48 hits in 10 games \u2014 49 behind the league-leading Vegas Golden Knights.<\/p>\n
Now, we all know by now that the Wild have largely built their blue line based on mobility.<\/p>\n
Zeev Buium is a world-class skater who looks like he\u2019ll turn into an offensive star. Brock Faber is a world-class skater, and Jonas Brodin has the feet to spin out of trouble in a nanosecond and skates backward better than a lot of guys skate forward. Jake Middleton brings mobility and size, and Jared Spurgeon has great wheels.<\/p>\n
But in a day and age where big blue lines seem to be the ones lifting the Stanley Cup in late June, it\u2019s a bit worrisome that in 10 games, Faber has four hits, Buium two and Brodin and David Jiricek one each.<\/p>\n
We asked Wild president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin if the lack of physicality is a concern to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if you hit and you\u2019re no good,\u201d Guerin said. \u201cHey, look, you\u2019re right. But Middsy brings some of that. When (Zach Bogosian is) in, he brings some of that. But, yeah, you\u2019re right. We have to be harder. But it\u2019s very hard to find guys that can bring that and mobility.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even though the name of the game isn\u2019t putting players through the glass, the lack of physicality exemplifies a problem we\u2019ve seen with the Wild defense so far this season. Just look at the game against the Utah Mammoth. The Wild got into an immediate three-goal hole, then tried to mount a comeback, almost pulling it off. But to get back in it, Filip Gustavsson had to make 29 saves in a row with the high-danger chances severely in the Mammoth\u2019s favor. It\u2019s because they were having no issues getting to the inner slot and net front.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019re closing hard enough, like on arrivals or in D zone, where they\u2019re able to get from below the goal line, and they\u2019re able to get out of some of those puck battles, or those battles we\u2019re in,\u201d coach John Hynes said. \u201cThat\u2019s what, at times, can then open up, you know, whether maybe they move it low to high, it comes back down low, and then we\u2019re not closing on that play, and then our wingers are coming back to the slot. You\u2019ve got to get quicker.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when you\u2019re not as hard as you need to be down low, some of those chances come up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hynes said it \u201ccomes down to the hardness in those battles, whether that\u2019s a hit or physicality or defensive-side positioning or stopping the man so there\u2019s not a second play coming out of that \u2014 that there\u2019s a hit and pin and you can get numbers to the puck and be able to get up and out.\u201d<\/p>\n
LOGAN COOLEY JUST SCORED AGAIN \ud83e\udd2f <\/p>\n
He’s got five goals in his last four periods of hockey! pic.twitter.com\/6x2c8saZXr<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NHL (@NHL) October 25, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n On one of Logan Cooley\u2019s goals Saturday, Faber and Brodin were on the ice.<\/p>\n Brodin has never been a physical defenseman, but over the past few years, especially, he\u2019s too often allowed players to get second and third swats at pucks because he\u2019s trying to stick check rather than muscling a player off the puck or away from the goalmouth. In the past three years of the Wild\u2019s penalty kill being ghastly, Faber\u2019s been on the ice for 70 goals and Brodin for 55.<\/p>\n Faber\u2019s built like a linebacker. You\u2019d think he\u2019d be more physical.<\/p>\n Same thing with Jiricek, who is 6-foot-4. Ryan Reaves\u2019 goal Sunday night came after Jiricek barely attempted to win a board battle, stick checking rather than even trying to use his body \u2014 one of many battles he\u2019s lost in the early going.<\/p>\n Ryan Reaves makes it 4-2 #TheFutureIsTeal<\/a>! pic.twitter.com\/m4dWvvez4l<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 JD Young (@MyFryHole) October 26, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n So the one \u201chit\u201d this season for Jiricek is indicative of a larger issue: not using his big frame to win battles in the dirty areas.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not like the Wild expect Jiricek to suddenly become Chris Pronger, Scott Stevens, Adam Foote or Derian Hatcher on the ice. But they need a bit more physicality.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t try to turn somebody into that,\u201d Guerin said. \u201cLike, if they don\u2019t have that in them, it\u2019s not going to be natural. What you want them to do is be highly competitive and use the size to his advantage. We don\u2019t need David to kill guys. If that\u2019s in your nature, then OK. But if it\u2019s not, if you try to change guys, you\u2019re always going to be disappointed. So we just want David to use his size and be harder.\u201d<\/p>\n Foligno respects the big hit<\/p>\n Marcus Foligno was getting ribbed in the Wild\u2019s team group chat last week over the booming hit he took from Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider.<\/p>\n The open-ice collision just inside the blue line knocked Foligno to the ice and broke his stick in the process.<\/p>\n But Foligno didn\u2019t try to fight Schneider. He laughed it off and gave him props. A heavy hitter himself, Foligno had respect for it.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know what, I got caught,\u201d Foligno, who has since gotten injured, said two days after the win at Madison Square Garden. \u201cI normally don\u2019t get caught. I try to be a skilled player at certain situations. He baited me and got me. I\u2019ve hit so many guys, and it\u2019s one of those where you tip your cap. I wasn\u2019t injured. It was all good. Just laugh it off and get back out there and take another run at each other.\u201d<\/p>\n HIT STICK \ud83d\udca5 pic.twitter.com\/8h6JRVZYgF<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Spittin’ Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) October 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n There are times when even a clean and hard hit like Schneider\u2019s will result in a fight or big scrum. Just look at Middleton against the Dallas Stars earlier this season. He nailed Matt Duchene with a good open-ice check and immediately drew an instigating penalty from Alex Petrovic and had to fight for the clean hit.<\/p>\n Alex Petrovic and Jacob Middleton go at it after Middleton laid a HUGE hit on Matt Duchene \ud83e\udd4a pic.twitter.com\/1MngqKQa3g<\/a><\/p>\n