Young Wild Tracker: Eriksson Ek shows off slick hands
With signees and draft picks spread out across two continents and more than a dozen junior leagues, keeping up with the Minnesota Wild's various prospects can be a daunting task.
From managing streaming plans and tracking down cable channels, to learning a few new languages (Puhutko suomea?), keeping tabs on the next generation can be a full-time job.
FOX Sports North has you covered.
From Finland to Fargo, we're breaking down the stats and bringing you a comprehensive look at the Wild's prospect pipeline each and every week.
So, let's take a look at the week that was in the latest edition of the Young Wild Tracker.
Avery Peterson, C, Minnesota Duluth (NCHC)
Peterson had a season-high four points in the Bulldogs' series split with Western Michigan. He collected two assists in UMD's 7-4 loss on Friday, then came up big on Saturday, scoring the game-winner early in the third period to put Duluth in front 4-2. Peterson broke out alongside Adam Johnson, displaying solid awareness after a partial 2-on-1 began to collapse, picking the top corner on NCHC All-Rookie honoree Ben Blacker to help the Bulldogs to a 6-3 win.
Joel Eriksson Ek, C, Farjestad (Liiga)
Eriksson Ek showed off his slick hands in a win over Malmo last week, corralling a bouncing puck in front of the net and stickhandling his way past the RedHawks' goalie to give Farjestad a 2-1 lead. He makes a pretty valiant effort to stop the puck on a Malmo goal in the second period, camping out behind the Farjestad goalie at the 1:28 mark without much luck. His goal shows up a few seconds later at around 1:50.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFe3FsFs08Y
Adam Vay, G, Quad City (ECHL)
Vay's return to North America is off to a rough start -- he has a .896 save percentage and a 3.09 GAA in 29 appearances -- but he's impressed in recent weeks. After logging his first ECHL shutout last month, Vay turned in his second-best performance of the season in a win over the Indy Fuel, allowing one goal on 27 shots to help the Mallards to a 6-1 win.
