Good evening Wilderness. As part of our blogger outreach program, we at Hockey Wilderness have been seeking out the best and the brightest to cover the Minnesota Wild and all things NHL and Minnesota hockey.

Our newest member is none other than Elise Butler from 18,568 Reasons Why. Elise and I discussed the difficulties with being a lone blogger while being a full-time student and how we thought it would be a great opportunity for her to join us over here and not lose her voice, which has become a go-to voice in the Wild blogosphere.

So, without further adieu, please welcome the newest member of the Hockey Wilderness staff, elisebutler

Hello Hockey Wilderness!

My name is Elise. You might have read my work over at my blog 18,568 Reasons Why.

I'm a born and bred Minnesotan who loves being from Minnesota and everything about it. Naturally, this includes hockey. I was all of two years old when the North Stars left, leaving much of my childhood hockeyless. When the Wild returned hockey to Minnesota, I latched onto it, becoming fully obsessed with the sport during the 2003 season and Wild playoff run.

I'm now right outside of Chicago for college, missing the days with easy access to everything Wild related and a handful of trips to the X per season. But that's not going to stop me. Just like the UC express bus that decided to not pick me and my friends up didn't stop me from getting to the Blackhawks-Wild game earlier this season (though I was told by a Chicagoan that that was actually my fault because I was wearing a Wild jersey.)

Anyway, I'm delighted to be joining the Hockey Wilderness ranks and hope you are all somewhat excited to have me, too.

So, let's welcome Elise to the SBN family, and we look forward to reading her input.