For the coming season, the Minnesota Wild has 14 players under contract and three more whose rights the Wild retain. These 17 players are: left wingers Stephane Veilleux and Derek Boogaard; right wingers Marian Gaborik, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Mark Parrish; centers Mikko Koivu, Eric Belanger and James Sheppard; defensemen Nick Schultz, Kim Johnsson, Brent Burns, Martin Skoula, Kurtis Foster, Marc-Andre Bergeron and Erik Reitz; and goaltenders Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding. Veilleux, Bouchard and Foster are not signed.

Over the next week or so I am going to spotlight some of these players on Hockey Wilderness. So check back to Hockey WILDerness and read the bios of my favorite Minnesota Wild players...well, my favorite Minnesota Wild Players with a contract, at least.