Past and present players team up with fans in the great outdoors

  [See image gallery at minnesotahockeymag.com]
Photo gallery by Nick Wosika for MHM.

Hugo, Minn. – Retired Minnesota Wild player Wes Walz suited up with gear. Not skates and hockey pads but in bright-orange hunting gear, ready for an afternoon of pheasant hunting.

Well, after a quick shooting lesson and some practice, that is. After all, he described himself as a “very novice hunter.”

Walz joined fellow Wild alum Keith Ballard, and current players Ryan Carter and Marco Scandella, Dec. 2 for the fourth annual Hunt with the Wild pheasant outing sweepstakes event hosted by Gander Mountain. Novice hunter or not, Walz was excited to finally get the opportunity to be part of the hunt.

“It’s always something that I’ve wanted to do, to knock off my bucket list,” Walz said.

They went on a guided pheasant hunt with four randomly-selected sweepstakes winners who were chosen from thousands of entries for the sweepstakes on Facebook throughout the month of November. Each winner and a guest went out hunting with the Wild players at Wild Wings of Oneka Hunt Club in Hugo. The afternoon event included catered lunch and dinner, plus an array of gifts and hunting gear.

Walz had some simple goals for the afternoon, mainly to stay safe, not hurt anybody and have fun. It’s all about getting out and meeting people.

“It’s huge because the fans are what make the organization what they are,” he said.

Walz was teamed up with contest winner Scott Nelson, of Austin, Minn., who brought along his dad Mike Nelson. An avid hunter and Wild fan, Scott was excited to find out he was one of the lucky winners.

“Not very often you get a chance to hunt with some of the Wild players,” Scott said. “That’s really nice of them to take time out to come and do this with other people and fans.”

Carter and Scandella made it out to the hunt after hockey practice. Scandella, a newbie to hunting, came dressed for the part, in dark-blue camo jeans and tan work boots perfect for tromping through the fields.

For someone that said he’s only shot a few times before, he had no problem hitting the practice targets before the hunt.

“Sweet,” Scandella said, after hitting his first target. “Honestly, that was awesome.”

After the first pass through the field, and a couple of birds in tow, Scandella smiled and deemed himself “a natural.”
“I play ‘Call of Duty,’” he said, grinning. “I don’t know if that helps.”

Contest winner and longtime hunter Jason Deiss, of River Falls, Wis., certainly thought Scandella did “pretty good for a first-timer.” Deiss brought his father Bob Deiss along for the hunt. The one-on-one time with a Wild player like Scandella was exciting for the Wild season ticket holder.

“Opportunity of a lifetime, really,” Jason said. “Can’t hope for any more.”

For Ballard, he’s been a hunter since he nabbed his first duck at age 6 or 7. He missed it during his hockey career, but he actually started hunting a lot more during the NHL lockout year in 2012, he said.

This was his third time participating in the event. He likes the small, intimate environment of the event.

“It’s not a big golf tournament, where there’s hundreds of people,” he said. “You can sit down after and talk to people… and have a more personal conversation with them.”

The post Wild enjoy time in the hunt appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Ballard injury galvanizes Minnesota in big comeback win over Isles

The word “scary” came up over and over in the Wild dressing room Tuesday night.

The New York Islanders’ Matt Martin knocked Minnesota’s Keith Ballard head-first into the boards in front of the Islanders’ bench with New York leading 3-0 in the second period and medical personnel rushed on to the ice in record time to assist Ballard.

The former Gopher defenseman, one of eight Minnesota natives skating in the Wild-Islanders game at the Xcel Energy Center, appeared to be convulsing and a stretcher was immediately wheeled out.
Somehow, after a lengthy delay, Ballard got to his feet with help and walked off the ice, after which he was taken to Regions Hospital for tests and observation.

The Wild responded, too.

According to those who keep these kinds of records, the Wild came back from a three-goal deficit to win in regulation for the first time in franchise history.

The score was 4-1 heading into the third period, but goals by Mikko Koivu, Erik Haula, Thomas Vanek and Nino Niederreiter during a 12-minute stretch lifted the Wild to a 5-4 victory in front of 18,904.

After managing just three shots on goal through 20 minutes, the Wild pretty much dominated the rest of the way. They outshot the Islanders 12-1 in the second period and 15-7 in the third to rescue another dismal start.

It was 3-1 in the second period until the Islanders’ Josh Bailey scored on his team’s lone shot of the period, a goal that should have been enough to puncture Minnesota’s attempt at a comeback.

It wasn’t.

Wild coach Mike Yeo loved the result and the win, but “the biggest thing to me is we needed to respond,” he said.

Yeo did not see Martin’s hit on Ballard – no penalty was called – and he needed to crane his neck from the bench to see what was happening with Ballard on the ice.

“It was scary,” he said.

Haula didn’t see the hit, either, but he saw Ballard on the ice.

“It was really scary,” he said.

Vanek, who added an assist to his goal, played on the 2003 NCAA championship University of Minnesota team with Ballard.

Vanek labeled Ballard’s injury “pretty sickening,” adding, “But I think we took it in a positive way. We took the emotion in a good way and started playing hard and it was a great comeback win for us.”

Just four days after the Wild fell behind 3-0 to Anaheim before grabbing the lead and yielding it again in a 5-4 defeat, Minnesota again came out flat and unsteady.

“It’s hard to pinpoint why we started two games like this,” Yeo said.

But the hit on Ballard opened faucets of passion and enthusiasm up and down the Wild roster.

Finally, Yeo said.

“That’s what we need,” he added. “You can draw X’s and O’s, but passion and emotion, that’s got to be there for us, no question. We’ve got to find a way to bring that.”

It shouldn’t require an injured player, Yeo added.

On this occasion, it did.

“Obviously we were very angry,” Niederreiter said, “but at the same time we were also scared because nobody had an idea what was going on with ‘Bally.’

There was no need to talk about it among the players: Mikael Granlund goaded Kyle Okposo into a penalty shortly after Ballard was hurt, and Kyle Brodziak dropped the gloves and fought Martin just 23 seconds later.

“Nothing was really said,” Haula commented, “but inside of everyone I’m sure it was like, ‘We’ve got to really play for Keith here.’ Hopefully, he’s OK.”

Haula, also a former Gopher, said he believed the players were “kind of freaked out” seeing their teammate wounded on the ice.

“I have never seen something like that,” Haula said. “I think we handled it great as a team. We processed it in between periods and just went out there and played really hard.”

Koivu, who had a goal and an assist, called it “a very emotional night,” adding he hopes that Ballard can return to the team soon.

Nearly lost in the concern for Ballard and the delight in the big comeback was the return to the lineup of defenseman Ryan Suter, who had missed two games with the mumps. Suter played more than 29 minutes and contributed three assists.

“From penalty kills to power plays to every aspect of his game, he just kept getting stronger, and showed how important he is to us,” Yeo said.

Yeo talked about how Ballard’s injury pulled his guys together, and they were universally concerned about their teammate when the game was over.

“When you see a guy down like that, it really hits you,” defenseman Nate Prosser said. “All you can do is pray for him right now, and hopefully he’s feeling better quick.”

The post Scary hit sparks Wild appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Wild players take shooting skills off the ice, into the field

It was the first bird they saw that day. The small, energetic yellow lab, Izzy, flushed it out of a row of corn and with an ear-ringing blast, Nate Olson fired and hit his mark.

He looked over at Wild defenseman Keith Ballard and quipped, “you want the next shot?”

It was a day that could succinctly be summed up as fun. Four Minnesota Wild fans and their guests got to spend an afternoon pheasant hunting with a Wild player on Saturday afternoon at Wild Wings at Oneka Hunt Club in Hugo, Minnesota.

Olson was one of four winners in the Gander Mountain “Hunt with the Wild” sweepstakes. He brought along his father, Steve, as the two have hunted together ever since Nate was a young boy in Hancock, Minnesota where Steve lives. While they were paired with Ballard, forwards Ryan Cater, Kyle Brodziak and Justin Fontaine also took part in the experience.

Each winner received a guided pheasant hunt with a member of the Wild, along with a catered lunch and dinner, an autograph signing session and gifts from Gander Mountain. Hunters were also outfitted with field wear from Browning, boots from Irish Setter and shotguns from Benelli.

Ballard, who enjoys hunting when he can, noted that the day was a nice break from hockey and an interesting way to interact with fans.

“That’s what’s fun about it; it’s away from hockey and away from the rink,” Ballard said. “And it’s something that they’re interested in and it’s something that I enjoy doing.

“It’s nice to get away from hockey a little bit. It’s a long season. And it’s only half a day but to get your mind off it and do something else or think about something else — which is very important. You can drive yourself crazy sometimes if you don’t.”

Saturday marked the second installment of the hunt. Last year was the first, which the defenseman also participated in, along with former Wild defenseman Clayton Stoner.

Olson, a Golden Valley native, wasn’t aware of last year’s hunt, but heard about this year’s event through Facebook and figured he would sign up.

“I was surprised when I got a call; I thought they were trying to sell me something, to be honest,” Olson joked. “They were like ‘want to hunting next weekend?’ And well, I was like ‘Yeah, I’ll go hunting.’”

While the exchange was simple and understated, Olson enjoyed to opportunity to get to know a player from one of his favorite teams and share the experience with his dad. While it was his first time at Wild Wings, Olson would recommend the experience to anyone interested in the future.

“They’ve been great hosts and we got all sorts of great gear,” Olson said. “It’s been awesome.”

While Ballard likes to hunt, the last time he was able to spend an extended amount of time hunting was during the lockout two years ago. Being from Minnesota, it’s a lifestyle he’s grown up with and truly enjoys. It’s made even better now that he’s back in his home state.

After a long day in the field, all the groups shared a nice meal of pheasant potpie and got the chance to talk about their experiences — and of course brag about how they fared.

As a veteran of the event, Ballard was quick to note that the end of the day meal was one of the best parts.

“The hunting is a lot of fun, the pheasant potpie is outstanding.”

The post Players, fans find wild game outdoors appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Featured Image:
The Wild’s Keith Ballard checks Kyle Chipchura of the Phoenix Coyotes during the November 27, 2013 game at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)

SAINT PAUL — On the night before Thanksgiving, slow starts and injuries continue to be a part of the Minnesota Wild’s main course.

It’s hard for the latter not to be the case. Star forward Zach Parise was injured during the first period of Monday’s 3-0 loss in St. Louis and missed his first game of the season Wednesday night. Just Parise being sidelined with a bruised foot would be enough cause for concern.

One way or another, having a player of his caliber temporarily out hangs over the team like a cloud.

However, it is not just Parise. Minnesota saw both sides of the injury coin during Wednesday’s 3-1 loss at home to the Phoenix Coyotes where Radim Vrabta scored twice; including an empty-netter. Three players returned against the Coyotes yet Minnesota head coach Mike Yeo was 15 minutes late for his press conference after the game because he was discussing roster moves out of necessity.

“Certainly things were a mess,” said Yeo following Wednesday’s game. “There’s always stretches in the season where things aren’t easy.”

Mikael Granlund, who missed the past two games with an upper-body injury, went for a hit behind the Phoenix net on Coyotes defenseman Connor Murphy during his first shift Wednesday. The 5’10”, 186 lb. forward ended up getting hit high in the head instead and slowly skated to the bench.

He did not return. No one expected Granlund to come back. Just like that, Minnesota was down to 11 forwards 1:52 into the game.

Certainly it hasn’t helped the Wild that the team spent two straight games mixing and matching forward combinations. There has been no consistency between players coming back in the lineup and plans being changed due to guys getting hurt.

Still, that is not an excuse for the Minnesota head coach.

“Every game right now we have different guys coming out on different lines, but there are no excuses,” said Yeo.

Despite losing Granlund on Wednesday, two other players came back from injury and finished the game. Former Coyote and current Wild defenseman Keith Ballard returned from two broken ribs. Torrey Mitchell stepped back into the lineup after missing three games with a lower-body injury.

A third player, goalie Josh Harding, dressed for the first time since being injured in warm-ups against Winnipeg on Nov. 23 but he did not play.

For Ballard, who had been missing since Nov. 5 against Calgary, Wednesday’s game was an opportunity for him to return to game speed. He played 17:23 while being paired with Clayton Stoner.

“I felt alright,” the Baudette, Minnesota native said after the game. “It’s been three weeks since I played a game so just getting in and battling a bit and getting into some of those 1 on 1 battles in the corner, they take a little bit more out of you if you aren’t used to it.”

He was more than ready to battle. Ballard came out looking to hit and during one shift in the first period had physical confrontations with two different Phoenix players.

Still, for every healthy and healed player like Ballard, there seems to be another Granlund or Parise. While Minnesota was 6-2-1 during Ballard’s absence, the team has appeared to slow down recently.

“It seems like we’re very reactive and on our heels,” Yeo admitted. “I really think the injuries coupled with us looking at the magnitude of these games is that we’re trying to go out there and be a little bit safe.”

Right now the room for error is small. The Wild is currently in a stretch where nine of eleven games are against teams in the top eight of the Western Conference. The next few weeks are a time to see how the team compares against the conference elite. So far the West has been dominant through the first two months. It has reached a point where the best Eastern Conference team would struggle to qualify in the Western Conference.

Given that Minnesota, presently tied for fourth in the Central Division with Colorado, is after its second consecutive playoff berth it can’t afford to stumble too far in a Western Conference arms race.

The Wild certainly cannot afford to start games slowly. That was the case Wednesday when besides losing Granlund early, Phoenix’s Mikael Boedker blocked a Jonas Brodin shot and went on to score on a 2-on-1 8:13 into the game. By the time Minnesota made it 2-1 with 9:58 remaining in the third period thanks to Dany Heatley recording his fifth goal of the season (the first Wild goal tallied in 119:57), it was too late.

Starting slow, injuries or not, has also been a case throughout much of the last week.

“You get yourself in a hole 2-0, it is tough in this league to battle back,” said Ballard, who also said he was adjusting from practice to game speed in his first game back, about the team’s tendency to fall behind.

“You’ve seen in the past few games. The start is so crucial. I know we’re behind and we battled back against Winnipeg and we pulled it off, but you can’t just rely on being able to eke it out and come back. You can’t afford starts like that. It’s a cliché and true.”

Or as Yeo put it, “We have to quit shooting ourselves in the foot with some of these starts.”

Editor’s Note: The Wild recalled forward Jason Zucker from their AHL affiliate in Des Moines on Thursday and placed forward Mikael Granlund on injured reserve.

The post Offense Taking Its Time, Injuries Taking Their Toll appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Featured Image:
Minnesota defenseman Keith Ballard passes the puck up the ice in the second period of the Wild’s 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 1, 2013, in St. Paul, Minn. Friday (MHM Photo / Jordan Doffing)

Keith Ballard leads a quartet of Wild wounded back to the Minnesota lineup.

A crowd of 18,207 Wild fans welcomed freshly shaven Movember faces and a collection of fresh-off-the-IR hockey players on Friday at the Xcel Energy Center where the Wild won a hard-fought game against the Montreal Canadiens 4-3. Minnesota saw the return of Keith Ballard, Jonas Brodin, Josh Harding and Charlie Coyle while the Canadiens welcomed back their seasoned tough guy and master of the mustache, George Parros.

Minnesota received solid contributions from its returnees beginning with Harding who made 28 saves in raising his record to 6-2-1 on the season including 5-0-0 at home. Brodin wore a full face shield after missing three games with a broken cheekbone and led the team with 26:54 of ice time. Coyle logged 18:23 in his return from an 11-game absence due to a knee strain and Ballard chipped in a pair of assists and was a plus-2 in his debut following a seven-game hiatus with an upper-body injury.

When an injured player returns to the lineup, pressure from external influences not only plays a role, but in some cases internal pressure can affect how a player performs as well.

“Some guys tend to beat themselves down a little bit too much and that can wear on you,” Ballard said. “You can almost talk yourself into thinking you aren’t doing anything well when actually, you are. I try to just take a step back and take a broad perspective.”

Keith Ballard picked up two assists in
Friday night’s game against
Montreal, his first since being injured.
(MHM Photo / Jordan Doffing)

Ballard is a realist when it comes to his return to the ice and spoke candidly about his first night back in the lineup, saying his performance was close to what he expected.

“I think there were some good moments, I thought there were some OK moments,” Ballard said. “It was more trying to keep myself out of trouble; make smart plays, not over-extend anything as far as shifts or what I’m trying to do with the puck or run around or anything like that.”

While Ballard felt his play was OK to good, Wild coach Mike Yeo was clearly pleased to have the former Gopher defenseman, and Baudette native, back in the lineup for multiple reasons.

“Obviously, offensively he adds a lot to us on the blue line with his ability to move along the blue line to open lanes to get shots through,” Yeo said. “But defensively he’s just such a strong skater and he relieves so much pressure.

“He’s got that first two steps that he can get himself out of trouble and have the composure to make a play from there too.”

To be a strong defenseman in the NHL is already enough of a challenge, but facing sitting out and returning just as the season begins to heat up can be a daunting task for any player.

“As the season goes on everybody gets sharper, teams get a little more crisp, so it’s tough to jump into the lineup and expect perfection,” said Ballard. “As a player it’s up to you. I try to simplify my game when I’ve been out a bit and that’s worked for me in the past and I think tonight was about where I want to be.”

While Ballard may be back and everyone felt his play was up to par, the Minnesota native pointed out injury or not, there is always room for improvement.

“I think my execution needs to be a bit sharper … you can play 30 games in a row and there will still be games you don’t execute,” he explained. “So I don’t think it’s about being out or not being out, I think I just need to sharpen up a little bit.”

As Ballard’s continues to sharpen his game it can mean only one thing for the Wild, a force on the blue line other teams will envy … if they don’t already.

**Be sure to follow @MNHockeyMag for all the latest news and information on your favorite Minnesota teams! You can also follow the author of this article @AmySnow17!**

The post Back on the Blue Line appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Featured Image:
Jason Pominville and Mikael Granlund celebrate assisting on Nino Niederreiter’s third-period goal on Friday, Nov. 1, 2013, in St. Paul, Minn. The Wild defeated Montreal 4-3. (MHM Photo / Jordan Doffing)

We told you last night about Wild forward Jason Pominville’s sudden emergence as a pure goal scorer to begin the season, at least for the time being.  He has amassed a team-leading nine goals this season including a league-leading eight in his last nine games since Oct. 14.

But, as the saying goes, there are no coincidences, only the illusion of coincidence and Pominville’s impressive goal-scoring run has not come by accident. The origins of Pominville’s offensive outburst can be traced to Wild second-year forward Mikael Granlund lining up alongside him.

The two became linemates in mid-October and each have experienced a renaissance of sorts ever since. In contrast to Pominville, Granlund has 10 points this season, all assists, and has already eclipsed his career-high point total from last season of eight (2-6–8).

“We’re not the biggest guys but we try to stay in movement and we seem like we find each other in a lot of situations,” Pominville said. “His overall game fits my overall game pretty well.”

When a Granlund pass sent Pominvile in alone on Montreal goaltender Carey Price for the first of his two goals last night, it gave Granlund the primary assist on four straight Pominville goals over three games.

“He’s a smart player,” Granlund said of Pominville. “Sometimes it feels like he knows what’s going to happen next and he can make plays and make good decisions so I like to play with him.

“He’s playing really good now; it’s an honor to play with him.”

The recent chemistry between the two has produced a formula for success which Wild coach Mike Yeo could hardly be faulted for wanting to bottle and pass around the Minnesota dressing room.

“They just complement each other,” Yeo said. “You’ve got one guy who’s obviously got great vision, distributes the puck extremely well, another guy who’s extremely smart at getting open and finding holes and burying it once he does.”

With his two assists last night, Granlund extended his assist streak to four games and his three multi-point games have him tied for the team lead. His seven assists since Oct. 19 are second only to the eight registered by Keith Yandle of the Phoenix Coyotes over that stretch.

Wild defenseman Keith Ballard, who picked up a pair of assists of his own in his return after sitting out seven games with an upper-body injury, came away impressed with the pair’s rink rapport and is eager to see more.

“Those two together have been real good,” Ballard said. “Granny passes the puck—he looks to pass quite a bit—and he obviously finds Jason quite a bit and [Pominville’s] got a great shot so it’s working; let’s enjoy it.”

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