Jordan Schroeder Autograph Card

How dickish are the Minnesota Wild? Well, they spent all of last season praising Jordan Schroeder's talent, versatility, patience, and team spirit and, just as he's about to get his arbitration hearing in the hopes of securing a one-way contract, have placed him on waivers.

The Vancouver Canucks would be wise to pick him up the same way the Wild stole him from them in the first place...

I could also see the Arizona Coyotes - who are in harsh negotiations with Tobias Reider themselves - making a play for the former first-rounder.

Here he is as a Canuck, wearing their blue (home) uniform, from Panini's 2013-14 Dominion collection and Private Signings sub-set:

It's card #PS-OE (numbered 81/199) in the set and was hard-signed in thin blue sharpie. I really like the gold foil all around the card, it gives it an aura of semi-class.

Jordan Schroeder Jersey Card

When the playoff contenders made their moves at the trade deadline, everybody was debating who won or lost trades; arguably, one team who won when they added depth was the Minnesota Wild, which means that one player who had made his place with them (admirably filling in for veteran Matt Cooke), Jordan Schroeder, has lost a bit, not having suited up since March 6th despite 3 goals, 7 points, and a +2 rating in 18 games this winter.

The former Vancouver Canucks first rounder awaits his turn, patiently biding his time until he can return to the line-up while players who were scratched by bottom-dwelling teams (Sean Bergenheim with the Florida Panthers, Chris Stewart with the Buffalo Sabres) audition for a permanent spot in the NHL as their contracts both expire at season's end.

There's usually something to be said about team chemistry, but the Wild don't care, as they're riding Devan Dubnyk's coattails straight to to postseason.

I do think Schroeder's play was appreciated by his hometown team, and I'm confident he'll see some ice time in the playoffs, and probably make the team from training camp next season.

In the meantime, here he is wearing the Canucks' white (away) uniform, from Upper Deck's 2013-14 SP Game-Used Edition (card #RF-SC of the Rookie Fabrics sub-set), featuring a big blue jersey swatch from a photo shoot:

I think his speed and hockey sense will keep him in the big show for a while, even on a fourth line. I, for one, would rather have a skilled fourth line than a slow, rugged one in today's NHL.

Jordan Schroeder Autograph Card

The Minnesota Wild hired a lot of home-grown players who hadn't panned out with the teams that drafted them this summer, and Jordan Schroeder is the latest to have been called up, what with getting credited with 11 points in his first 12 games with the AHL's struggling Iowa Wild.

A first round pick of the Vancouver Canucks - 22nd overall in 2009, ahead of Simon Després (30th), Ryan O'Reilly (33rd), Alex Chiasson (38th), Jakob Silfverberg (39th), Jeremy Morin (45th), Robin Lehner (46th), Brandon Pirri (59th), Tomas Tatar (60th), David Savard (94th), Gabriel Bourque (132nd), and Gabriel Dumont (139th) - Schroeder spent the end of last season in John Tortorella's doghouse; one would think after both the coach and GM were fired, players would get a chance to redeem themselves, but he was let go instead.

The Wild pounced on the former University of Minnesota Gophers star in mid-July, signing him to a two-year, two-way contract. Like them, I jumped on this 2013-14 SP Authentic card (#280 of the Autographed batch of Future Watch sub-set cards) by Upper Deck:

It is signed on-card in thin blue sharpie, with his jersey number tagged at the end (45), and is numbered 771/999. It shows him wearing the Canucks' current white (away) uniform; I traded for it (and a couple of LHJMQ and OHL jersey cards, including this one of Anthony Duclair) by giving away a few WHL and LHJMQ jersey cards.

Schroeder is a very smart and determined small-stature player (5'8'' and 175 pounds) who feels and thinks the game as well as any third liner in the NHL, but who plays best with second-liners. His vision allows him to set his wingers up for beautiful, almost-easy goals that take the defense by surprise.

Sure, he has yet to translate his skill-set to the NHL level thus far (6 goals, 9 assists and 15 points in 57 games), but perhaps playing in a system where blocking shots isn't a priority over scoring goals will be good for his development.