A Minnesota Wild Blog that WON'T make you sick and kill you!
There's no more ambiguity with the direction of the Minnesota Wild. They are buyers at the trade deadline because they should be buyers. Sure, the Colorado Avalanche are the superteam of the West, but the Wild entered Sunday tied for the second-most points in the NHL. They have Kirill Kaprizov...
Ryder Ritchie’s transition from junior hockey to Boston University has been anything but simple, forcing him to confront shortcomings in his game that the WHL never really exposed. He must sharpen and test the same instincts that made him a productive player in Medicine Hat, and rebuild them against...
“The Wave” is a fun, crowd participation, bonding experience at a professional sports event, right? Everyone is watching to make sure they time it right. When it gets to your section, you stand up, put your arms in the air, and usually yell “woo!” Sometimes it dies, and sometimes it gets going,...
Kirill Kaprizov went from driving an early Hart-caliber pace last season before his lower-body injury to opening this year below his usual scoring clip. The contrast between those stretches tells a story about expectations, health, and how much weight rests on his shoulders in Minnesota. The u...
Aron Kiviharju, a 2024 fourth-round draft pick of the Minnesota Wild, was in the Twin Cities for the past few weeks as he captained Team Finland to a third consecutive appearance in the medal round. It was Kiviharju’s second year as captain of the Finnish squad. While they were disappointed wi...
The Minnesota Wild should be extremely careful about moving on from Charlie Stramel, because big, right-shot centers with his blend of size, physical edge, and growing offensive game are exactly the kind of premium asset this organization has struggled to find and develop. The Wild could move on fro...
David Jiricek has turned from an exciting prospect into what Midwesterners politely call “interesting.” Well, that's not quite fair. Minnesota-"interesting" usually translates to awful, I hate it, never show me this again, please. Jiricek is more of a mix of confusing and polarizing. That's le...
That's Wild Because of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championships taking place in Minnesota, the Wild have been on a very long road trip and still are on the very same road trip that started 12 days ago in Winnipeg. It has been a difficult trip -- maybe not for the actual record, since the Wi...
Remember that fleeting moment last year when the Minnesota Wild were up 2-1 on the Vegas Golden Knights in the playoffs? The Wild stole Game 2, 5-2, in Vegas and returned to St. Paul with home-ice advantage. Minnesota took Game 3, 5-2, at the X. Visions of escaping the first round for the first...
The 50th edition of the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships concluded at Grand Casino Arena on Monday, with Sweden taking home the gold medal with a 4-2 victory over Czechia. The game capped off a remarkable 11-day tournament that featured ten teams, 29 games, and some of the world’s best hockey p...
Nazem Kadri’s play-driving, edge, and center depth would fit exactly what the Minnesota Wild need. His current production and faceoff workload in Calgary also underline that he can still handle tough minutes down the middle. Danila Yurov has shored up some of the issues down the middle, but his play...
David Jiricek has been caught in the middle a little bit. When the Minnesota Wild traded a boatload of draft picks and a defenseman (that they eventually got back, in Daemon Hunt) for the former sixth-overall pick, he was seen as more of an instant answer for some offense from the blue line for the...
The Minnesota Wild have played 11 games with Quinn Hughes in the lineup, and they have to be loving what they see. The team has used the boost to go 7-1-3 in that span, which has allowed them to draw even with the Dallas Stars in the Central Division standings. They may be 11 points behind the super...
One year ago, David Jiricek was the Minnesota Wild’s blockbuster addition. The Wild acquired the sixth overall pick in the 2022 draft in a massive trade that sent Daemon Hunt, a 2025 first-round pick, 2026 third and fourth-round picks, and a 2027 second-round pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets....
It's not often that you're facing the same team in the same arena for back-to-back games but the way the schedule has been laid out for the Minnesota Wild has them hanging around Los Angeles and facing the Kings once again on Monday night. The first game ended up being a 5-4 shootout loss for the Wi...
At least once a season, a discourse on wearing hockey jerseys emerges on social media. Who “can” or “should” wear jerseys? Where are they appropriate to wear? Is there a rhyme or reason to it? Without getting into the specifics, some people have very specific and annoying ideas on who is “allo...
The NHL has the best players in the world, so what gives Quinn Hughes the ability to break out so much better and rank in the top 10? At any level of hockey, you need time and space to make plays, and players have almost none of that in the NHL. Hughes stands out for both his ability to create time...
As the calendar flips to 2026, the hockey world is eagerly awaiting the rosters for next month's Olympic Games. While fans in Minnesota are getting a taste of international hockey with the World Juniors, that's nothing compared to what's on deck. With the NHL finally back in the Games after a 12-yea...
Quinn Hughes' arrival in Minnesota has been an injection of adrenaline into an already surging team. It has changed the entire team's feel. The move has signalled that the organization is done waiting around and is ready to chase something bigger right now. The Wild didn’t make a safe middle-of...
It feels like the Minnesota Wild’s goaltending duo of Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt is extremely special. The anchor of a team that looks poised to turn regular-season promise into a deep spring run reminiscent of the franchise’s magical 2003 run backstopped by Dwayne Roloson and Manny Ferna...
That's Wild Marcus Johansson is suddenly exploding offensively and is not looking out of place on the Minnesota Wild's second line right now. So, is he suddenly in the running for a potential wing spot on Team Sweden? His position on the team wasn't guaranteed but with the Olympic announceme...
While the dust is still settling on the Quinn Hughes blockbuster trade, the Minnesota Wild likely still has business to conduct. The Central Division is an arms race this season, and the Wild has some deficiencies to shore up. The main area they can improve is at center. With the team still in...
For the past few seasons, Minnesota Wild fans have been anxious for Matt Boldy to take the leap. Boldy has played at an All-Star level over the past two years, but fans have been waiting for him to become a franchise-caliber player who can complement Kirill Kaprizov. Saturday’s game over the Wi...
That's Wild The Minnesota Wild returned from their holiday break to travel to Nevada and face the Vegas Golden Knights. While their familiar foe has not been having some perfect season, they are still a very good team and would provide a strong test for Minnesota. And thanks to Marcus Johans...
Bill Guerin looked exhausted but delighted after trading for Quinn Hughes in mid-December. A call to his old boss, Jim Rutherford, had resulted in an opportunity to land the NHL’s second-best defenseman. It was nearly a perfect trade. The Minnesota Wild needed a scoring boost, and Hughes break...