Tonight is the night! Our Minnesota Wild will face-off with the (no longer Mighty) Ducks of Anaheim. Every new season comes with hope and excitement, but the 2020-21 has fans on the edge of their seats in anticipation for a new era of Wild hockey. Contrary to the national media’s belief that the Wild will slot as a wild card team, fans in Minnesota will be looking for even more from the squad this season, hoping to build on a 3rd place finish out of 8 in last season’s COVID West Division.
The opening night roster includes a mix of familiar faces to Wild fans, and an influx of new faces. Most notable of the newcomers being Minnesota native and Gopher legend Alex Goligoski, who could earn his Silver Stick (1,000 NHL Games) this season if he plays in 76 games. Most notable of the returners is Kirill Kaprizov, the Calder winning Russian phenom that provided Wild fans with offensive excitement not seen at the Xcel Energy Center since Marian Gaborik’s days in a green sweater.
Despite the fact that the top 6 scorers, and 13 of the top 16 scorers of 2020-21 are returning for the Wild, the team will certainly have a different feel without Zach Parise and Ryan Suter donning the Wild logo. Parise and Suter spent 9 seasons with the Wild in a period that brought some regular season successes, but never reached the lofty heights that fans hoped for on July 4th of 2012 when Parise and Suter signed their mega-contracts.
The opening night roster is a veteran filled roster, with only one player, Providence College product Brandon Duhaime, making their debut against the Ducks. That being said, Wild fans will be eagerly awaiting the arrival of young hopefuls Marco Rossi, Matt Boldy, Adam Beckman, and Calen Addison to join the squad at some point this season. Many Wild fans were disappointed that the entirety of the young talent corps was sent down I-35 to Des Moines to begin the season with Baby Wild (with the exception of Boldy who is in Minnesota rehabbing an injury).
There is much to be excited for as the puck drops tonight between the Wild and the Ducks. How does Kaprizov fare in his second season? What does the blue line feel like without Suter eating so many minutes? Who takes charge as the first-line centerman? All that and more will be answered in the coming month of hockey. The future of Wild hockey starts tonight… Let’s Play Hockey!