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It's been a long off-season Wilderness, but that day is nearly upon us. The day you have been waiting for. Where football get thrown to the wayside (good riddance) and the best winter sport on the planet emerges from hibernation. It's hockey season!
Ok, so perhaps it's not quite October, yet. The Wild are just opening up training camp in 2 short days, but this is the where we start to see the team take shape. Who will be the surprise players to stay in Minnesota? Who will need more time to ripen in Iowa? These questions and more will start to get answered as this years Wild take to the ice starting this Friday.
Sure, we all know that Mikko Koivu will be back to captain this team in his for his 9th NHL season. Assistant captains Zach Parise, Ryan Suter and the newly acquired Thomas Vanek will surely be on the roster, along with some of the young guns like Mikael Granlund, Charlie Coyle, Jonas Brodin, Jared Spurgeon and of course the recently re-signed RFA Nino Niederreiter. Questions surrounding Darcy Kuemper and his status with the team are still up in the air, but we're going to just let time work it's magic on that one, because I'm pretty sick of talking about it, aren't you?
In all, 60 players are on the training camp roster, which was just released yesterday. A lot of familiar faces will be at camp, along with the prospects, recent draftees, and a few free agent invitees as well. Let's take a look at who will be taking the ice for the Wild come this Friday.
| # | Name | Height | Weight (lbs) | Shoots/Catches | Position |
| 24 | Matt Cooke | 5'11" | 205 | Left | LW |
| 40 | Curt Gogol | 6'1" | 190 | Left | LW |
| 36 | Michael Keranen | 6'1" | 176 | Left | LW |
| 11 | Zach Parise | 5'11" | 195 | Left | LW |
| 26 | Thomas Vanek | 6'2" | 217 | Right | LW |
| 19 | Stephane Veilleux | 6'1" | 200 | Left | LW |
| 16 | Jason Zucker | 5'11" | 186 | Left | LW |
| 12 | Cody Almond | 6'2" | 217 | Left | C |
| 21 | Kyle Brodziak | 6'2" | 210 | Right | C |
| 64 | Mikael Granlund | 5'10" | 186 | Left | C |
| 55 | Erik Haula | 5'11" | 192 | Left | C |
| 9 | Mikko Koivu | 6'3" | 217 | Left | C |
| 10 | Jordan Schroeder | 5'9" | 180 | Right | C |
| 27 | Brett Sutter | 6'0" | 200 | Left | C |
| 54 | Brett Bulmer | 6'4" | 212 | Right | RW |
| 3 | Charlie Coyle | 6'3" | 221 | Right | RW |
| 14 | Justin Fontaine | 5'10" | 175 | Right | RW |
| 22 | Nino Niederreiter | 6'2" | 208 | Left | RW |
| 61 | Zack Phillips | 6'2" | 194 | Right | RW |
| 29 | Jason Pominville | 6'0" | 185 | Right | RW |
| 28 | Joel Rechlicz | 6'4" | 220 | Right | RW |
| 58 | Corbin Baldwin | 6'5" | 215 | Left | D |
| 2 | Keith Ballard | 5'11" | 208 | Left | D |
| 4 | Stu Bickel | 6'4" | 207 | Right | D |
| 7 | Jonathon Blum | 6'1" | 190 | Right | D |
| 25 | Jonas Brodin | 6'1" | 180 | Left | D |
| 44 | Justin Falk | 6'5" | 215 | Left | D |
| 74 | Colton Jobke | 6'0" | 190 | Left | D |
| 6 | Marco Scandella | 6'3" | 210 | Left | D |
| 46 | Jared Spurgeon | 5'9" | 185 | Right | D |
| 20 | Ryan Suter | 6'1" | 198 | Left | D |
| 32 | Niklas Backstrom | 6'2" | 194 | Left | G |
| 33 | John Curry | 5'11" | 185 | Left | G |
| 37 | Josh Harding | 6'2" | 202 | Right | G |
| 35 | Darcy Kuemper | 6'5" | 205 | Left | G |
| 82 | Olivier Archambault | 6'0" | 190 | Left | F |
| 80 | Jessey Astles | 6'2" | 205 | Left | F |
| 62 | Brady Brassart | 6'2" | 196 | Right | F |
| 49 | Raphael bussieres | 6'1" | 198 | Left | F |
| 75 | Reid Duke | 6'0" | 189 | Right | F |
| 53 | Tyler Graovac | 6'4" | 205 | Left | F |
| 63 | Kurtis Gabriel | 6'4" | 214 | Right | F |
| 47 | Reid Gardiner | 5'11" | 185 | Right | F |
| 57 | Ryan Graham | 6'2" | 205 | Left | F |
| 81 | Pavel Jenys | 6'2" | 198 | Left | F |
| 76 | Chase Lang | 6'1" | 182 | Right | F |
| 59 | Zack Mitchell | 6''0" | 184 | Right | F |
| 67 | Andrew Ryan | 6'3" | 202 | Left | F |
| 71 | Ryan Walters | 6'0" | 190 | Left | F |
| 55 | Matt Dumba | 6'0" | 183 | Right | D |
| 73 | Tanner Faith | 6'3" | 211 | Right | D |
| 5 | Christian Folin | 6'3" | 210 | Right | D |
| 34 | Guillaume Gelinas | 5'10" | 185 | Right | D |
| 68 | Alex Gudbranson | 6'2" | 204 | Right | D |
| 78 | Dylan Labbe | 6'2" | 194 | Left | D |
| 23 | Gustav Olofsson | 6'4" |
191 | Left | D |
| 79 | Hunter Warner | 6'2" | 202 | Left | D |
| 50 | Alexandre Belanger | 6'1" | 184 | Left | G |
| 31 | Johan Gustafsson | 6'2" | 202 | Left | G |
| 70 | Brandon Whitney | 6'5" | 208 | Right | G |
Now if you're one of those types that just cannot wait to see your favorite team take to the ice, luck is on your side. The team will be holding an open practice Saturday, September 20th. You will be able to get in, for free (just another way the Wild win over the Avalanche) through Gate 1 starting at 8:30 am. The open practice will run till 1:30 pm and you will be able to get all your favorite concessions. The Hockey Lodge will also be open for all your Wild apparel and accessorizing needs. Single game tickets also go on sale this Saturday, starting at 10 am.
| Date | Visitors | Home | Time (CT) |
| Monday, September 22 | Wild | Jets | 7:00 PM |
| Thursday, September 25 | Wild | Penguins | 6:00 PM |
| Saturday, September 27 | Jets | Wild | 7:00 PM |
| Monday, September 29 | Penguins | Wild | 7:00 PM |
| Thursday, October 2 | Wild | Blues | 7:00 PM |
| Saturday, October 4 | Blues | Wild | 7:00 PM |
The Wild will kick off their first of 6 pre-season games by travelling to The Wall to face-off against the Jets in less than a week, this Monday, September 22. That's right folks, you are just 6 short days away from Minnesota Wild hockey. Unfortunately, not a lot of television coverage for us this year in the pre-season. Monday's game will be on TSN-3 and the game on September 27th will be on the NHL Network here in the States.
Well definitely be on top of your coverage needs throughout the pre-season. Regular season and home opener will be Thursday, October 9th against the Colorado Avalanche, and although it will be an early season match up, there are bound to be some fireworks with Matt Cooke's golden knee out there in proximity to Tyson Barrie.
It's nearly here Wilderness! Your wait is almost over, you have been so patient this off-season and will be righteously rewarded!