Wild All Time Top 10: #3-Wes Walz

Wes Walz

Seasons With The Wild: 7

Goals: 82

Assists: 100

Points: 182

Following a 2 game stint with Detroit in 95-96, Wes Walz decided to take his hockey talents overseas. He bounced around in Europe for the next 5 seasons. But then in 2000, the NHL expanded by 2 teams, and Walz was given a chance to play in the NHL again with the Minnesota Wild.

Walz had a very quick turn around, making the transition back to the NHL very easy for him, scoring 18 goals in the Wild's inaugural season (The 18 goals was tied for the team lead with Marian Gaborik and Darby Hendrickson).

But, it wasn't being a goal scorer that made Walz a player the Wild kept around. It was his great defensive skills, as he was constantly being matched up with the opposing team's top line, and continually shut them down. Walz also was on the team's top penalty kill line, leading one of the league's top PK units during his run here.

During the Wild's improbable run to the conference finals in the 03 playoffs, Walz stepped up in a big way, scoring 7 goals and 6 assists, in addition to being on the ice with the likes of Peter Forsberg and Markus Naslund.

After 6 full seasons with the Wild, Walz took a leave of absence in the 7th season after playing 11 games. After a month of being off the grid, the 37 year old Walz, returned to St. Paul and announced his retirement from hockey.

Walz has been one of the more popular players in team history (A recent HW post suggests #37 should be retired), despite the fact you rarely found him on the scoresheet. So that truly goes to show, how good he was defensively.

Because an entire fan base saw it, and still to this day, loves him for it.

Check back tomorrow and see who comes in at #2!
#3-Wes Walz
#4-Andrew Brunette
#5-Brian Rolston
#6-Pierre-Marc Bouchard
#7-Niklas Backstrom
#8-Brent Burns
#9-Pavol Demitra
#10-Dwayne Roloson/Manny Fernandez


Follow Giles on Twitter @gilesferrell

Wild All Time Top 10: #4-Andrew Brunette

Andrew Brunette

Seasons With The Wild: 6

Goals: 119

Assists: 202

Points: 321

Following the Wild's inaugural season of 2000-01, they signed little know free agent forward Andrew Brunette to a 3 year contract. Brunette had just come off two seasons spent with the Atlanta Thrashers, in which he had scored 50 and 59 points respectively. Brunette came to the team, and became an anchor on their top scoring and power play lines.

Brunette never was gifted with his feet. So he had to make up for that, with his hands. Brunette was one of the more able stick handlers in the history of the franchise, and made a nice living around or behind the net, setting up scoring opportunities. He also was rarely injured, playing in all but 3 games of his 6 seasons in Minny.

In his first season with the Wild, he set a franchise record for most assists (48) and points (69) scored in a season (Both records have since been broken).

But Brunette's claim to fame with all Wild fans, of course, came in the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs. In Game 7 of the Quarterfinals against Colorado, Brunette put on a display of patience and stick handling, and scored the overtime winning goal to send the Wild on to the next round. No goal has even come close to being as significant as Bruno's goal in that game.

Brunette was released following the 03-04 season, and spent the next 3 in Colorado, much to the torture of Wild fans (He took it to us pretty good in the 08 playoffs). But, the following summer, then GM Doug Risebrough admitted it was a mistake to let Brunette leave (A pretty easy thing to say when he scorched your team in the postseason), and brought him back on another 3 year deal.

Over the course of the 3 year deal, Brunette played no less than 80 games and averaged 22 goals and 31 assists in those 3 years, while anchoring the Wild's top line with Mikko Koivu and Antti Miettinen. Unfortunately for Bruno and the rest of us, the Wild could not get back in the playoffs during his second stint here.

When you think of top players, you certainly won't be thinking of Andrew Brunette. But he certainly was solid, and was consistent in giving you 20 goals and 35 assists from the second line.


But he comes in at #4, because he is the hero Minnesota Wild fans needed...

Check back tomorrow and see who comes in at #3!
#4-Andrew Brunette
#5-Brian Rolston
#6-Pierre-Marc Bouchard
#7-Niklas Backstrom
#8-Brent Burns
#9-Pavol Demitra
#10-Dwayne Roloson/Manny Fernandez


Follow Giles on Twitter @gilesferrell

Wild All Time Top 10: #5-Brian Rolston

Brian Rolston

Seasons With The Wild: 3

Goals: 96

Assists: 106

Points: 202

In July of 2004, Doug Risebrough signed 31 year old Brian Rolston to a 4 year contract, to help boost a stale Wild offense. He was coming off a season in Boston, where he scored just 19 goals and 29 assists, but at that point, he was better than any in house option they had.

Unfortunately for Rolston and the Wild, the 04-05 season was lost to a lockout, as well as a year of that contract he had just signed.

But once the puck dropped again, the Wild had found a second line scorer they sorely needed.

In his 3 seasons in Minnesota, Rolston tallied at least 31 goals, and set a career high in goals, assists, and points in 05-06, when he scored 34-45-79 to lead the Wild in scoring that year.

Rolston was a good skater, but what set him apart from the league, was his slapshot. Rolston would use it in any situation, whether it was a penalty shot, or in a shootout. No goalie in the league stood a chance against Brian Rolston's slapshot.

He was also a team leader, being named the team captain a handful of times during his tenure here (Back then, the captaincy was handed out on a monthly basis under Jacques Lemaire). He was instrumental in leading the team to the playoffs twice, and the team's lone division title in 07-08.

Even though he only played 3 seasons here, Brian Rolston made a tremendous impact to the team on the ice. After his tenure ended in Minnesota, Rolston has played for 3 other teams (Devils, Islanders, and Bruins), and he has yet to show anything close to what he was here in the State of Hockey. So we hope he can say that his best years, were his years with the Wild. Because all of us Wild fans should feel that way...

Check back tomorrow and see who comes in at #4!
#5-Brian Rolston
#6-Pierre-Marc Bouchard
#7-Niklas Backstrom
#8-Brent Burns
#9-Pavol Demitra
#10-Dwayne Roloson/Manny Fernandez


Follow Giles on Twitter @gilesferrell

Wild All Time Top 10: #6-Pierre-Marc Bouchard

Pierre-Marc Bouchard

Seasons With The Wild: 9

Goals: 98

Assists: 229

Points: 327

The Wild drafted Pierre-Marc Bouchard with the 8th overall pick in 2002. He was coming off a season in the QMJHL where he posted a line of 46-94-140 in just 69 games played. Without a doubt, the Wild made the best possible pick at that point in the draft (Only two other players drafted in the first round, behind PMB, made an All Star Game), a rare credit to former GM Doug Risebrough.

Bouchard played 50 games for the Wild the following season. What they found, was a forward with great hands and elite vision on the ice to create scoring plays. He also used his phenomenal foot work, to turn defenders and goalies alike inside out, while him and his teammates were on the attack.

It took him two full seasons with the Wild, before he finally made his breakthrough. In the 05-06 campaign, Bouchard ranked third on the team in scoring (17-42-59), only trailing the big stars of Rolston and Gaborik. In the following two seasons respectively, "Butch" scored 57 and 63 points, while playing in 163 out of a possible 164 games.

Following the 2007-08 season, the Wild signed Bouchard to a 5 year extension. And now we are in the final year of that contract (Lockouts do not stop the contracts from going. If a year is lost, the player loses a year on his contract), and it has been disastrous. In the first game of the 09-10 season, Bouchard suffered a concussion, and never played again that year. He had played in parts of the next two seasons to follow, but he still battled post concussion symptoms, which is why he was held out more times than none.

He has yet to fully return to that player he once was. Should the lockout end, and any type of season gets saved, Bouchard should be at 100% (Fingers crossed!), and we will get to see a glimpse of that great player one more time. Because his future in a Wild sweater, beyond the 2012-13 season, is very uncertain.


Check back tomorrow and see who comes in at #5!
#6-Pierre-Marc Bouchard
#7-Niklas Backstrom
#8-Brent Burns
#9-Pavol Demitra
#10-Dwayne Roloson/Manny Fernandez


Follow Giles on Twitter @gilesferrell

Wild All Time Top 10: #7 Niklas Backstrom

Niklas Backstom

Seasons With The Wild: 6

W-L-OT-SO: 160-109-42-26

GAA: 2.42

Save Percentage: .918

In the summer of 2006, the Wild signed little known Finnish goaltender Niklas Backstrom, to: 1. Fill the vacant roster spot left by Dwayne Roloson and 2. Back up Manny Fernandez. Backstrom had put up solid numbers playing for Oulun Karpat of the Finnish SM-liiga league (32-9-10-10, 1.68 GAA in his final season there), and decided to come play alongside the world's best players.

Following a Manny Fernandez knee injury in late January of 2007, Backstrom was thrown into the Wild's net as their number one goalie. He helped lead the team to their second playoff appearance, and earned his spot as the Wild's number one goalie. Its a position he still holds this day.

To date, Backstrom holds the following records for a Wild goaltender: Wins (160), Save percentage (.918), and Saves (9,213). His best season in the NHL, was by far, his first. He went 23-8-6-5 with a GAA of 1.97 and a save percentage of .929 in just 41 games. He has not come close to touching those in the seasons since.

But despite a bit of a fallback on the numbers, Backstrom has been a rock for the Wild in net (Except for maybe shootouts...). He has done a good job in keeping the Wild in games, especially in the ultra fierce Northwest Division.

Niklas Backstrom had some very tough holes to fill, when he followed Fernandez and Roloson between the pipes. But, he did far better than any of us had hoped, and he has cemented himself, as the best goalie in the franchise's short history.

Check back tomorrow to see who comes in at #6!
#7-Niklas Backstrom
#8-Brent Burns
#9-Pavol Demitra
#10-Dwayne Roloson/Manny Fernandez


Follow Giles on Twitter @gilesferrell

Wild All Time Top 10: #8-Brent Burns

Brent Burns

Seasons With The Wild: 7

Goals: 55

Assists: 128

Points: 183

Brent Burns checks in as the only defenseman on this list. It took him a few seasons (Rotating back and forth between forward and defenseman), but he finally broke through as the big scoring d-man the Wild needed, in 07-08 when he notched 15 goals and 28 assists. In the combined 3 seasons prior to 07-08, Burns notched 12 goals and 35 assists.

Burns had injury riddled seasons in 08-09 (8-19-27 in 59 games) and 09-10 (3-17-20 in 47 games), but still had decent numbers in those seasons before bouncing back in 2010-11 with 17 goals and 29 assists, while once again anchoring the Wild's top d-man unit.

Burns was also a big physical presence (6'5", 225 pounds), and was not shy to throw his body around. In fact in 2 seasons (07-08, 10-11), he registered over 80 minutes in the penalty box, but more of that was due to his sometimes poor play in the defensive end, rather than his physical play.

There aren't many other defenseman who can even come close to cracking this list (Nick Schultz, Filip Kuba, Marek Zidlicky?). But Burns was the only one out of the bunch who stood out. 

Luckily for us, the Wild were smart to trade Burns while his value was high and he was traded at the 2011 NHL Draft in St. Paul for Devin Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle, and the 28th overall pick (Zack Phillips). So not only was Burns good for us when he played for us, he is still doing wonders for us now that he is gone. 

By all means isn't the best defenseman ever. But he did enough to crack this top 10 list, despite the injuries taking his best seasons away.

Check back tomorrow to see who comes in at #7!

#8-Brent Burns

#9-Pavol Demitra

#10-Dwayne Roloson/Manny Fernandez

Follow Giles on twitter @gilesferrell

Wild All Time Top 10: #9-Pavol Demitra

Pavol Demitra

Seasons With The Wild: 2

Goals: 40

Assists: 78

Points: 118

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.

Check back tomorrow and see who comes in at #8. 
#9-Pavol Demitra
#10-Dwayne Roloson/Manny Fernandez 


Follow Giles on twitter @gilesferrell

Wild All Time Top 10: #10-Dwayne Roloson/Manny Fernandez

Dwayne Roloson                                                       Manny Fernandez

4                        Seasons With The Wild                       6

62-71-26-17                     W-L-T-OT/SO                   113-102-20-20

.917                          Save Percentage                          .913

2.39                     Goals Against Average                      2.47

Never in the brief history of the franchise, has Minnesota been blessed with a better tandem of goalies (With all respect to current tandem of Backstrom/Harding).

They are counted as one, because at the time, you never singled out one goalie as better. You always referred to the Wild goaltender as Roloson and Fernandez.

Fernandez was a Wild original. He was on the team from the very first game until his trade to Boston following the 06-07 season, when he was replaced by Niklas Backstrom. Roloson joined the Wild in their second season, and left them at the trade deadline of 05-06, when he went on to help Edmonton reach their first Stanley Cup Final since 1990.

Together, the pair registered 132 wins and averaged a 2.45 Goals Against Average between them in 4 seasons (Would of been 5, but the lockout of 04-05 happened).

But perhaps, there was no better shining moment for the both of them during the Wild's run to the conference finals in 2003. Yes, the Wild won both series in 7 games, but during those series, there was a goalie switch, that helped turn the momentum to the Wild's favor, enabling to come from behind from a 3-1 deficit both times.

Thats how the tandem worked, one would be in, then when he would start to fall off a bit, the other would step in and pick up the slack.

Roloson did earn an All Star appearance for the Wild in 2004, when the game was held here in St. Paul. During that season Roli posted a line of 19-18-11 with a meniscule 1.88 GAA. Manny's best year came in 05-06 when he went 30-18-7-1 with a 2.29 GAA.

Both goalies could of/should of been a #1 during there time here. But instead, they split the time, and shared the rewards.

The Wild weren't a very successful team during the duo's time together (Lack of offense...). But, they always gave the team a chance to win. Every night.


Check back tomorrow and see who comes in at #9.


Follow Giles on Twitter @gilesferrell

More Cancellations

Today, the NHL announced the cancellation of all its games through November 30th. The cancellation brings the total of NHL games canceled this season to 326. This situation just gets more infuriating with each passing day. Also take in the fact that the NHL and NHLPA hardly speak, and that adds more fuel to the rage fire.

If no agreement can be reached by sometime next week, the NHL will have to cancel with Winter Classic and the All Star Game.

The fact is, is that this is a crucial juncture for the league and its players, and yet, no talks are scheduled. So unless a miracle happens, the Winter Classic (Which was set to be played in the Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan) and the All Star Game (Set to be played in Columbus) will fall victim to this lockout.

Well done NHL and NHLPA. You represent this game so well.

Follow Giles on Twitter @gilesferrell

Emptiness

Saturday was slated to be opening night for the 2012-13 season. Instead, Xcel Energy Center was open for the few season ticket holders willing to come on out for an open house and skate around.

It seemed more like a graveyard. "Come on out and take a look at something that has been taken from us", should of been the slogan for this event. The locker rooms were empty. The concession stands were closed down. And there were no pee wee hockey players yelling "programs!" as you entered the arena. It was almost as if they were trying to push us to the brink of insanity.

It was just a painful reminder that NHL hockey is very far away. In fact, the reason there has been no posts on this blog for the past month is that there is just simply no desire to write about something that does not exist for the moment. I do have a lot of content ready to be blogged up, but as I said, there is just no desire to write about hockey at this point.

Maybe my mind will change on this at some point.

But for now, its just an empty feeling...