Hockey Wilderness

The New York Rangers have 3 huge at bats in the first round of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. Who knows how it will all shake out in the end. With the 9th, the 26th, and the 28th overall selections in the opening round, it is quite possible the Rangers attempt to package their 9th with the 26th or 28th pick, and move up into the top 5. The rebuild seems to be in order for the blue shirts, as they jettisoned some big names this past season. Just a day apart on February 25th and 26th the Rangers made deals to send Rick Nash to the Boston Bruins and Ryan McDonagh to the Tampa Bay Lightning which...

Patiently waiting until the draft Well, here we are again. The NHL had a quiet Saturday. But like they say, no news is good news right? For some yes, for hockey fans, not at all. We need stuff to talk about, to write about and to give us conversations with friends and family members. Here’s to hoping tomorrow will give us that. On our walk with us on this Father’s Day Sunday, is a tune by Zac Brown Band for all the Dad’s out there. A song you might show your dad today, or one that can bring back a memory or two you shared with your old man. Wild News Almost one month in to his...

OH MY GOODNESS!!! There was a trade yesterday! Finally!! We have a trade!! Cue the madness. And it wasn’t just a trade we saw on Friday, there was a decent amount of news in the hockey world to keep us busy as we slowly creep up on the NHL Draft that takes place in 6 days. On our walk with us this Saturday, is a song that only seems fitting since we some BIG news around the hockey world. Thank you Montreal and Arizona. Wild News ICYMI: The Wild’s preseason schedule has been released! 2018 preseason schedule | NHL.comThe Wild’s 2018 preseason schedule includes three home games, a trip...

Lessons the Wild can learn from other veteran teams that have found success without tanking. The Minnesota Wild are a good hockey team. Really, they are. They’ve made the playoffs for six consecutive seasons in a highly competitive division and have posted back-to-back 100-point seasons. However, they have failed to make meaningful progress in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2003, when they shockingly reached the Western Conference Final. Teams at this point in their competitive cycle have a choice to make: tweak the roster and continue to be competitive, or start trading away veteran...

Here’s the best possible team of active NHL players, made up exclusively of Minnesotans. Ok readers, this is it, the moment none of you have been waiting for (because it just occurred to me): The 2017-18 All Minnesota NHL Team The Rules: All players included on the roster must have played in the NHL in the 2017-18 season. All players must also be “from” Minnesota. Being born in the State of Hockey isn’t a prerequisite, but all included players must have spent more time than just playing here for a brief stint. My Team: Forwards: Anders Lee - Derek Stepan - Blake Wheeler Zach...

The Toronto Maple Leafs begin a new era under GM Kyle Dubas by drafting German Dominik Bokk from the Växjö Lakers The Toronto Maple Leafs have now made the playoffs two years in a row, only to be eliminated in the first round on both occasions. Now Lou Lamoriello is gone, and so is Mark Hunter; Kyle Dubas has taken over as General Manager and Lawrence Gilman has joined the organization as Assistant General Manager. Under this new management, in his first draft Dubas and company, in this mock draft, takes Dominik Bokk, a talented player who could go anywhere between top-10 and early 2nd...

With the 24th pick, the Wild add to a defensive prospect pool lacking significant upside With his first draft pick as General Manager of the Minnesota Wild, Paul Fenton could go in a number of different directions. The Wild prospect pool is not overly impressive. There is a modest amount of depth scattered around most positions, but the system is lacking when it comes to players with significant upside. Kirill Kaprizov has truly elite skills and Jordan Greenway, Luke Kunin, and Joel Eriksson-Ek all have the potential to become top-six forwards. After that, however, the system is mostly made...

A lot of Wild articles, free agency talk, and draft talk today. Happy Friyay everyone! The NHL is starting to shift focus from the Washington Capitals Stanley Cup celebration to the offseason up ahead. The NHL draft is only a week away from today (June 22-23). Yes, you read that right, the draft is already upon us. NHL free agency starts in less than a month on July 1st. The NHL offseason is already in full swing less than a week after the Caps hoisted the cup. Don’t you love it? For the Wild, the next couple of weeks might bring change in the current roster, maybe not but one things for...

Former QMJHL 1st overall pick is chosen at 23 to fill a future need the Ducks will have down the middle of the ice. The Anaheim Ducks had another great regular season, ending with 101 points giving them the 2nd seed in the Pacific Division. They have made the playoffs the last six seasons, five of six seasons producing over a hundred points. That all sounds good, but when the playoffs come around, this “core” of Ducks seems to come up short. The Ducks haven't reached the Stanley Cup Final since they won it in 2007. This postseason for Anaheim ended as badly as a postseason can go. The...

The Wild are off to a food start to the off-season by not making headlines. Plenty of hockey-related news today, but none of it concerns the Minnesota Wild. Normally that would be a source of mild disappointment for everyone stopping by the Hockey Wilderness, but I think we can all agree that it might be for the best after looking at the headlines in today’s Walk. A few teams like the New York Islanders are faced with the prospect of seeing their superstar walk away in free agency. Some teams are facing offseason situations more complicated than just a tight salary cap. But the real...

In this episode, the guys quickly reveal (not really) who flashed the Stanley Cup. They also break down what they’re most excited about for Minnesota’s offseason and the NHL Draft. After a brief hiatus, the guys are back for Episode 22! In this eppy, Darren quickly reveals the true identity (not really) of the flasher that made headlines while the Washington Capitals were taking their Stanley Cup victory lap. If you wish to support our podcast, please subscribe on iTunes, and leave us a positive review! On the topic of the Stanley Cup, Alex, Brandon, and Darren share their favorite...

Once a year, the entire SB Nation NHL network comes together for a mock draft. Each team brand, of course, chooses for their team. That means the Pensburgh folks pick for the Penguins, the Arctic Ice Hockey people pick for Winnipeg, and so on. Last season, the Minnesota Wild traded the first round pick away in the Martin Hanzal trade, as Chuck Fletcher took the top center available off the market to improve the overall depth of his team that finished second in the Western Conference. We all know what happened. The Wild imploded due to shoddy goaltending in the month of March, even though...

History shows that a top 2 draft pick is needed to win the Stanley Cup There are 2 schools of thought on what the Wild should do. On one side are the people who think the Wild should stay the course. They feel it’s silly to blow everything up because teams such as the Oilers and Sabres who have done exactly that haven’t found the success to come even close to a title. On the other side are the people who say that the Wild need that superstar player that can carry the team, and the only way is to trade the farm and tank. Many think the former sounds like the noble and honorable way...

Once more, Hockey Wilderness is projecting a mock draft as we count down to the NHL draft on June 22. Today, we land on the Ottawa Senators with pick 22. The Ottawa Senators had a brilliant season in 2016-17, nearly making the Stanley Cup Finals. They didn’t. And then, in 2017-18, they underachieved and disappointed fans. To make matters worse, Erik Karlsson is on the last year of his deal. It’s possible he will re-sign with Ottawa, but as TSN points out, the Senators don’t have a tendency to give out big, long-term contacts. The Senators are taking steps to remedy that. After taking...

Joe and Tony discuss the Capitals as Stanley Cup champs and Wild news! The Washington Capitals are Stanley Cup Champions and Alex Ovechkin is celebrating like must of us think we would. Joe and Tony talks about the Final, Ovi, the Vegas Golden Knights year, and talk about all the things surrounding the Wild. Topics include: Ovi legitimizing his legacy The Golden Knights’ run to the SCF New Wild AGM Jack Ferreira New Wild Assistant Coach Dean Evason Wild players outlined as potential trade pieces Also, announcing the Hockey Draft party hosted by Hockey Wilderness and Giles and the...