The Minnesota Wild marked their 25th season this winter, a milestone that underscores how far the franchise has come after curing the heartbreak the state\u2019s hockey fans felt when Minnesota lost the NHL.<\/p>\n
When the North Stars departed for Dallas in 1993, the wound cut deep. For the next seven years, the state was without a National Hockey League team. <\/p>\n
\u201cFor all of us in Minnesota, that was something you watched growing up,\u201d first-year Wild player and Richfield-native Darby Hendrickson said. \u201cYou watched Neil Broten or Dino Ciccarelli, and you wanted to be like them at the park. When they left, there was that void.\u201d<\/p>\n
That void disappeared when the NHL realized its mistake and awarded St. Paul an expansion franchise.<\/p>\n
In 2000, the NHL returned and the Wild were born, restoring big-league hockey and establishing a new \u201cState of Hockey\u201d identity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the Wild came back, there were players who became part of the fabric of a hungry town, a hungry state,\u201d Hendrickson said. \u201cRole models came back. Kids could relate to that. Kids started wanting to be a Minnesota Wild player.\u201d<\/p>\n
Built from Scratch<\/p>\n
The Wild were assembled through an expansion draft \u2014 a roster pieced together from players other NHL teams felt they could afford to lose. Few of them knew each other well, and expectations externally were low.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was fresh for all of us,\u201d first-year Wild player and the team\u2019s current Senior Director of Player Development\u00a0Brad Bombardir said. \u201cNone of us really knew what to expect.\u201d<\/p>\n
That group first came together at training camp in Bloomington, where competition was fierce and jobs were scarce.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat training camp stands out more than any I can remember,\u201d said Wes Walz, a member of that first team and current Wild TV analyst. \u201cIt was as competitive and as mean as it could be. Everyone was fighting for those 20 jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many players arrived with something to prove.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to prove people wrong,\u201d Hendrickson said. \u201cThat we weren\u2019t just castoffs or borderline players. We were hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Coach Who Set the Standard<\/p>\n
Perhaps the most important move the Wild made before playing a single regular-season game was hiring Jacques Lemaire as head coach. Lemaire brought instant credibility, having won 11 Stanley Cups as a player, coach or executive.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, those early years, he was the most important person in that locker room,\u201d Walz said. \u201cHe galvanized us as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bombardir said Lemaire commanded respect without needing to say a word.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just had an aura about him,\u201d Bombardir said. \u201cAn incredible hockey mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lemaire got the most out of a roster expected to struggle, especially given the Wild\u2019s limited payroll compared with the league\u2019s heavyweights.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t want to get embarrassed,\u201d Walz said. \u201cWe had a much smaller cap than teams we were playing against, but we competed every night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hockey Comes Home<\/p>\n
Anticipation peaked in September 2000, when the Wild christened the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul with their first home game.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could sense the pride in the community and the state,\u201d Bombardir said. \u201cTo have their game back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walz remembers stepping onto the ice for warmups and seeing fans packed several rows deep around the glass.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will never forget that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The hockey gods added poetry to the moment. Two native Minnesotans were on the roster, and in front of a roaring crowd, Hendrickson scored the first goal in Xcel Energy Center history.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means a lot that people were there and what they saw,\u201d Hendrickson said, looking back 25 years later. \u201cBut I never thought of it as anything different. It was a goal. I didn\u2019t score many in my career \u2014 but it was fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
From that first night on, the energy never waned.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople were proud to have the NHL back,\u201d Bombardir said. \u201cThe whole season felt that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Night to Remember<\/p>\n
Another defining moment came three months later, when the Dallas Stars returned to St. Paul for the first time. In an unforgettable 6-0 Wild victory, rookie Marian Gaborik, the franchise\u2019s first-ever draft pick, scored a goal on his way to becoming the team\u2019s first true superstar.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was special, we all knew it,\u201d Walz said. \u201cWe would all sit on the bench and and go, \u2018That guy\u2019s got more talent than anybody on this bench here or on that bench over there\u2019. You could see it.<\/p>\n
Bombardir agreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wasn\u2019t like a normal 18- or 19-year-old,\u201d he said. \u201cHis skating and shot were phenomenal, and he had a feel for the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
More Than the Record<\/p>\n
The Wild won 25 games in their inaugural season, exceeding expectations. But wins and losses aren\u2019t what anybody remembers.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople just loved going to the rink,\u201d Hendrickson said. \u201cEvery night it felt like a party in St. Paul, and then a hockey game broke out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fans embraced the team\u2019s work ethic and defensive style, even when the scores were low.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether we won or lost, they appreciated how hard we played,\u201d Walz said. \u201cWe were building something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still Part of the Fabric<\/p>\n
Twenty-five years later, many from that inaugural team remain connected to the organization. Hendrickson went on to spend 14 seasons as an assistant coach. He\u2019s now an assistant coach for the Nashville Predators. Walz has long been part of Wild TV broadcasts as analyst. Bombardir still works in the Wild\u2019s Player Development department.<\/p>\n
Looking back, Hendrickson says the Wild\u2019s beginning shaped his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the most impactful things I was ever a part of,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd being from Minnesota? It was incredible.\u201d <\/p>\n
Walz admits choosing to put down roots in Minnesota after his playing days ended deepened the meaning of being part of that first team that brought hockey back.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the guys, the Minnesota boys, talked to us about how big this was for the fans, because they grew up here,\u201d he said. \u201cNow that I\u2019ve lived here for 25 years? I really understand exactly what went on that first year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bombardir also chose to stay in Minnesota when he retired from playing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you love hockey, and hockey is a part of your life and it\u2019s in you and in your blood. Minnesota is the place to be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
As much pride as they hold for their own roles in the past, Walz and Bombardir can\u2019t wait to see what the current crop of Wild players might accomplish.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just so proud to see what this organization has has done, and where it\u2019s grown and where it\u2019s at,\u201d Walza said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to win,\u201d Bombardir said. \u201cWe want to win a Stanley Cup. And when it happens, it will be incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n