Friday, September 12, 2014

Top 10 Prospects: #1 Matt Dumba


Matt Dumba
Defenseman
Shoots: Right
Height: 6'0". Weight: 183 lbs.
Born: July 25, 1994
2013-14 Team: Portland Winterhawks (WHL), Minnesota Wild (NHL)
Acquired: 1st round pick (7th overall) in 2012 NHL Entry Draft
Previous Rank: 4


Last season, Wild fans were given a very small glimpse of the talents of Matt Dumba.

In just 13 games for the Wild, Dumba registered one goal and one assist while primarily getting minutes on the third defensive pairing. Dumba only averaged 12:26 of ice time per game, and a majority of that came in the first two periods as Mike Yeo opted to go with his more proven defenseman in the third period. The Wild did burn a year off of Dumba's entry level contract and eventually sent him back to the WHL (after a stop in the World Junior Championships).



After registering just one assist for Team Canada in the WJC, Dumba went back to the WHL where he played out the remainder of the season with Portland (he was previously traded from Red Deer to Portland prior to the beginning of the WHL season). Once in Portland Dumba scored 24 points in 26 regular season games before just lighting it up in the playoffs. In the postseason, Dumba scored 18 points in 21 games while helping Portland reach the WHL finals before they lost the series to Edmonton.

Dumba is the type of offensive defenseman the Wild need. He has a canonizing shot and moves the puck well. He is the type who can make any power play that much better (think of the Wild power play with Dumba firing those one-timers), which makes him a strong candidate to make the Wild roster out of camp again. Defensively, Dumba is not quite there yet which could be his drawback from making the team over Christian Folin, leading him to start the season in Iowa.



Either way, Dumba will be playing for a team named 'Wild' in 2014-15. Whether that is Minnesota or Iowa remains to be seen, as that will get settled in training camp. If Dumba can iron his out defensive game a bit, he should be the clear cut favorite to make the Minnesota roster and help a defensive squad that was just not good offensively in 2013-14.

Team of 18,001's 2014-15 Top 10 Prospect List
1. Matt Dumba

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