Wild coach Yeo feels Kuemper can grow under Dubnyk

Eyes have been on Devan Dubnyk ever since he took over in the crease for the Minnesota Wild last season, but that doesn't mean now-backup goalie Darcy Kuemper isn't a valuable part of the team.

Kuemper stole the starting job away from veteran goaltender Nicklas Backstrom last season, before Dubnyk came in and stole it away from Kuemper. And though Dubnyk is expected to handle the bulk of games next season, Wild head coach Mike Yeo feels Kuemper will benefit playing behind Dubnyk.

"Right from the start I want (Dubnyk) to compete and I want him to play a lot of hockey games, but we know Darcy Kuemper is very capable," Yeo told NHL.com's Jon Lane. "I think he'll provide some good support for Devan. And Devan is going to help him too, an awful lot. As a young player (25), there's not going to be quite as much on his shoulders as there was in the past, and that will allow him to kind of settle into his own game, feel confident, feel good about himself, and with that we'll see his game continue to rise."

Kuemper played a career-high 31 games last season posting a 14-12-2 record with a .905 save percentage and a 2.60 goals-against average.