MINNESOTA WILD

Xcel Energy Center, home of the Minnesota Wild, to become Grand Casino Arena

Frederick Melo / St. Paul Pioneer Press — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 19:37:11 GMT

ST. PAUL — Say goodbye to the “X” in the Xcel Energy Center. In downtown St. Paul, a new 14-year naming rights agreement with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe will refashion the home of the Minnesota Wild as the Grand Casino Arena, a nod to Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand Casino Hinckley.

No, legalized gambling isn’t coming to downtown St. Paul, but fans can still expect “digital activations” and “in-arena surprises,” said Jeff LaFrance, head of marketing for Grand Casino, in a written statement.

“The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe have a rich cultural history and a story to tell,” said Matt Majka, chief executive officer of the Minnesota Wild, in a phone interview Monday, June . “And there’s much more to that than gambling.”

The switchover — including all new exterior and interior signage and the center ice insignia — will begin by Sept. 3, and fall into place by the time the Wild return for their next regular season in October, ending an era that began 25 years ago when the “X” opened its doors with Xcel Energy as its inaugural naming rights sponsor.

Majka declined to discussion financial terms of the new naming rights agreement, except to say “it is multi-million dollars per year.” Those revenues will flow to the team, which manages the X, as opposed to the city of St. Paul, which owns the X. The team’s lease at the future Grand Casino Arena expires in 2035; the Grand Casino naming rights expire in 2039.

“Grand Casino Arena will serve as the anchor of a dynamic entertainment district that transforms downtown St. Paul,” said Craig Leipold, majority owner and principal investor in Minnesota Sports and Entertainment, owner of the Wild, in a written statement. “The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe has been a strong supporter of and investor in this city. We are thrilled for their partnership and support of the arena.”

Ronda Weizenegger, chief executive officer of Grand Casino, thanked Ted Johnson of Norden Strategies, a former chief marketing officer for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx, for helping to cement the naming rights agreement. It’s “more than a name change — it’s a signal of where we’re headed as a business,” said Weizenegger, who called the deal “a launch point to build partnerships with regional and national brands …. It really puts all tribes on the map. It’s really a step forward for all tribes in the state of Minnesota.”

The Wild worked with OVG Global Partnerships as consultants on the agreement.

‘Huge and loyal fan base’

The X, which seats about 18,000 fans, hosts more than 150 events and 1.7 million visitors annually, including fans of the Wild and the Minnesota Frost, as well as attendees at concerts, performances and athletic tournaments. Minnesota is known as the “State of Hockey” because of its love of the game and its affection for the Wild, who skated into the capital city when the “X” opened in 2000.

Their predecessors, the Minnesota North Stars, were founded in the 1960s but left for Dallas in 1993, leaving Minnesota without a professional hockey team for the better part of a decade.

“That huge and loyal fan base always shows up every game, and that’s going to be a big draw to whomever (holds) the naming rights,” said Heather Kliebenstein, an intellectual property attorney with the Minneapolis firm Merchant & Gould, in a recent interview prior to Monday’s announcement.

“Why is this important? It’s increased brand visibility. It’s awareness. And it’s prestige,” she said. “It’s a big deal to have your name on a brand like this. It’s not about direct sales. Xcel Energy wasn’t selling energy to fans.”

“It’s about goodwill,” Kliebenstein continued. “It’s about brand equity. Somebody goes and has a great time at the game, whether it’s Target Field, or Xcel Energy Center, that name is always on the tip of your tongue when you’re going to those events.”

The team announced in April that their 25-year naming rights agreement with Xcel Energy would come to a close this summer, and that other potential partners were in the wings.

Xcel Energy will continue to work with the Wild on youth sports sponsorships and other community investments, according to the utility.

Majka said the team will continue, for now, to use the TRIA Rink atop Treasure Island Center in downtown St. Paul for practices, even though the naming rights for that building are held by the Prairie Island Indian Community, which runs the competing Treasure Island resort and casino in Welch, Minn. He declined to discuss whether that could change.

“At this time, that is the case,” he said.

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Rubado: An ode to guts, goosebumps and goaltending dads

Jared Rubado — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 20:59:12 GMT

In Game 7, with three seconds left on the clock in the 2009 Stanley Cup Final, Henrik Zetterberg took a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle.

Zetterberg, a star forward for the Detroit Red Wings, had a chance to tie the game in a 6-on-5 scenario. His shot rebounded to Nicklas Lindstrom — one of the greatest defensemen the sport of hockey has ever seen — near the far-side faceoff dot.

What followed was a moment that changed my life forever.

Picture a wide-eyed, 13-year-old kid, drenched in sweat after a summer hockey practice, standing two feet under a television in the mezzanine area at the Civic Center in Brainerd. Standing with his goalie gear at his feet, pads around his shoulders and his stick in his hand, he watches Lindstrom take the shot, then the save that won the Pittsburgh Penguins the Stanley Cup.

For my money’s worth, it’s the greatest save in the history of hockey, despite how ordinary it may look to some.

Marc-Andre Fleury kicked away Zetterberg’s shot to Lindstrom. While on his knees in a butterfly position, Fleury did something most goalies wouldn’t.

He dove.

Instead of pushing off his left leg and staying low, which likely would’ve exposed the top half of the net, Fleury pivoted and took a head-first approach. The puck hit him in the chest, then time ran out. The Penguins were Stanley Cup champions.

While nearly every 2009 goaltending coach would advise against it, Fleury chose to dive into position instead of sliding.

In the biggest moment of his career, Fleury trusted his gut.

I’ve thought about that save too many times to count. I’ve thought about it while playing goalie. I’ve thought about it while covering hockey. Sometimes, you just have to trust your gut.

I can’t sit here and say Fleury was the reason I became a goalie. Jean-Sébastien Giguère gets more credit in that area. Fleury, however, was the guy who made me love it and who truly made me love the sport as a whole.

So when the Minnesota Wild traded for him on March 21, 2022, I told myself I had to see my favorite goalie play in person before he retires.

Sports writing doesn’t exactly give you a flexible schedule. Beginning a college hockey writing career two years ago made it even tougher.

Despite the hiccups of trying to be in attendance for a rare backup goaltender’s start, my dad and I figured the final game of the regular season would be as good a time as any for the Wild to give Fleury some run.

When we bought the tickets a month ago, the logic seemed sound. Then, a myriad of injuries and slumps made Tuesday night’s game a must-win for the Wild to get into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

There was no room for error, meaning Fleury would be resigned to the bench.

Nonetheless, going to the wild game was still important to me. I hadn’t been since 2017, a Game 5 playoff loss against the St. Louis Blues in overtime. Tuesday was a rare chance to take off the reporter’s hat and enjoy a hockey game as a fan.

More importantly, I got to share one of my favorite memories with my dad.

See, youth hockey in Brainerd isn’t exactly flush with goalie coaches at every level. If you’re lucky, a high school goalie will come to your practice once a week to give you some pointers (shoutout to former Bemidji State goaltender Reid Mimmack).

When I was young, my dad used to stand to my right, nose pressed up against the glass right on the goal line. I’d look at him a few times each game. He’d motion that I needed to be more square to a puck or challenge shooters more aggressively.

While those days are long behind both of us, nights like Tuesday aren’t.

With less than a minute left and the Wild trailing 2-1, Joel Eriksson Ek scored the tying goal to push the game to overtime. It got Minnesota the point it needed to secure a playoff berth.

Amid the pandemonium in the soon-to-be formerly-named Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Fleury stepped on the ice.

Glued to my phone, I felt a tap on my leg. I looked to my right at my dad, just like I did when I was playing goalie as a kid. This time was more memorable than all of them.

With tears welling in his eyes, he pointed to the ice. Fleury had gotten off the bench and was set to play the overtime period.

While it was meaningless in terms of the result, it meant everything to a father and son, and likely 18,000 others in attendance.

In less than five minutes, we got the entire Fleury experience.

He poked checked, two-pad stacked and thanked his post after a puck caught iron on a penalty kill. The fanfare was capped by Matt Boldy’s winner, which led to the Wild mobbing the 40-year-old goalie in what’s likely his final NHL game.

As I write this a day later, my arms are still filled with goosebumps. I got to watch my favorite goalie with an even better goalie dad.

When I write these columns, typically, there’s an unqualified morality message from the mouth of somebody who’s probably not old enough to deliver it. Today, however, I just wanted to say thank you to the goalie and the dad who gave that 13-year-old sweat-soaked kid one of the greatest sports memories of his life.

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OT winner propels Wild over Dallas

John Shipley / St. Paul Pioneer Press — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 00:13:49 GMT

ST. PAUL — Losing steam as the regular season winds down — 0-4-2 over their previous six games — the Wild cowboyed up when they needed to on Sunday.

After losing a one-goal lead late in the third period, Marco Rossi deflected a feed from Mats Zuccarello past Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger on a 4-on-3 man advantage in overtime to beat the Stars 3-2 at Xcel Energy Center.

Matt Boldy and Marcus Foligno scored third-period goals, and Filip Gustavsson stopped 23 shots as the Wild earned two points for the first time since their 4-2 victory over Washington on March 27.

“From the start of this game, everyone was determined to win,” Gustavsson said.

The win helped solidify the Wild’s hold on the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, giving them six points, 91-85, on idle Calgary, which has two games in hand on Minnesota and will finish with the NHL’s last regular-game April 17 at Los Angeles — against a Kings’ team that already has clinched a playoff spot.

“Tonight was a big game, but we have (four) left,” Foligno said. “Big one here Wednesday. We’re going to use these two days just to rest up. It’s been a grind but we’re excited we’re in the driver’s seat still. Our fate’s in our hands.”

Boldy had a hand in all three goals, finishing with a goal and two assists. He even drew the penalty five seconds into overtime, a tripping call on top winger Jason Robertson, to set up the final man advantage.

Playing the point, Zuccarello quickly found Rossi open at the left side of the crease. The young center barely had to move his stick to deflect it past Jake Oettinger for a 3-2 win.

“I just rewatched it again; that was an unbelievable play by Zuc,” head coach John Hynes said “That’s what makes him special. He knows what he’s going to do with the puck before he gets it, and he has the mind to see the play and the talent to execute it. That was a big-time play.”

Foligno scored on a rush five minutes into the third period to make it 2-1 and made some strong plays as the Wild finished off a penalty kill late to send the game into overtime. Minnesota killed all four penalties it accrued, the last with 3:27 minutes left in regulation after Dallas wiped out a 2-1 deficit on a fortuitous bounce.

Defenseman Thomas Harley wristed a shot through the circles from the right point. It hit defenseman Zach Bogosian on his left shin pad and deflected the other way past Gustavsson to make it 2-2 with 6:55 left in regulation.

“Those are bounces. We’ve gotta live through those. We’ve gotta fight through those,” Foligno said. “Those are going to happen in this game, and definitely in the playoffs, and the way you react to them is what makes your group special. … We could have gotten down, but we killed off another penalty and went right back at it.”

Robertson gave the Stars 1-0 lead with a snipe from outside the left circle just under six minutes into the first period, but both Gustavsson and Jake Oettinger were stout for the next 40 minutes and the Stars retained their lead until early in the third period.

That changed when Boldy, active on a long forecheck, one-timed a rebound while falling between the circles to beat Oettinger to the left corner 3:08 into the last frame. Asked if he was falling or lunging, Boldly said, “I’d like to say lunging.”

Less than two minutes later, Foligno crashed the net, corralled his own rebound and poked the puck past Oettinger for a 2-1 lead at 5:00.

It was an important win for the Wild, who take a softer cushion into the last 10 days starting Wednesday at home against San Jose. Minnesota has back-to-backs at Calgary and Vancouver on Friday and Saturday before returning home for the regular-season finale against Anaheim on April 15.

“You can’t look backwards. We need to look forward,” Gustavsson said. “We know we’re being chased, and we’ve got four more games, and we’re just going to try to win them all.”

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Wild rally for shootout win in first visit to Utah

Jess Myers / St. Paul Pioneer Press — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 05:45:58 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY – Everything is new for fans of the Utah Hockey Club as the relocated team plays its inaugural season in the Beehive State. So they can be forgiven if they weren’t prepared for what their Central Division foe from Minnesota looks like, especially away from home.

On Tuesday, the Wild introduced themselves to the fans in Utah, and a good-sized number of spectators in green and red, playing its patented brand of road hockey as Minnesota rallied for a 5-4 shootout win.

Backstopped by 21 saves from Filip Gustavsson, the Wild got a late tying goal from Marco Rossi with the goalie pulled and got a Matt Boldy goal in the shootout as they bounced back from a loss in Los Angeles two nights earlier. They head back to Minnesota for a homestand holding an eye-popping 12-2-3 road record.

Gustavsson stopped all three Utah shootout attempts.

Trailing in the second period, they got goals from Marat Khusnutdinov and Kirill Kaprizov on back to back shifts, and were able to overcome a pair of third period power-play goals by Utah’s Clayton Keller.

Despite a large Wild shot advantage in the first, Utah took advantage of some on-ice chaos to grab the early lead. Minnesota defenseman Declan Chisholm snapped his stick on a slap shot from the offensive blue line, then had to scramble to get new hardware and get back in the defensive zone as Utah made a rush. The Wild defenders never really got re-set, and Utah fourth-liner Kevin Stenlund was able to slip a shot through traffic and past Gustavsson.

The Wild finished the opening period down by a goal despite a 17-5 advantage in shots, and have now gone six consecutive games without a goal in the opening 20 minutes. Their most recent first period goal was the night before Thanksgiving in Buffalo.

Utah appeared to double its lead near the midway point of the second on a long shot that beat Gustavsson low. But the Wild bench immediately challenged the play, and video review showed a Utah skater was offside, keeping Minnesota’s deficit at one goal.

Then a costly turnover in front of the Utah bench sprung Khusnutdinov on a breakaway, which he finished with an upper right corner shot for his first goal of the season. Kaprizov gave the visitors the lead just 36 seconds later with a quick shot that beat Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka low.

Utah forged a 2-2 tie, briefly, on a power play early in the third, but Minnesota answered less than a minute later when Vejmelka failed to cover a loose puck in the crease and it sat loose just long enough for Johansson to sweep it over the goal line.

It was the first game played in Utah by the Wild, after the former Arizona Coyotes relocated in the summer of 2024.

With this three-game western road swing concluded, the Wild return to Minnesota and will play six of their next seven games at home, beginning on Thursday night when Edmonton visits Xcel Energy Center for a 7 p.m. game.

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Healthy Travis Boyd pushes hard for a hometown roster spot with Wild

Jess Myers — Sat, 21 Sep 2024 12:28:00 GMT

ST. PAUL — Travis Boyd was born in September of 1993, just a few months after Minnesota’s first NHL team loaded up 26 years of history and headed south down I-35 for a new home in north Texas.

As a kid in Hopkins, his hockey heroes were the Minnesota Gophers, for lack of a local NHL team until 2000, when the Wild brought the pro game back to the State of Hockey. Boyd’s biggest hockey goal was to be a Gopher, and he made that dream come true over a quartet of seasons at the U of M. His next goal was to play for the Wild, and after a mostly nomadic decade in pro hockey, he is back in his home state, with that opportunity before him.

“Having at least one season with a chance to play for the Wild is something that I would imagine almost every Minnesota kid dreams of … to put that jersey on and skate out onto the ice with the announcer saying, ‘Here come your Minnesota Wild’” Boyd said, with a smile, after his first practice on the opening day of Wild training camp. “It gives me chills down the back of my neck right now, just thinking about it and reminds me how much it meant to me to play four years at the University of Minnesota.”

Things to prove in St. Paul

Having spent the previous three seasons with the Arizona Coyotes, Boyd turned in the first 82-game NHL season in 2022-23, with a career-high 19 assists. But last season, disaster struck in late November, via a serious upper body injury that required surgery and ended his season before the Christmas presents had even been wrapped.

He was ready to return to the ice by April, but amid all of the off-ice chaos that ended with the Coyotes leaving town for Utah, Boyd didn’t crack the lineup. His two-part training camp goal in St. Paul, after signing a one-year contract for $775,000 with Minnesota on July 1, is to prove he’s healthy, and earn a spot on coach John Hynes’ roster.

“First and foremost is showing that I’m back from injury, that I’m at 100 percent. My big focus is going out there and getting back to who I am as a player,” Boyd said. “I essentially haven’t played competitive hockey in 10 months. I played in Da Beauty League but there’s no body contact, it’s 4-on-4 so that’s not real hockey. I haven’t been checked in 10 months, I haven’t worried about getting hit in 10 months, I haven’t had to worry about not turning the puck over. So it’s just getting back to being a hockey player. We just got done with day one, it went really well, and I’m really excited to get back out there, competing with the guys and playing real hockey again.”

Another thing he hasn’t had to worry about, in 2024 anyway, is moving. While the Boyds would spend State Fair time packing up and leaving Minnesota for Washington or Toronto or Phoenix in years’ past, that hassle was removed from this August’s to-do list.

“I haven’t had a chance to play in any games or anything, so the only thing about it that’s different is the fact that I haven’t had to pack up. I haven’t had to look for a place in a new city or worry about finding a school for my daughter or worry about anything like that. It’s been a little weird,” Boyd said. “We’ve even had neighbors on our street where we live in Edina coming up and asking, ‘Are you guys getting ready to leave anytime soon?’ It’s kind of fun to tell them I’m staying for the year.”

Whether he stays with the team in St. Paul for the year or spends some time with their AHL affiliate in Iowa is yet to be determined, but thus far the Wild like what the local veteran, now 31, has shown.

“I think Travis has made a good first impression. He’s a guy that we brought into the organization to strengthen our depth,” Hynes said after two days of practices and scrimmages. “He’s one of those guys that could make the team out of camp or wind up in Iowa and get called up and maybe stick from there. I think he’s putting himself right in that mix and he’s doing a good job in camp so far.”

Sunshine and sadness

Boyd got a front row seat for the death throes of the Coyotes, who were sold and moved to Salt Lake City after playing last season in a 4,800-seat college arena at Arizona State. While NHL hockey had struggled to draw fans for years in the Phoenix metro area, Boyd played more than 170 games for the franchise and scoffs at the notion that hockey can’t flourish in the desert.

“Really strange and really unfortunate, honestly,” he said of the move to Utah. “I spent three years down there, and I think Arizona gets a bad rep around the league for not being a hockey city and not being a successful place for a NHL team. I would 100 percent disagree.”

Among the problems, Boyd noted, was the team’s former arena was state-of-the-art, but built far, far away from the core of the city, making it difficult for many fans to reach.

“I always tell people it would be like the Minnesota Wild playing up in Monticello. How many people are driving out there on a school night with their kids when they know they have a 45 or 50 minutes to an hour drive home after the game,” he asked, rhetorically. “There’s so much hockey being played out there. You go to any of the rinks out there and they’re packed from six in the morning until midnight, so it was unfortunate.”

Family and familiarity

With those troubles behind him, Boyd is back home, close to his parents and his in-laws, and thankful for the occasional help watching their two young girls.

“Having a family and being from here, the nice thing is that now we have two kids, my parents still live in my childhood home, my wife’s parents still live in theirs, we have plenty of help here, we don’t have to look for babysitters,” he said, adding that there are contingency plans if he ends up in in Des Moines at any point during the coming season. “It’s also close if one thing comes to another and I’m not able to stay up with the Wild all year, I’m still close enough where it’s not across the country. It’s just a few hours drive down.”

Boyd returns to Minnesota after the departure of Vinni Lettieri, another local kid and former Gopher who enjoyed the comforts of home last season before heading to Boston via free agency. The Wild’s coach sees some parallels in Boyd’s case, of a local kid looking to make his mark in familiar surroundings.

“The reality is that they have family and friends here, and to play in the NHL in your hometown, how many people get an opportunity to do that?” Hynes said. “It was great for Vinni, and hopefully Boyder continues doing what he’s doing, making a strong push for himself and we’ll see where it goes.”

To start, surrounded by family, it will go back home to the Minneapolis suburbs, to the place it all started, each night that the Wild are at home. For Travis Boyd, that and a chance to play are good enough for now.

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Kirill Kaprizov’s hat trick lifts Wild to desperate win over Sharks

Dane Mizutani / St. Paul Pioneer Press — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 02:58:56 GMT

ST. PAUL — Kirill Kaprizov simply wasn’t going to let the Wild lose. Not on this particular night. Not with the hopes and dreams of this season still hanging in the balance.

With the Wild in danger of falling 10 points out of the final playoff spot with 20 games remaining, Kaprizov netted a hat trick to lead the way in a 4-3 win over the lowly San Jose Sharks. He singlehandedly erased a deficit in the final frame on Sunday night at the Xcel Energy Center, then scored the game winner for good measure.

The win helped the Wild (29-27-6, 64 points) stay within striking distance of the Los Angeles Kings (31-19-10, 72 points) and Nashville Predators (35-25-2, 72 points) for the the the final playoff spot, giving general manager Bill Guerin something to think about with the trade deadline slowly coming into focus.

After dominating play for much of the first period, the Wild had nothing to show for it. Much like in their loss to the St. Louis Blues about 24 hours earlier.

It started to go sideways for the Wild early in the second period as Sharks winger Mikael Granlund went top shelf on the power play to make it 1-0. It got worse from there for the Wild as winger Matt Boldy turned the puck over while on the power play and watched Sharks winger Nico Sturm score shorthanded on the other end to stretch the lead to 2-0.

That seemed to awaken the Wild.

On the very next shift, with the Wild still on the power play, Freddy Gaudreau quickly cut the deficit to 2-1. That energized the home crowd, less than 90 seconds later, star winger Kirill Kaprizov handled a stretch pass from fellow winger Mason Shaw and casually made it 2-2.

Though the Wild pushed hard to create some separation in the aftermath, they couldn’t find the back of the net. That came back to bit them in the third period as Sharks winger Anthony Duclair got loose on a partial breakaway and beat goaltender Filip Gustavsson glove side to make it 3-2.

Luckily for the Wild, they have Kaprizov, and he wasn’t going to let them lose. He carved out some open ice near the slot, then unleashed a perfectly placed slap shot on bended knee to level the score at 3-3. He scored again a few minutes later, finalizing his hat trick in the process.

Briefly

The lineup felt disjointed throughout the game as the Wild were without winger Marcus Johansson, who sat out due a lower-body injury, and winger Mats Zuccarello, who was a late scratch due to personal reasons. Though defenseman Dakota Mermis suited up in place of Zuccarello, he logged very limited ice tie.

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Wild GM Bill Guerin tapped for role with NHL 4 Nations Face-Off, 2026 U.S. Olympic team

Rob Beer — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 03:34:53 GMT

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — USA Hockey has named Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin as general manager for Team USA for the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2026 U.S. Olympic team.

“We’re excited to have Bill leading efforts to build our teams,” said Pat Kelleher, executive director of USA Hockey, in a news release. “He was obviously an extraordinary player and has gone on to become an accomplished executive in the NHL. It’s no secret there’s a lot of excitement around NHL players returning to the Olympics and also for the 4 Nations Face-Off, and we’re thankful to have the passion Bill brings to Team USA.”

In a call with reporters after the announcement, the 53-year-old Geurin said "it's an opportunity of a lifetime."

Guerin was promoted to president of hockey operations and general manager of the Wild on July 25, 2023, after serving each of his four seasons with the club as general manager.

“With the NHL asking the competing teams to name their first six players for the NHL 4 Nations Faceoff early this summer, it was important for us to name a general manager and we couldn’t be happier to have Bill engaged for both that event and the Olympics,” said John Vanbiesbrouck, assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey, in the release. “He brings the same level of competitiveness to his role as a general manager as he did as a player on the ice and that’s a real benefit.”

Guerin was named general manager of the 2022 U.S. Olympic team but the NHL opted not to play because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He is a three-time playing Olympian himself (1998, 2002, 2006), and won a silver medal at the event in 2002.

The NHL 4 Nations Face-Off will debut Feb. 12-20, 2025, featuring international competition between NHL players from the U.S., Canada, Finland and Sweden. The Olympics are Feb. 6-22, 2026 in Italy.

"I think our player pool is so deep," Guerin told reporters. "The thing is, we've developed such high-end talent, there's such high-end talent out there that we haven't seen before. It's not just three, four guys — there's a ton. They come from all walks of life, there's skilled centers, we have shut-down D ... there's just so much to choose from. We'll have some difficult decisions.

"There will be some disappointment for some players, but for some players it's going to be an opportunity of a lifetime. I just don't see why we shouldn't be thinking gold medals."

Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan was to lead the 2022 Olympic team behind the bench, and Guerin said he hasn't begun the process yet of hiring that position, but said Sullivan would be under consideration again. He said he favors not only having the coach, but the staff of the 4 Nations Face-Off also be part of the Olympic squad.

"I think that just gives us great consistency," Guerin said. "We can really kind of build off of, whatever. I don't know what's going to happen in the 4 Nations, but whatever happens there, we can build off it together and see where we can improve (for the Olympics)."

The Worcester, Massachusetts, native said the Miracle on Ice team had a huge impact on his life.

"In 1980, I was 9 years old and that had a huge impact on how I saw the game of hockey, the path I wanted to go down and how deep I bled the red, white and blue colors," Guerin told reporters.

As for choosing a captain, Guerin said experience, leadership qualities and someone who will be a liason between the coaches and the players will be factors in the decision.

"Somebody that the players graviate to, an inclusive-type of guy, someone with a warrior-type mentality and a winning mentality — a team-first mentality," he said. "I think it will be very important for the players to have a high, high level of buy-in, because what happens in these tournaments is everyone is a star ... but that's not going to be the case. We need guys who are thinking team-first, winning first, and personal accolades and points and stuff like that second."

Later, Guerin said a player like 1980 U.S. Olympic captain Mike Eruzione was the glue of that team and his 2026 Olympic captain would reflect those values.

"You need a guy like that regardless of the role," Guerin said.

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Strong January nets Wild defender Brock Faber NHL rookie of the month honors

Jess Myers — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 15:59:22 GMT

ST. PAUL — For the first time in nearly 25 years of Minnesota Wild team history, they claimed an NHL rookie of the month in January. And they didn’t even need to leave the Twin Cities to find him.

After he led all first-year players in assists and points last month, Wild defenseman Brock Faber was honored by the league on Thursday. He had 11 assists and 13 points in 14 games for the Wild last month.

Faber, who signed with his hometown team less than 24 hours after his Minnesota Gophers season ended last April, is from Maple Grove and was the two-time defensive player of the year in the Big Ten as a collegian.

He topped all NHL rookies in power-play assists (6), power-play points (7) and shots on goal (31) last month, and had a pair of three-point games for the Wild. Faber also put together a six-game point streak, which was the longest by a rookie blueliner in Wild history.

Originally picked by Los Angeles in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft, Faber was acquired by the Wild in the summer of 2022 in the trade that sent Kevin Fiala to the Kings.

Now 21, Faber has filled a vital role on the Minnesota blue line with the loss of captain Jared Spurgeon to a season-ending injury, leading all NHL rookies in total minutes (355:37) and average time on ice (25:24). In January, he also led rookies with 38 blocked shots, 15 more than the next-closest players.

Previous winners of the award this season are Anaheim goalie Lukas Dostal in October, and Chicago forward Connor Bedard in November and December. With Bedard out for several weeks due to a broken jaw, Faber’s name has been mentioned as a strong candidate for NHL rookie of the year.

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St. Paul mayor, MN Wild seek $2 million for planning, pre-design of Xcel Center renovation

Frederick Melo / St. Paul Pioneer Press — Tue, 23 Jan 2024 18:18:09 GMT

ST. PAUL — With the goal of renovating the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul for sporting events, concerts and more, the St. Paul mayor’s office will seek $2 million from state coffers this year toward planning and pre-design.

It’s a small portion of what could easily be a more than $300 million project.

“It’s a massive project,” said St. Paul Deputy Mayor Jaime Tincher. “We want to do it right. And we feel like we need to be really clear about the planning and design piece, so we can answer all of the questions behind the strategy and the full ask in the next legislative session.”

Officials had hoped to have a checklist in hand by now for lawmakers at the start of the legislative session with exactly what improvements they had in mind, from revamped loading docks to better lounge seating.

“We need more time,” Tincher explained, “to figure out the specificities behind what will those amenities be, what will the renovations cost, and the timeline for construction and all of the pieces that are going to impact that.”

Not part of the governor’s bonding proposal

The state bonding and infrastructure package would be a logical place to look for funds, though competition for that money is likely to be fierce this year. Gov. Tim Walz last week unveiled a $982 million state infrastructure package that did not include any funding for Xcel Center renovations, with the governor saying at the time that he had not received a formal funding request.

The governor’s latest infrastructure proposal is relatively trim, at least compared to the $2.6 billion package approved at the end of the last legislative session.

Going into the 2024 session, state lawmakers have already received about $7.2 billion in capital investment requests.

“We’ll talk to the state delegation about what they think is the best path through the Legislature,” Tincher said, noting that among St. Paul’s elected officials, “we haven’t encountered anyone who doesn’t understand and appreciate the vital role that the arena complex plays for the vitality of our downtown and our city.”

St. Paul City Council President Mitra Jalali said she supported a “comprehensive” approach toward improving the “X,” which is a public facility.

“I am supportive of this approach which will allow us to take this issue up thoughtfully with our delegation and all relevant stakeholders,” Jalali said, in a written statement. “This is a city-owned statewide asset and we should design an investment strategy that is comprehensive and forward-thinking. My hope is these funds will allow us to begin that work.”

Bridge, ramp, Roy Wilkins improvements

Officials in St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter’s office and the offices of Visit St. Paul and the Minnesota Wild — which manages the Xcel Center — are still getting their arms around exactly what Xcel Center renovations would entail and how to time them so professional hockey, high school tournaments, concerts and conventions unfold with minimal interruption.

Among the questions: To what degree would a renovation of the “X” include the adjoining Roy Wilkins Auditorium, the home of Minnesota Roller Derby, Minnesota State High �� League girls gymnastics meets, state cheerleading competitions, the Saintly City Cat Club Annual Championship Cat Show, and other exhibits, competitions and fairs?

Meanwhile, the aging RiverCentre parking ramp across the street could also use some tender loving care, if not a rebuild. The city has repeatedly asked the Legislature to support at least half the cost of replacing the 1,600-stall parking ramp, which serves the Xcel Energy Center and RiverCentre convention halls.

Then there’s the bridge. The city secured $25 million in state funding last year to replace the Kellogg Boulevard bridge over Third Street, which leads toward the city’s East Side, but a bridge replacement raises key questions over how to pace the project alongside renovations to the parking ramp and Xcel Center.

“The parking ramp is a critical component to the success of all of the operations at the arena, as is the bridge,” Tincher said on Sunday. “Phasing the work around the bridge is going to be important to do that in conjunction with the phases of the arena renovation. There’s just a lot of complicated dynamics. We want to make sure we’re doing our due diligence.”

Public funding to build or upgrade stadiums for privately-owned sports teams is always divisive, though city officials have sought to emphasize the importance of the Xcel Center to the city and state economy, as well as its many other public and private uses beyond professional hockey.

In Wisconsin, state lawmakers in November approved a more than $500 million package to renovate American Family Field, the home of the Milwaukee Brewers, that includes upwards of $400 million from the state and $135 million from the city and Milwaukee County. The team is expected to put in another $100 million for the stadium, which opened in 2001.

The Xcel Center opened in 2000, and together with the adjoining RiverCentre convention hall hosts events 130 nights per year. New at the X this year, a Minnesota team skates in the Professional Women’s Hockey League. The World Junior Hockey Championships are scheduled to land in St. Paul and Minneapolis from Dec. 26, 2025, to Jan. 5, 2026.

“We will have to phase around that, as well,” Tincher said of the World Junior Hockey contest, though needing more time to work through a renovation timeline would have happened anyway, she said. “It didn’t trigger the timing for us.”

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In early going, Wild special teams have taken step backward

John Shipley / St. Paul Pioneer Press — Sat, 04 Nov 2023 12:00:00 GMT

Much was made of the disparity between the Wild’s special teams and those of Dallas during the Stars’ first-round postseason victory over Minnesota last spring, and for good reason.

They were the primary reason the Stars won the best-of-7 series in six games.

Wild players landed in the box 24 times against Dallas, and the Stars scored on nine of those man advantages. Minnesota scored on 4 of 22 power-play chances. When it was over, the Wild thought they were the better team at even strength, but it didn’t really matter.

They also were missing forward Joel Eriksson Ek, a key piece on both special-teams units. He played just one playoff shift because of a broken leg.

Eriksson Ek is back and playing well; he leads the team with 10 points and three power-play goals. The Wild also went out this offseason and hired assistant coach Jason King to help with the special teams. Yet the regular-season numbers have been worse through nine early games — down from a 80.6 percent success rate to 67.9 on the kill, and from 20.5 percent success on the power play to 13.9.

“Both special teams have not helped us as much as they’ve hindered us this year to start the season. Both of them need to be better,” coach Dean Evason said this week.

Minnesota surrendered two power-play goals on three chances in a 4-2 loss at New Jersey on Sunday, while the Wild went 1 for 6, a stark example of how special teams have hurt them during a 3-4-2 start.

“There is something off (but) I think we know what we need to do,” Eriksson Ek said. “For us, I think it’s getting a little swagger back out there and being confident that we’re going to get the job done.”

For the most part, the power-play unit players are tired of talking about it, at a loss to explain the paucity of goals. despite getting a lot of zone time and scoring chances, five on 36 chances.

“You hope that eventually it starts going in,” said Ryan Hartman, who leads the team with six goals and scored the Wild’s power-play goal on Sunday.

Power-play piece Matt Boldy has missed seven games, and Freddy Gaudreau — a key player on both units — has missed three. The Wild also have been playing without defenseman Jared Spurgeon, who practiced with the team on Wednesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in a preseason game. He quarterbacked the second power-play unit and is a top penalty-killer.

Without him, the Wild have allowed nine power-play goals on 28 chances.

“The good part is we’re not taking a lot of penalties. The bad part is they’re scoring, so your percentage looks poor,” Evason said after his team worked extensively on both units during a long practice on Wednesday.

On the kill, Evason said, “We’re making some mistakes, we’re close, a couple inches from taking a seam pass away, or making a block or getting a clear. So, we’ve just gotta stick with it.”

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