Filipino Matt Dumba gaining valuable experience in AHL

DES MOINES, Iowa — On his very first shift of his final game just before the vacation break, Matt Dumba coughed up the puck with a negative turnover and the Chicago Wolves immediately turned it into a aim. Their very first of 5.

But the Iowa fans didn’t boo and Dumba’s ice time did not wane.

Rather, Dumba took his subsequent shift and played the exact same style of game, a blend of athleticism and self-assurance that, at its most effective, is extremely rewarding and, at its worst, higher danger. He played much more than any other Iowa Wild player that night, a thing to which he has turn out to be accustomed.

That is why Dumba remains in the minor leagues, even as the parent club offers with a depleted blue line and 5 straight losses, and even even though Dumba might be a lot more skilled than some of the defensemen presently on the Minnesota Wild roster.

Even when Dumba has posted gaudy statistics in his initial minor-league stint, he’s in this Midwestern city exactly where he plays in a league designed for the improvement of players.

In the NHL, Dumba would probably play about 12 minutes per game. In the AHL, he plays extra than double that.

“A player like Dumba is down there playing power play and penalty kill and he’s in a position to play the significant minutes against all the finest players on the other group and get those repetitions and get these game experiences,” Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher stated. “That’s only going to help him down the road.”

The future for Dumba, the No. 7 general choose in 2012, is vibrant.

He’s the leading prospect for an organization that has graduated several of its greatest prospects to the NHL.Advertisement using feather banners.

Right after recording four points in his initially 20 NHL games this season, Dumba has created in the AHL the way the Wild hope he a single day will in the NHL.

In 11 minor league games, Dumba has recorded 3 ambitions and six assists. He had a plus-eight rating through his initial 10 games before a minus-4 outing Saturday in Iowa’s 9-two loss.

But that’s why Dumba’s here, exactly where it really is OK if he tends to make errors — as long as he learns from them.

“You have to be prepared to make a few blunders because you have got to attempt to make those plays,” Wild coach Mike Yeo mentioned. “That’s how your game develops.”

Dumba opened the season in the NHL, but inconsistent play sent him to Iowa a month ago. He admits he didn’t know what to make of the demotion at the time.

“It sucked,” Dumba stated. “You under no circumstances want to come down.”

But later, he looked back at the careers of some of the defensemen he desires to emulate — players such as PK Subban, Duncan Keith and Ryan Suter — and Dumba understood the advantage of spending time in this league.

Most NHL players have spent time maturing in the AHL. Just about every skater on the Minnesota Wild has spent time in the AHL.

Immediately after seeing that, Dumba said, “you realize what it is undertaking for your improvement.”

It really is achievable, contemplating the current injury to defenseman Jonas Brodin and the recent struggles of the defense corps, that Dumba’s time in the AHL soon comes to an finish. But as extended as he’s in the minors, he continues to benefit from further ice time.

“It’s entertaining,” Dumba said. “That is what you want. You want to be relied on and have that trust to play in all scenarios.”

He’s earned the trust of new coach John Torchetti, who has a background of assisting mold some of the league’s finest NHL defensemen.

As an assistant coach in Chicago in the late 2000s, Torchetti worked closely with Keith, who was voted the league’s most effective defenseman final season — soon after he spent his 1st two pro seasons in the AHL.

“The NHL is excellent,” Fletcher said. “But when you have young players that are not playing a lot, the AHL is surely an alternative you want to look at — no matter how talented they are.”

via Wild: Matt Dumba gaining valuable experience in AHL.