Hockey Wilderness
A Minnesota Wild Blog that WON'T make you sick and kill you!
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Where Does Zeev Buium Stand In the Calder Race?
We’re only two weeks into the regular season schedule, but the Calder Trophy race is already shaping up to be thrilling. Three names stand out above the rest: Montreal Canadiens winger Ivan Demidov, New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer, and Minnesota Wild defenseman Zeev Buium. T...
The Iowa Wild Are Starting To Create A Positive Developmental Environment
There’s no sugarcoating it; the Minnesota Wild stink so far this season. The reasons for that are up for debate, but the results are not. A 3-5-3 record through eleven games and a humbling start to the home stand has left both the team and its fans searching for answers after their most recent defea...
Wild Want More Physical Defensemen, Go On Losing Skid
That's Wild The Minnesota Wild clearly want something else on their blue line. Yes, there are so many good and solid players on it but they want that extra grit and grind and physicality and roughness to it that can take them to the next level. It is an issue that started to become more prom...
Are the Wild Gambling By Pairing David Jiricek and Zeev Buium?
The Minnesota Wild lost 7-6 in overtime to the San Jose Sharks last Sunday, despite being heavily favored at -220 (FanDuel listed the Sharks at +185). The Sharks entered the game and were 1-5-2, dead last in the standings. The Wild also had a tough start to the season, having lost 5 of their last 6...
Marcus Johansson Has Become the Face of the Wild's Depth Issues
In a normal season, you would consider Marcus Johansson a bargain. Playing on a minimum salary contract for $800,000, Johansson has four goals and seven points in his first 10 games. He went from cheap insurance in case former first-round pick Liam Ohgren didn’t leap to become a full-time NHL player...
Brock Faber's Frustration Is Starting To Manifest In His Play
The Minnesota Wild were undoubtedly hoping for a better start to the season than their 3-5-2 record. While the campaign is still early, 10 games are enough to gather some data on how a team is playing. Little has gone right in Minnesota, but it's easy to pick out a few areas where the team has strug...
Is Trade Target Alex Tuch A Trick Or Treat?
You may have heard about this: The Buffalo Sabres are bad. Again. You also may be aware: The Minnesota Wild need scoring. Again. And perhaps you've known: The Wild used to have this fella in Buffalo named Alex Tuch. Are we all caught up? Great. Because you're going to hear a lot about...
Can the Wild Afford To Lose A Race For Peter DeBoer?
How much can you panic about a 3-5-2 start? While the Minnesota Wild are in seventh place in the Central Division, it wouldn't have taken much for a few games to break differently. If one of four shots in overtime goes in on Sunday night, for example, the Wild would have entered Monday at a mu...
There Are Still Reasons For Optimism Despite the Wild's Slow Start
The season is not even one month in, and the Minnesota Wild are sitting in last place in the Central Division with a 3-4-1 record (7 points). How does a team with this much talent sit in last place in their division? They have not been consistent all season long. The Wild have looked goo...
Minnesota's Best Trade Options Aren't the Ones You'd Expect
The Minnesota Wild have come out of the gates cold. Their five-on-five performance has been dreadful, whether measured by results or underlying metrics. On the Wilderness Talk Podcast, I identified two main culprits for Minnesota’s inept five-on-five play: young defensemen and a thin for...
Wild Prospect Charlie Stramel Off to Hot Start at Michigan State
That's Wild Charlie Stramel needed a good start to his season. After the change from Wisconsin to Michigan State before last season propelled him to a solid 27-point campaign that got him back in as one of the Minnesota Wild's good prospects, the 2023 first-round pick could build the hype even...
What Is Each Wild Player's Drink Of Choice?
Let’s be real, it’s been rough going for the beginning of the Minnesota Wild season. While some may try to compare it to the rough start of 2023 (insert pointed stare), we don’t need to get too ahead of ourselves. Let’s all unwind at the bar together and get a drink. In fact, let’s invite some of th...
Matt Boldy Is Shooting His Shot
As they say, shooters shoot. And right now, few in the NHL know the meaning of that phrase like Matt Boldy. The fifth-year winger may have started the season with back-to-back three-point games, but his most dominant game so far was probably his effort in Dallas on October 14. He scored just one goa...
Is A High-Profile Russian Addition the Final Piece To Minnesota's 5-On-5 Puzzle?
The Minnesota Wild’s five-on-five play has been a major disappointment this season. This year was supposed to be different. Injuries have plagued the past two seasons, including Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek missing 41 and 36 games, respectively, last season. The hope was that bringing...
When Will It Start To Click For David Jiricek?
David Jiricek probably would have liked to have drawn in for the Minnesota Wild’s home opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 11. Instead, the Wild stuck him in the press box four booths down from Don Waddell, the general manager who traded him after 53 games. While they removed J...
Jake Middleton Has To Recover From A Slow Start
The Minnesota Wild are used to leaning on Jake Middleton, and Middleton is used to delivering for the team. Since the Wild acquired him from the San Jose Sharks at the 2022 trade deadline, they've entrusted him with increasingly demanding workloads. He went from 19:02 in his first full campaign in M...
Can the Wild Fix Their Even Strength Play Internally? (Podcast)
With special guest Tony Abbott, the guys go over whether or not the Wild can break the shackles of their even-strength play and get back to playing complementary hockey or will they need to look outside of the organization for help?
Wild Get Reality Check On Disappointing Road Trip
That's Wild The Minnesota Wild are not having a good time. After their 4-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, they suffered a brutal 1-3-1 record on their road trip that took them through a variety of opponents and not so much a variety of results. [The Athletic] Brock F...
The Minnesota Wild Are Still Riding the Clutch
Outlets ranging from ESPN to the Star Tribune reported the Minnesota Wild’s decision to trade Calen Addison and acquire Zach Bogosian as a tandem deal in 2023. “It’s not a knock on Calen,” Bill Guerin explained. “It’s just a change in direction.” Addison had played 100 games for the Wild,...
Owen Tippett Should Top the Wild’s Christmas List
The Minnesota Wild must upgrade their top-six. Mats Zuccarello is still injured, and they are stuck with slotting both Vladimir Tarasenko and Marcus Johansson in their top six. Both Marco Rossi and Joel Eriksson Ek have to deal with their production plummeting when they’re not playing with Kirill Ka...
Danila Yurov Scores First NHL Goal During Wild's 3-1 Win Over Rangers
That's Wild It's always nice to see a player's first. Danila Yurov was able to net his first NHL goal during the Minnesota Wild's 3-1 win over the New York Rangers Monday night. Kirill Kaprizov was his typical self, Jonas Brodin got on the stat sheet, and Filip Gustavsson was cool and collec...
Ryder Ritchie Thriving in NCAA Transition with Boston University
The arrival of Canadian junior league talent into the NCAA has been one of the most intriguing stories in the hockey world this season. The change has completely reshaped the development path for prospects, with several high-end junior players making the jump to the collegiate ranks. It’s an e...
Wild Suffer Unfortunate Weekend, Drop Two on Road Trip
That's Wild The Minnesota Wild were on top of the world with an unbeatable power play heading into this weekend on the east coast. But after falling 5-1 to the Washington Capitals -- a game that should be instantly forgotten about -- the Wild continued on up the Atlantic and were struck down...
When Moose Calls To Say Goodnight
The premise of the latest Trending Wild video is that Marcus Foligno, our precious Mama Moose, is in cahoots with the admin to call and tell his teammates to have a good night. This is a trend that was popular over the summer, but was a fun addition to the team’s first long road trip. Here’s w...
The Wild Must Find A Way To Keep Their Top Line Together
The Minnesota Wild are going to take on Alex Ovechkin and the Metro Division Champion Washington Capitals tonight with their biggest weapon intact. Kirill Kaprizov (tied for second in the NHL with 9 points), Matt Boldy (T-sixth, 8 points), and Marco Rossi (4 points in 4 games) will start the game pl...
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