The man behind the Minnesota Wild

As the former owner of the Nashville Predators of the NHL, Craig Leipold is now the majority owner of the Minnesota Wild hockey team. Leipold has been a majority owner since January 10, 2008.

Besides owning a multi-million dollar organization, Craig Leipold actively participates in the community organizations and charity benefits for children. Craig Leipold has been recognized for his involvement, including the title of Nashville Sports Council "Sports Person of the Year," "Nashvillian of the year" by the Easter Seals and the "1999 Father of the Year" by the Nashville Father's Day Council.

Craig Leipold currently lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota with his wife and five children and attends many Minnesota Wild games - look for him on the Suite level or wandering around on the lower level, too!

With Koivu out, Almond is in vs. Detroit

Mikko Koivu will be missing out on tonight’s game against the Detroit Red Wings with an arm injury. This is a result from Tuesday’s game against San Jose, which caused him to miss Thursday’s game against the Flyers as well. Thursday was the first game ever for Captain Koivu to miss, and he is not happy to miss a second. Mikko Koivu is currently the lead scorer on the Wild and, with Latendresse questionable in the health department, the Wild have recalled Cody Almond from the Houston Aeros for some help.

Wild fly to Philly

The Wild players are on their way to Philadelphia right now, about a fourth way there to be precise, to play the Flyers tomorrow night. The Philly Flyers lead the MN Wild by only two games and are coming off of a three game losing streak. The last time the Wild played the Flyers was at the Xcel and they beat them 2-0. Let's hope they can find their way to the net on the Flyers home ice. Good luck!

One small goal for the Wild. One giant leap for Wellman

Casey Wellman, the new Minnesota Wild recruit, has made a great first impression as a rookie on the team. Wellman has only been with the Wild for a week after two seasons with the University of Massachusetts hockey team and has already made strides in his career. Wellman only had to sit out two games before given the chance to prove himself and played his first game this past Friday in Columbus. Casey already scored his first point in his first game before the Wild lost 4-2. Wellman was also responsible in aiding the team yesterday against Calgary to a 4-3 win. I’m sure Casey Wellman is full of more surprises and is definitely a kid to keep your eye on in the last few months of regular season play for the Wild.

MN native signed on with the Wild

Nate Prosser, an Elk River native and avid Wild fan, has recently signed a one year deal with the Minnesota Wild. Since he was in high school, Prosser would attend games at the Xcel Center frequently to see his favorite players in action. Nate Prosser couldn't be more ecstatic for the chance to experience a game on the other side of the glass with "the Wild logo on his chest". Nate recently graduated from Colorado College and immediately signed on as a free-agent with the Wild. Although he won't get immediate play time, since the team is striving hard for a chance in the play-offs, Nate Prosser will still be working side-by-side with the team to get adjusted to the pro-level of hockey.

Updates on the Wild

1.) The MN Wild have recalled Justin Falk up from the Aeros, who will play at defense.

2.) Matt Hackett has been signed, as a goaltender, to an entry-level three-year contract. Hackett played for Plymouth of the Ontario Hockey League this season, racking up a 22-18-3 record and a .925 save percentage.

3.) Backstrom still not ready to play in the regular season games, but has returned to practicing with the Wild this past Tuesday. Backstrom was happy to get to skate around, but after suffering a pulled groin he isn't quite ready. With Niklas Backstrom out, Wade Dubielewicz has been serving as backup goal for Josh Harding.

The Wild have signed U of Mass player

Casey Wellman is a center hockey player fresh out of the University of Massachusetts. After battling about two dozen teams for Wellman's attention, the Wild were able to sign him. Casey Wellman is only a sophomore, and will receive a $90,000 signing bonus and the pro-rated portion of $810,000 in salary for the remainder of this season. Casey Wellman will be Spending the rest of the season in Minnesota, whether he is active on the roster or not. Wellman said that Chuck Fletcher was the reason he finally chose the MN Wild stating, "He's a great guy; he made me feel wanted."

REMIND ME AGAIN WHY I DIDN'T PRACTICE MORE?!

Rare Win on the Road

The Minnesota Wild played the Sabers last night in New York and managed to capture a road win. Despite giving up 5 goals the day before against Detroit, the Wild coaches decided to give Josh Harding a chance to redeem himself. Well, Harding pulled through with 43 saves and helped the Wild beat the Sabers 3-2. Harding may have some shoes to fill, now that Niklas Backstrom is injured, so maybe the Wild coaches won't let Harding go a month without playing in a game next time.

State Hockey Tournament

Since I don't want to talk about the loss by the Wild today, I thought I'd mention the State Hockey Tournament going on at the Xcel Center and the Mariucci Arena right now. If you never have time for a solid Minnesota hockey game, well you are in luck. The tournament is going until Saturday night and there are about two or three games everyday until then. Tickets are only about 13 dollars so go check it out and support your favorite team!

Wild recall Petr Kalus

Petr Kalus has been recalled by the Minnesota Wild, as General Manager Chuck Fletcher announced today. Kalus has been recalled for the right wing position from the Houston Aeros and onto the active roster for the Wild.

Petr Kalus (pronounced PEE-tuhr, KAY-lus) is 22 years old and a Czech Republic native. Since beginning his time on the Houston Aeros team, Kalus has played in 53 games this season. Kalus is a powerhouse on the ice and has been working his way up the ranks since 2008. No. 23 Petr Kalus is excited for this opportunity and will not let the MN Wild fans down in the remaining games of the season.

Wild lose momentum

Although the Wild was able to beat the Calgary Flames last week, the Flames managed to one up them this past Sunday. Jarome Iginla, of the Flames, recorded his tenth career hat trick against the Wild while Vesa Toskala made 27 saves in his first start with Calgary. Iginla has become the all-time leading scorer against MN even though he hasn't had a goal against them since mid-2008. The Wild will have to watch their backs the next time they play the Flames, because Iginla is on fire! Luckily Guillaume Latendresse was able to capture a couple goals, which took away the shootout from Calgary. Tune in tonight to catch the Wild play the Florida Panthers!

Wild off to a good start vs. Calgary

The Wild dominated the Calgary Flames last night with a 4-0 end on their own turf... or ice i should say. After Niklas Backstrom and Mikka Kiprussoff played side beside on the Finland team during the Olympics, everything changed last night when they went against each other in Calgary. Backstrom captured his second shutout of the season with 29 saves. This win is a great boost for the Wild morale, especially since the last eight games on the road were losses. Lets hoep they can keep it up!

Chance at the Playoffs?

The Minnesota Wild have 21 games left and to make it to the playoffs, they need to win every one of them...or at least the majority of them. The Wild know quite well asking for a 21-0 in the last stint of the regular season is not realistic. As of now, the MN Wild are 13th in points in their conference and cannot afford to falter in the next few games against Calgary (tonight at 10 p.m.) and Edmonton. These will be important games to keep building the momentum.

Wild's 400th game at the Xcel

The Minnesota Wild will play their 400th game at Xcel Energy Center this coming Sunday against the Calgary Flames. The Wild hope to continue their sellout streak to 400 games, which would be the longest in the NHL and the 3rd longest in league history. With 27 preseason games, 13 playoff contests and 359 regular season matches, the MN Wild are confident of their loyal fan base. During the first season for the MN Wild, they set an NHL expansion team attendance record when they drew 751,472 fans in 41 regular season contests.


Buy your tickets for the game or tune in at 2 p.m. on March 7 to catch the action!