Wild encouraged by Yakov Trenin’s play, even if he isn’t scoring

CALGARY, ALBERTA – Marcus Foligno glanced over at teammate Yakov Trenin when Foligno heard that the Wild’s overturned goal during their recent victory at Edmonton was credited by the NHL’s Situation Room to Trenin and not Foligno.

“I guess it went off your stick, too,” Foligno told Trenin, whose response was, “Oh really?” as he stretched nearby.

“Now we’re really [ticked],” Foligno said.

The goal would have been Trenin’s first with the Wild, and after not factoring into the 4-3 shootout loss to Calgary on Saturday in the team’s road-trip finale, the winger returned home with only one assist through 20 games.

But Trenin is checking plenty of other boxes for the Wild after the team brought him in as their top free-agent acquisition over the summer.

“I’m not even going down the road with him with the scoring,” coach John Hynes said. “I think that there’s a little bit of sentiment now on that. This guy kills penalties. He’s big. He’s physical. He plays hard. If he had two or three points, no one would be talking about that, and he could, for sure.

“But I think he’s a reliable two-way player. He brings a lot to our team, and I think that when it does go in for him, there’s going to be more. You look at his point totals throughout his career: He’s a guy that will get them, but the value that he brings to the team is big.”

The roles Trenin is fulfilling for the Wild are the reasons why they made him their only one-way signing on July 1, adding the forward on a four-year, $14 million contract.

He has been on the ice for just four power-play goals despite being tied with Jakub Lauko for the most shorthanded ice time among Wild forwards. At 6 feet, 2 inches and 201 pounds, Trenin has dished out 59 hits, the second most on the team behind Foligno’s 68, and Trenin has been a stalwart defensively: His 0.77 goals-against per 60 minutes at even strength is the stingiest in the NHL for forwards who have played as much as Trenin has, according to Natural Stat Trick, and the Wild have outscored the opposition 8-3 when Trenin has been on the ice in that situation.

At 5-on-5, the 7.54 high-danger scoring chances against per 60 minutes during Trenin’s shifts rank seventh, with Foligno’s 6.44 leading the league.

“We’re really just shutting down teams, their cycle game, their possession game,” Foligno said. “I think when they go low to high, we’re really good at getting out to the points and not letting D-men get shots through.

“We’re blocking shots. When we get the pucks on the wall, we’re making very smart plays to get it out of our zone so they have to tag up and get out of our zone and try to reattack.”

Trenin also credited their backcheck and how they’re able to cover a wide area with their sticks, which is a similar strategy for him on the penalty kill.

Those are the hallmarks of Trenin’s game, but the 27-year-old has also had a nose for the net.

Last season, he tallied 12 goals with Nashville and Colorado after a move before the trade deadline. The season before that, he also buried 12 after a career-high 17 in 2021-22.

“Obviously I want to have points, score,” Trenin said. “But sometimes it is what it is. It’s hard mentally but try to stay positive.”

He was an offside play away from capitalizing, a close call that suggests Trenin is improving his chances of finally notching that first goal.

“He’s strong on pucks,” Hynes said. “He skates in the offensive zone similar to [Foligno]. Moose is getting into more of those areas where he’s scoring. I think Trenin’s on the same path. He’s just got to get it more automatic.”