MN Wild Pre-Season Wrap Up

The Wild ended their 2009-2010 preseason on Tuesday with a 5-4 victory over the Flyers. The Wild preseason overall was not the best, with my boys finishing 3-4. Many critics are wondering if the new "up tempo" style that Todd Richards is trying to implement will really work for the Wild Roster.

The Up Tempo game according to MN Wild writer Derek Felska left the MN Wild roster, "outshot and outgunned more often than not. A perfect example of how this up-tempo style is not exactly producing a decidedly more offensively aggressive team is the fact Minnesota was outshot 19 to 32 in their game against Chicago on Friday night, and 18 to 21 against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday of that same week."

Many critics are concerned that after watching the MN Wild struggle through several disappointing losses that could have been avoided and two one goal games, Todd Richards may have tried to change too much, too fast. I for one think that the preseason was a good chance for TR and the rest of the Wild to get the kinks worked out and now it is time to start judging... my feelings, lets give the new Wild style a chance to work.

MN Wild take on the St. Louis Blues at the X

The Minnesota Wild will play tonight at the Xcel Energy Center against the St. Louis Blues. The game starts at 7:00.

A MN Wild press release said that Wild Head Coach Todd Richards was pleased with the practice yesterday and is looking forward to a Wild Win. Niklas Backstrom, the starting goaltender on the Wild Roster, is expected to play the entire night in the net. Cal Clutterbuck and Martin Havlat are also expected to see ample ice time tonight.

There are still great deals out there for Minnesota Wild Tickets including seats I found online for $10 from online ticket brokerage Ticket King, who has an office located conveniently just a block from the Xcel Energy Center. Tonight's match-up should be a good one, if you are a Wild fan at all don't miss this chance to take advantage of cheap MN Wild Tickets before prices go up!

Go Wild!

Minnesota Wild vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

The Minnesota Wild took on the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday, losing 1-5 in a disappointing game. The Wild went the first two periods without scoring, leaving fans biting their nails that the game would be a total shut out. Finally in the third period the MN Wild managed to squeak out a single goal, but with a 4 goal lead the Blue Jackets had the game in the bag.

Minnesota Wild Head Coach Todd Richards probably doesn't have to be too worried just yet. The MN Wild came into this game with 2 Consecutive Shut-Outs. With the season as long as it is, the MN Wild will have to shake off this disappointing loss and look to the future if they expect to play strong going forward. With back to back games later this week the MN Wild will have a shot to prove last night was just a fluke.

Minnesota Wild Players named to several award watch-lists

The 2009-2010 Hockey Award Watch-Lists have been released and several MN Wild roster members appear, with the pre-season quickly approaching it will be interesting to see how these players perform when they start skating....

Vezina Trophy- Top Goaltender
MN Wild Niklas Backstrom was a runner up last year. If he can prove this season that his stats reflect his own talent and not that of a good defense it is likely he will win

Norris Trophy- Top Defensman
a few MN Wild players are in the running but the most likely winner is Brent Burns

Selke Trophy- Top Defensive Forward
MN Wild Mikko Koivu, need I say more


Hart Trophy- League MVP
MN Wild newcome Martin Havlat

Minnesota Wild Training Camp is just days away

The Minnesota Wild will be attending their preseason training camp in 10 short days with the first preseason game on Wednesday September 15th. The Wild's training camp will have a very different look this year with a new general manager, a new head coach and a total shake up on the Wild roster.

Critics are saying that all of the change is good for the wild and likely will help them end the season in higher standing than they did last season. However, I have to wonder if changing everything at once may make it hard to put back together so quickly. Training camp will be an excellent chance to see if the "New Wild" as Todd Richards is calling it is really as good as it has been cracked up to be. With September 15th only two weeks away, I'm one MN Wild fan who can not wait to see if this is the season we end up on the top!

Minnesota Wild's 3rd Jersey leaked...

Although the Minnesota Wild were planning on releasing the 3rd jersey at the Minnesota State Fair on Sunday at the Wild Booth fans some how got a hold of the look and have leaked it online... as a MN Wild Fanatic, I feel it is only right to continue the spread of the new jersey.

I have to say that I like the newest look, which in many ways is very OLD HOCKEY... with the deep green and cream accents, it is definitely a vintage look. The diagonal cursive writing instead of the typical sports block printing gives the new Wild Jersey a old-school feel that makes me think of the kind of jerseys my dad was wearing when he played hockey a million years ago. My guess is that lots of MN Wild Fans are going to dig this new jersey and scoop them up fast when knock-offs are released to the public, and knowing the trendsetters of the Twin Cities, once they have the jersey they will want to wear the jersey. So for all of you real Wild fans out there who actually may want MN Wild Tickets to see the game (instead of be seen at the game) I would recommend buying tickets pronto!

MN Wild Goalies ranked in Top-5 of Northwest Division

NHL Sports Writer Joesph Gunther released his analysis of the best goalies in the Northwest Division this week. Taking two of the five spots were MN Wild starting goalie Niklas Backstrom and backup goalie Josh Harding.

MN Wild Josh Harding took the No. 3 spot, due to his high save percentage and goals against average. Gunther wrote that Josh Harding has definitely shown he could be an NHL starter and that although he has seen limited game time, his stats are just as good if not better than the starting goalies in the division. Josh Harding is on the watch-list for several analysts and coaches to be a potential trade.

The No. 1 spot on this list went to none other than MN Wild Niklas Backstrom. Gunther reported that the Vezina Trophy finalist was one of the best in the entire league finishing last season in the Top 5 for wins, goals against average, save percentage and shut-outs. With 8 shut-outs MN Wild fans are hopeful that the 2009-2010 Wild Season will be just as successful for Backstrom.

With the Wild Season Opener just a short ways away, Wild fans won't have to wait much longer to see how the off-season and training camp helped the Wild roster get ready to come back to the Xcel!

Wild vs. Red Wings Tickets

The Minnesota Wild Schedule this season is awesome! From the opener to the very last game of the regular season the Wild pulled a great draw.

The Wild vs. Red Wings games are going to be especially great this season. Although the two teams don't meet up until later in the season, the first Wild vs. Red Wings match up is Thursday January 21st at the Xcel Energy Center. They meet up again at the Xcel Energy Center on Wednesday January 27th. The two teams then meet again in Detroit on Thursday March 11 and Friday March 26th.

There are tickets to be had online for all of these games, I did some looking and for both games at the Xcel Energy Center there are seats Center Ice, row 3 facing the players bench for only $100 and in Joe Louis Arena there are great seats in between the blue lines and the face off circle for $85. There are only so many great seats in both arenas so buy Wild Tickets early if you want to sit in anything better than the nosebleeds...

MN Wild player Cal Clutterbuck gears up for 2nd season

With the 2009-2010 MN Wild season quickly approaching, Wild players are getting back into the swing of working-out and skating after having spent the summer playing and enjoying the Land of Hockey. No player seemed to spend more time having summer fun than Cal Clutterbuck, last season's standout rookie. Cal Clutterbuck who started last season with Houston in the American Hockey League, came to Minnesota to finish the season and create a name and NHL record he could be proud of.

Since last season, Cal Clutterbuck has spent a fair amount of time in Minnesota getting used to his new home and having fun. In an interview earlier this week, Clutterbuck told a reporter that he has been getting ready for this season in the same way he did last season, working out and getting in shape as well as just trying to enjoy the last few days of sunshine before he starts practice at the Xcel. One way he has enjoyed the Minnesota Summer is with a batting practice at the Metrodome with Justin Morneau of the Twins. He also had his first fishing experience on local TV with Twins great Kent Hrbek. It seems to me that this Canadian is settling in nicely to his celebrity status here in Minnesota and is going to be ready to prove that he deserves the attention. The Minnesota Wild start their season at the Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday October 6th.

Wild Home Opener happens on biggest Minnesota Sports Weekend

The MN Wild Home Opener is always a crazy game, fans who have been marking off days on their calendars waiting come out in droves to see their team for the first time. All Wild fans are geared up to watch a game and then make sideline predictions of what the season is going to be like.

What makes this season's October 6th Wild home opener even more chaotic is the fact that not only are the Wild starting their season but the Minnesota Golden Gophers are playing the Wisconsin Badgers at TCF Stadium on Oct 3rd, the Vikings are playing the Packers at home on Oct 5th and the Twins are playing thier last game ever at the Metrodome on Oct 4th... it could possibly be the biggest 4 days of sports of the year for Minnesota Sports.

What does it really mean? You better buy your MN Wild Tickets early because with this many sports fans in town the game is going to sell out for sure!

Wild sign new cetner Kyle Brodziak to a 3 year contract

MN Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher announced today that the Wild have signed center Kyle Brodziak to a 3 year contract. Kyle Broadziak joins the MN Wild roster from the Edmonton Oilers where he had 27 points including 3 extremely impressive game winning goals, a plus-4 rating, 21 penalty minutes in 79 games in the 2008-2009 schedule. In the 2007-2008 season, Kyle Broadziak posted 14 goals and 17 assists in 80 games.

Wild fans are hopeful that Kyle Broadziak will continue to post points and ratings like this in the upcoming MN Wild 2009 schedule.

2009-2010 MN Wild Schedule set

The Minnesota Wild and the NHL released the schedule for the 2009-2010 season. The Wild will be playing 82 games, 41 home and 41 away. The Wild season will start on Saturday, October 3rd against the Blue Jackets and the home opener will be Tuesday, October 6th against the Anaheim Ducks.

The Minnesota Wild Schedule is set up so that the team will play each member of the Northwest Division six times (three home, three away), the Pacific Division four times, the Central Division four times. There will also be 18 games against the Eastern Conference.

There will be a break in the NHL season February 15-28 for the Olympics in Vancouver. All NHL regular season play will be put on hold so that players can participate in the 2010 Winter Games.

Regular Season Single Tickets will go on sale September 12, but there is a guarantee that many games will sell out, so Buy MN Wild tickets early!