On a more serious note, today is the two year anniversary of the tragic plane crash of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey team. One of the players on Lokomotiv was former Wild player Pavol Demitra. Demitra, 36, was set to begin his second season with the team after his NHL career ended with the Vancouver Canucks early in the 2009-10 season.
On June 23, 2000, the Wild took part in the expansion draft, with the Columbus Blue Jackets. In that draft, they built most of their team up for their inaugural season. But when they came out of that draft, they were missing an elite goal scorer on the team.
The very next day, the Wild held the 3rd overall pick in the 2000 Entry Draft. And following Rick DiPietro and Dany Heatley, the Wild selected 18 year old Marian Gaborik from Slovakia.
Gaborik had all the tools required to be the superstar the Wild needed. He had skilled hands, he could fly down the ice, and he had a snapshot that was far superior than most other players.
The good news was, he was very successful in bringing those elite tools to Minnesota.
In 8 seasons in Minnesota, Gaborik set most offensive records for the team, and set the bar for those records pretty high. At the time of his departure, Gaborik held the Wild all time record for Goals, Assists, Points in a Wild career, and also set many single season records in the same categories.
"Gabby" found a way to score at least 30 goals respectively, in 5 seasons here. He was the go to guy. The player you wanted to shoot the puck on a power play. During his time here, there perhaps was no other player in the league, who meant more to his team's success, than Marian Gaborik was to Minnesota.
Marian's finest season came in the 2007-08 division championship season, when he set the Wild single season record for goals, assists, and points when he put up a 42-41-83 line. He did it with his countryman, Pavol Demitra on his wing. And as we noted in Demitra's post last Wednesday, the two were great linemates together.
But despite the great goal scoring production from Gaborik, the big problem with him was his inability to stay healthy (A certain lower body injury was always the problem). Just 4 out of his 8 seasons here, he played in more than 71 games. And in those 4 seasons he did not, he averaged 49 games played.
And even though he had shortened seasons, he still found a way to score 30 goals in at least 5 seasons. So not a bad consolation prize for being oft injured.
In his final season in Minnesota, Gaborik went down with an injury early on in the season, and returned very late in March. But more importantly, the Wild were unable to trade him away and get something in return because he was shelved for all but 17 games in 2008-09.
The following summer, Gaborik departed Minnesota and signed a big contract with the New York Rangers (The same team he scored 5 goals on, in one game). In 3 seasons in New York, Gabby has scored 40+ goals in 2 of them, while staying surprisingly healthy.
Marian Gaborik, didn't exactly leave Minnesota on great terms. And now that its been a few seasons, the saltiness of his departure has left, and we can all just sit back and appreciate his time spent here.
He has been the best player in the short 11 year history of the franchise. But, the question is, will he still be #1, in another 11 years?
That concludes the Wild All Time Top 10 List! Thanks for reading along!
In the 2006 draft, then Wild GM Doug Risebrough decided to give up :s #17 overall pick and top prospect Patrick O'Sullivan to get the veteran forward Pavol Demitra away from Los Angeles (It was the #2 Draft Moment in Wild History, as ranked on this blog this past June). It instantly boosted a stale Wild offense, giving them a former 30 goal and 90 point scorer in Demitra. Oh...and he was going to play on the same line as his countryman Marian Gaborik.
From the opening puck drop of the 2006-07 season, Demitra was the man Gabby needed. But, he was also what the team needed. During that season, Demitra finished 2nd (Behind Brian Rolston) in points on the team, putting up a 25-39-64 line. He instantly became a fan favorite, helping the Wild to their 2nd playoff appearance in team history.
The following season, Demitra saw a drop off in goals (only scored 15), but carried the same number of assists (39), while being a driving force behind Gaborik's (42-41-83 +17) and the Wild's (Division Champs) season.
But unfortunately for Demitra and the State of Hockey, he could not help the team get that elusive Stanley Cup (Lost to the Ducks in 5 in 2007, and lost to the Avs in 6 in 2008), and the team let him leave via free agency following 07-08.
Following his tenure with the Wild, Demitra played a season and a half with Vancouver before he was released. He then played in the KHL for Lokomotiv Yarolsavl in the 2010-11 season.
Just prior to the 2011-12 season, Demitra was set to play for Lokomotiv once again, but he was killed along with the rest of his team as their jet crashed just as it was about to take off.
Pavol Demitra was one of the more underrated players in the NHL during his time. He was a 30 goal scorer 3 times in his career, and was consistently good at putting up at least 65 points in a season. He didnt quite have that type of success here, but, his contributions to the State of Hockey will never be forgotten.
As we kick off draft week, I thought we would take a look back and countdown the top 5 moments in the Wild's draft history. It was a bit hard to find five given the team's success in the draft between 2004-2009 (Not good!), but we did find 5. Here they are:
5. 2002: Wild draft Pierre-Marc Bouchard 8th overall. Before a concussion took away parts or most of the last 3 seasons, Bouchard was rapidly making his way up the Wild all time scoring charts. Even with the injuries Bouchard is the franchise's leader in games played with 522. He has been a tremendous 2nd line forward with great hands and his ability to set up goals. His 229 career assists rank just second to Mikko Koivu, and had he not been injured he would for sure be #1 in team history in assists.
4. 2001: Wild draft Mikko Koivu 6th overall. Since the Wild drafting him in 2001, Mikko Koivu has become the team's 2nd highest all time scorer (Behind Marian Gaborik), he was named the first permanent captain in club history in 2009, and has undoubtedly become the face of the franchise. Like Bouchard, Koivu has a tremendous ability to set up goals, but has been known to make some highlight goals for himself from time to time. Koivu ranks 3rd all time in goals (108), 2nd in assists (253), and 2nd in points (361). Mikko is locked in under contract through the 2017-18 season so expect him to be leaders in those categories before his time is up here.
3. 2011: Wild trade Brent Burns and a 2012 2nd round pick to San Jose for Devin Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle, and the 28th overall pick. (Zack Phillips). It was just about a foregone conclusion that the Wild were going to trade Brent Burns during the 2011 offseason. It just so happened that he got traded on draft night, which was held right here in St. Paul. The Wild became immediate winners in this trade getting a young forward in Setoguchi, and two top prospects in Coyle and Phillips. Both of them are beginning their entry level contracts with the team in 2012-13. Look for this trade to go down as one of the best in franchise history.
2. 2006: Wild trade Patrick O'Sullivan and the 17th overall pick (Trevor Lewis) to Los Angeles for Pavol Demitra. During the 2006 offseason, then Wild GM Doug Risebrough made it a point to acquire some talent under a "Win Now" philosophy. So one of his first moves was bringing in the Slovakian center Demitra, to line up along side good friend Marian Gaborik. They were undoubtedly the best line duo in the team's short history. In the two seasons together, Demitra (40-78-118) and Gaborik (72-68-140) helped the team to two playoff appearances and the team's lone division championship.
1. 2000: Wild draft Marian Gaborik 3rd overall. He became the first player in the history of the franchise. He still sits atop many offensive categories in franchise history including goals (219) and points (437). There has been no better offensive player in the team's history, and his presence is still missed in the lineup to this day. Gaborik was a big help in the team's playoff run in 2003, scoring 9 goals and 8 assists in 18 games played.
Tonight, after 6 months since their last game, the Wild open up the 2011-12 season. It's seemingly been a longer offseason than others in recent years. Most of that has to do with the excitement around this team, after some major changes were made my Chuck Fletcher this offseason. So here are some things you should know as we drop the puck tonight.
Per, Mike Russo of the Strib, F Matt Kassian and D Justin Falk will be watching the game from the press box tonight.
With the scratches of Kassian and Falk, rookie forward Brett Bulmer will make his NHL debut tonight.
Expect a pretty lengthy tribute to former Wild players Derek Boogaard and Pavol Demitra, who passed away during the offseason, prior to the game tonight.
Mike Yeo, coaches his first game behind the Wild bench tonight. Russo had a nice story on him in today's paper.
The Blue Jackets, tonight's opponent, are coming off a 3-2 loss in their season opener last night at home against Nashville.
For those watching the game at home, be sure to tune into the pregame and postgame show to watch new Wild TV analyst, Wes Walz.
The Wild will become the first NHL team to have free Wi-Fi in the arena. With this Wi-Fi, you can access replays not shown on the scoreboard, and even place food orders from their seats.
I've also heard that concession prices have increased this season. You can now buy your beer for somewhere between $8-9 bucks.
This is all I have for today. I will be at the game tonight, watching from the cheap seats cheering on the Wild. Hopefully they can continue their good success of winning their home openers.
This morning, a plane carrying the Yaroslavl Lokomotiv KHL team crashed in a river bank in western Russia. Among those on the plane, was former Wild F Pavol Demitra. Demitra had been playing for Lokomotiv for a year, since he was last seen in the NHL in 09-10 with Vancouver.
You may remember the Wild acquiring Demitra in a draft day trade back in 2006.
And in his two seasons here, the Wild made the playoffs both seasons, including the division championship of 2007-08.
But Demitra was brought here to center RW Marian Gaborik. The pair had lined up for Slovakia in the 06 Olympics, and they put on an impressive show. And while he was here, Demitra compiled a line of 40-78-118 in two seasons.
It was fun watching Pavol and Marian play. And it was fun watching them help the Wild into the postseason twice. But its so sad that another hockey player has left us this offseason. Farewell, Mr. Demitra. And thanks for the memories.
(Demitra's highlight is just in the first minute and change)
