Merry Christmas from Hockey Wilderness

I'd like to personally thank each and every one of you for coming back time and again to Hockey Wilderness and allowing us to share with you our passion for the Minnesota Wild and hockey in general. This time of year, I like to think back on the year that was, and over the past year our community has quadrupled in size, more and more people are joining the conversation and sharing their opinions, analysis and passion for hockey.

Thanks to mbennett, BReynolds and HockeyJoe for adding their insight and sharing the workload while I've been swamped at my day job.

Thanks to TonyO and SpaethCo for joining us in almost every game thread or game recap.

Thanks to fischean, RileysCannibalJct, redheadzeb and many others for being passionate about the Wild.

Thanks to Michael Russo for being the best damn beat writer in the NHL.

Thanks to the team at SBNation for providing us the single best community platform in the sports blogging world.

Most importantly, I'd like to thank my wife for finding comfort in our rituals before, during and after games. She loves seeing me excited about what I do, and that's one of the many reasons I love her. Of course, her surprising me with a gorgeous new TV to catch all the Wild action isn't bad either.

In the coming months, be on the lookout for new features, new topics and at least one real-world HW gathering. I have a few things in the works, so I hope you all can join us in St. Paul at least once before the end of the year.

As always, thanks for allowing me this space to vent, commiserate, chat, rant and gloat. I appreciate the support. If there's ever something you want to see from us at Hockey Wilderness, please feel free to reach out. Also, if you have something to say or see something to share, don't hesitate to write a fanpost or fanshot. It's the community aspect that makes this the best damn Wild blog out there!

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to you and yours from all of us at Hockey Wilderness!

-Nathan