Hockey Wilderness

Devan Dubnyk is expected to make his pre-season debut tonight, among other Wild regulars. Minnesota came up short last night in Des Moines, but a new group of skaters and a particular starting netminder will draw in tonight for the team’s first showing at Xcel Energy Center. Devan Dubnyk is expected to make his first start of the preseason, and we are also likely to see Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, and newly signed Greg Pateryn. After posting the below starting lineups to Twitter, the Wild later tweeted that Justin Kloos will replace Jordan Greenway tonight. Hopefully that’s because Kloos...

Wild defenseman Gustav Olofsson comes in at #7 in this year’s rankings. This season is a make or break year for him, and it just got harder. Today we continue to make our way inside the top 10 of our Top 25 Under 25 series. Coming in at number 7 on this year’s list is a guy most Wild fans have been eagerly waiting to make that “next step”, Swedish puck-moving defenseman, Gustav Olofsson. Olofsson is no newcomer to the Hockey Wilderness Top 25 Under 25 series. Since being drafted in the 2nd round in 2013 he has been inside the top 15 every season. He debuted at #12 in 2014, stayed...

Could Andrew Hammond really push Alex Stalock out of the Minnesota Wild’s goalcrease? After NHL free agency opened in the middle of the summer, and the Wild opted to bring in a curious collection of well-used pieces in the team’s seemingly annual attempt to bolster its depth with slightly-too-expensive and slightly-too-old veterans, there was a collective yawn heard across the State of Hockey. The stockpile of new grinders included the likes of Matt Hendricks, J.T. Brown, Matt Read, and Eric Fehr among others, all brought in to compete for the Wild’s fourth line. Same old story,...

The Wild may have made some mistakes last night but at least no suspensions were earned Hey everyone, sorry the Walk looks a little rough today. I had to put this together on my phone, but fear not! The Hockey Wilderness still has all the hockey news you need. Including a very short recap for the disappointing (but ultimately meaningless) preseason game against the St. Louis Blues. More disappointing than that, at least for Montreal Canadiens fans, is the behavior of Max Domi. He suckerpunched Aaron Ekblad during a preseason game when the Florida Panthers defenseman refused to drop the...

After 2013 we've seen no offer sheets made by NHL teams, and at some point a team is due to break that drought. Could the Minnesota Wild be that team? It seems like an annual talking point in the NHL off-season, “When will someone send an offer sheet”, and year after year good players reach July 1st without an extension, but yet no-one ever actually goes for it. It seems like there’s rumblings of teams kicking around offer sheets, but nothing ever materializes. Now that the Wild brought on Paul Fenton, a rookie GM, could he break the trend? The Wild actually seem like they could have...

Minnesota plays its first “home” game in Des Moines this evening. Get excited! Hockey history is being made tonight! Yes, the first NHL game ever to be played in Des Moines, Iowa, will be hosted this evening by your Minnesota Wild! How neat is that?? Several of the Wild’s regulars will draw in tonight, including Eric Staal, Mikael Granlund, Jason Zucker, Matt Dumba, and Jonas Brodin. Here are the full line-ups from both squads, as per Minnesota Wild PR. What do you say, Wilderness? Updated lineup for tonight's #mnwild preseason game in Des Moines at 7 pm on ⁦@KFAN1003⁩...

The New General Manager didn’t make any waves, and it ended up being the right call. Monday on this fine website, my colleague laid out the case for why General Manager Paul Fenton’s conservative approach was the wrong move for the Wild this offseason. The piece made a lot of good points and stressed the need for the Wild to make significant changes to the roster. However, when I finished reading the piece, I couldn’t help but start forming the counter argument in my mind; what if being conservative, biding his time, and keeping his powder dry is Fenton’s best move? The Wild are a...

A big jump for Belpedio from 18 to 8 in the #T25U25 as he makes the big jump from college to the pro’s. Coming in at 8th on our list, but first in our hearts, today we sit back and say hello to Louis Belpedio. If you’re feeling a bit of the old deja-vu, you might be on to something. Louis has been here since the beginning folks. A now 5-year veteran of the Top 25 Under 25 series. But in all his years making the grade, this year he is breaking new ground. Louis Belpedio, has made a big leap into the top 10. Amazing what finishing college and getting on the team can do for you. The thing...

Hockey is back and the Minnesota Wild took the ice in their first preseason game against a familiar foe in the Winnipeg Jets. Hockey is back! Yeah, it’s only the preseason, and sure, most of the opening night roster didn’t even take the ice, but hockey is back and that’s all that matters. As with any preseason game, the best outcome anyone can hope for is that no one gets injured, so technically last night was a success despite falling to the Winnipeg Jets 2-1. But just because it was the preseason doesn’t mean there was nothing to take away from the contest. From roster battles...

As we continue to make our way into the Top 10 of the Top 25 Under 25, coming in at #9 is a name many Minnesotans are very familiar with. Carson Soucy. Last season, Soucy was number 20 on the list of Top 25 Under 25, so signs of continued improvement have caught the eyes of us here at Hockey Wilderness. Carson has been in the “State of Hockey” since the 2013-2014 season where he began his college career at Minnesota- Duluth. 4 seasons with UMD, a letter “A” on his jersey his final year along with a National Championship, Soucy hopes to bring that big time playing ability to the...

HOCKEY IS BACK. Kinda. Preseason hockey. The Wild lost 2-1, BUT the question “did your team have a good preseason” is secretly the same question as “did an important player for your team get injured?”. I’m not yet worried about the Wild beyond just always worrying about them. In the meantime, hockey being back means: NEWS is also here! Yay! So, let’s enjoy the pocket queen, and walk Wild News Wild reduces training camp roster to 55 players | nhl.comForwards Mitch McLain, Darian Pilon and Drake Pilon and defenseman Tate Olson were released from their amateur tryout...

It’s probably safe to say Minnesota Wild fans haven’t been thrilled by the team’s performance since Bruce Boudreau’s first year. A combination of hot goalies for the other team, inconsistent play, and injuries to star players have kept the Wild pretty quiet. The unrest culminated in General Manager Chuck Fletcher’s contract not being renewed, and the Paul Fenton era in St. Paul has begun. It began quietly. The Wild selected Filip Johansson in the first round to resounding silence. The first round pick was player could have been drafted later, and failed to break into the top 10...

The preseason power rankings for the five division 1 Minnesota hockey teams I know you all have been waiting for hockey season to get started and it’s finally here. Some people may get amped for the upcoming season when the National Hockey League training camp starts. Some others tune in when preseason exhibition games get underway, and some may wait till the official opening night of the regular season schedule. I, however, know that hockey season is right around the corner when class is in session. That’s right. College hockey is coming soon and I couldn’t be more excited for it....

Ivan Lodnia has come on quite nicely as a prospect for the Minnesota Wild. Draft in 2017 with pick number 85, the Wild made him their first pick of the draft that year. After helping to lead the Erie Otters to a strong showing in the Memorial Cup playoffs, this offseason has been busy. Lodnia, who goes by the nickname “Vanya,” produced 22 goals and 37 assists for a total of 59 points in 62 games in 2017-18. That was a stark improvement over his solid draft year showing when he scored 57 points in 66 matches. He played in power play situations and put the puck on net with volume....

Catch up on the latest training camp news before the Minnesota Wild play their first preseason game against the Winnipeg Jets later today. The last team the Minnesota Wild played against will also be the first team they play against this preseason. The Wild play the Winnipeg Jets tonight at 7:00 PM CT. Andrew Hammond is expected to start in net. Here's the lineup card for #mnwild preseason game at Winnipeg Monday at 7 pm. The game will air on ⁦@KFAN1003⁩ and will be joined in progress on ⁦@NHLNetwork⁩ pic.twitter.com/mjE3vNBziG— Minnesota Wild PR (@mnwildPR) September 17,...