Coming into the season, Wild fans were not very excited about the season kicking off because of a horrible last season, including the playoffs for the first time since 2019, which led to their head coach, Dean Evanson, being fired in Late November.
They also did not make any big moves in the offseason so Wild fans weren’t expecting much better than last season. SHS senior hockey player Jake Volker had this to say about the Wilds’s previous season “I was not to thrilled with the Wild last year and I don’t think it’s gonna be much better this year”.
Despite the troubles the wild had last season they are off to an incredible start to the season! The Wild currently have a record of 8-2-2 which means eight wins, two losses, and two overtime/shootout losses. In the NHL overtime/shootout losses count as one point, wins count as two points, and zero points for a loss. That will put the Wild at eighteen points in the league. They currently sit second in the central division and fifth in the whole league. The Wild also went on a seven-game road trip and broke the record for best road trip in Wild history picking up eleven points in that span. They also defeated the previous Stanley Cup champions in that streak the Florida Panthers. SHS senior hockey player Shaun Paulson comments on the Wilds’s play so far this season “The Wild are buzzin and hopefully it stays that way”.
The Wild are being led by their assistant captain Kirill Kaprisov who is having the best start to a season in Wild history! He is currently tied for first in the league in points with seven goals and fourteen assists. The Wild are also thrilled to have their Captain Jared Spurgeon back after almost not playing at all last season because of two season-ending surgeries. Having Spurgeon back as their captain and best leader on the team also puts a big boost in the Wild’s spirit and pace of play.
After being asked how long it’s been since he’s played in a game, Spurgen explained to the Star Tribune, “I tried not to count but it’s been a while.” It’s been 272 days to be exact.
During the offseason, the Wild did not add many players but they extended the contracts of a lot of their players like signing defenseman Brock Faber to an 8-year contract, defenseman Jake Middleton to a 4-year contract extension, and Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to a 1-year contract extension. Those are all big names within the organization and great players to have in the future so it is a big gain for the Wild.
Some other fun things that have happened this season is that one of the Minnesota Wild’s goaltenders Filip Gustavson scored the fifteenth goalie goal in NHL History and the first in Wild history. The Wild have also not lost a single game at home this season.
Minnesota Wild defeated the defending Stanley cup champions on the road.
