When Matt Dumba was drafted by the Minnesota Wild it was a feeling that’d he’d never felt before. "Just this overwhelming chill throughout my whole body,” he told the media after being selected.
That was a little more than two years ago. The 20-year-old defenseman is still a bit awe-inspired by his big league surroundings. Not clouded by thoughts of making an NHL roster or distracted by the ferocious speed of the game, Dumba knew exactly who was covering him during an overtime play in the Wild’s final preseason game against St. Louis on Saturday night.
“I came down low and [Jay] Bouwmeester was on me and we were kind of battling down there,” he recalled, nonchalantly. The play was important, as Dumba was found wide open in front of the net by Mikael Granlund with a chance to win the game, only to shoot wide from a few feet away.
“Granny put it right on my tape,” he said. “It just blew up off my stick. [I’ve] got to bear down there, I guess. Probably do some wrist curls this week.”
“I’m going to beat myself up for that one,” Dumba said, remembering the trademark groan the fans at the Xcel Energy Center make when a goalmouth chance comes ever so close.
Even amongst all that, Dumba was clearly aware who was defending him: a 13-year NHL veteran, a Team Canada Olympic gold medalist and a former No. 3 overall pick. The fact that Dumba’s first thought was his defensive counterpart on a bang-bang play shows he’s a young player still wowed by the stage he’s entering – well, partially.
It would seem Dumba is caught in two minds: Part of him is the little kid inside, blown away that he’s becoming the authentic NHLer he’d always dreamed he could be. The other side is a headstrong adult who realizes his ambition will only be satisfied by reaching the pinnacle of his profession.
“It kind of wares off,” said Dumba in the same interview, when asked if he is still amazed with playing hockey at the highest level. “It’s just part of the process, but still it is pretty cool to see [myself] on the highlights. That gets your buddies pretty excited.”
Dumba, drafted No. 7 overall in 2012, was just hoping to catch the eye of the coaching staff during this fall’s training camp, unsure if he was in their immediate plans. Dumba’s play was all but discreet. He was electric as he recorded one goal and four assists in five games. He’s known as an offensive defenseman, but a point-per-game pace is phenomenal.
In a team filled with young talent, he might be just that: the next phenom.
In the aforementioned final preseason game – all of which double as tryouts for young players – Dumba was spectacular, firing in a rocket from the top of circle and creating numerous chances on the team’s top power play unit. Here’s video of a similar goal Dumba scored during his brief call up last season. Afterwards he was giddy, smiling from ear to ear.
“I knew this was kind of the last hooray before everything got said and done,” Dumba said, referencing the Wild’s deadline to announce its Opening Night roster. “I wanted to go out with a bang and I thought I played a pretty good game. I was happy with it.”
Head coach Mike Yeo validated Dumba’s emotions, stating after the game that he would have to “find some creative reasons” to justify sending him down to the minors with the Iowa Wild. Yeo held true to his word when he announced the cuts Monday, Dumba not among them. He’s currently penciled in on the third defensive pairing with fellow rookie Christian Folin for the Wild’s season opening clash with the Colorado Avalanche at home on Thursday.
But following the announcement, Dumba’s smile was gone on Monday, replaced by a stern glare.
“It feels good, but nothing is set in stone,” he said, scantly. The short response left reporters dumbfounded, until one followed up by asking if he felt a sense of accomplishment for making an NHL roster for the first time to start a season.
“Yes and no,” he said. “I’m so hard on myself, I just push myself as hard as I can, so you just kind of reach one goal and then move on to the next.”
It was Dumba’s mature, determined side on display. Scouts and those around Dumba during his youth describe him as a player “who wants to be the best.” The Regina, Saskatchewan native’s player idol is one of the NHL’s premier defenders in Drew Doughty.
Dumba’s pedigree suggests his career could have a similar ceiling as the Los Angeles Kings defenseman and two-time Stanley Cup champion.
Playing with the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League, Dumba was voted the league’s rookie of the year thanks to a 15-goal campaign. The following year he scored 20 (nine on the power play) with 57 points in 69 games.
In 2012, Dumba was the captain of Team Canada at the U-18 world championships, where his country took bronze. He was the first defenseman to ever lead the tournament in scoring.
Despite the team’s success last season, scoring is not among the Wild’s best strengths. The Wild finished in the bottom third of the league (24th) in goals scored per game last year. Yeo knows this needs to be improved.
“We’ve talked about how we want to increase our offense; we talked about how we want to increase our offense from the back end,” Yeo said on Saturday, “and [Dumba] is showing us he could probably help in that regard.”
Dumba describes himself as a genuine two-way defenseman. His best skills lean toward the offensive side of the game, with his powerful shot, quick stickhandling and innate vision for an opening going forward. But his blueline skill is elite, too, as he enjoys making crushing hits and has speed to recover against the slickest of skaters.
The question for the Wild is how to fit their no doubt skilled, but still green defenseman into the makeup of a Stanley Cup contender. Dumba says the coaches are still instructing him when they want him to tap into his offensive skill.
“It’s knowing when to use it, and when not because there’s a time and place for it,” he said. “When it is the time, they definitely want me to use it to the best of my abilities. When it’s not there… that’s when I need to be more conservative.”
Yeo knows Dumba is best when he’s put into situations that suite his skill-set, like the power play and 4-on-4 scenarios. Defensively, Yeo says, Dumba isn’t “perfect” and will need to continue to improve.
“Sometimes he has a tendency to go for a home run when that’s not there, when you have to maybe just hit a single,” Yeo said, before pausing.
“But he does some things that are special. There’s no question.”
In the coming weeks, as Dumba embarks on the rousing journey that is an NHL season, he’ll mentally bounce back and forth between starry-eyed kid to laser-focused professional. Despite trying to remain coy about his career achievement on Monday, Dumba let the kid inside out once again when he looked across the Wild locker room.
“That’s crazy, you look at our roster and it’s pretty cool,” he said. “I watched all these guys growing up over the years and what they’ve done and what they’ve accomplished. It’s pretty cool to be a part of it.”
| Nicolas Hallett is a staff writer for 105 The Ticket. He recently graduated from the University of Minnesota and has written for the Murphy News Service, the Minnesota Daily and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Follow him on Twitter @NicolasHallett |