Happy Anniversary

Its rather hard to believe, but one year ago today, I launched this blog. And what a year it has been (Not to mention, I started with a god awful background and I finally got a good one for the forseable future.).

In this year, we saw the Wild jump out as the best team in hockey in 2011-12, through mid December before suffering a collapse of historic proportions, en route to their fourth straight year of not making the post season.

But perhaps the pinnacle of this past year, came in July when the Wild bagged the two best free agents on the market in Ryan Suter and Zach Parise.

Also in this year, I have been fortunate to come across some great blogs and some great people behind them:

-I love the guys over at Hockey Wilderness. They do tremendous work, and their content is second to none. They have set the gold standard for Wild blogs.

-Nate and Dan run First Round Bust, and they do a fantastic job doing so. Their work on prospects is outstanding. They have been huge in helping me get the stuff I put out there with their many mentions of my work, so a big thanks to them.

-Some of the other bloggers I've interacted with over cyberspace include: State of Hockey News, Jacques Lemaire's Trap, and Gone Puck Wild. Give these guys a follow, and read their stuff.

Of course it would be foolish to not acknowledge Mr Russo and all his fine work he gives us during the year. He is truly second to none among beat writers in the NHL. 

A big thanks to my friend Graeme, who continues to push me into being a better hockey fan. Truth be told, I started this blog to help me be as knowledgeable about the Wild and NHL as he is.

But lastly, thank you to everyone who continues to read the stuff I put on here. Especially in the past few months, everyone has been very kind in giving a few minutes of their day to read what I write.

So here's to hoping I can make the next year with the Team of 18,001 a better one than the last one.