Minnesota welcomes Hockey fans back to the Xcel Energy Center for another season of exciting play on the ice. Team newcomers like Nico Storm, Brad Hunt, and Victor Rask, join the franchise in their 20th anniversary season in the NHL. Head coach Bruce Boudreau has trained his team to make up for failing to make the playoffs last season and is eager and ready to shake up the leagues in a big way. With the 2019-2020 schedule fully announced, it’s anyone’s guess if Boudreau will reach the team goal for excellence. But you can get first-hand viewing experience of the rise of this team if you order tickets for any of their regular-season games.
Minnesota Wild Tickets:
This year’s roster for the Minnesota Wild is looking to be one of the strongest line-ups the franchise has had since their appearance in the Western Conference Finals in the 2002-2003 season. Whether you have been a long time fan of the Wild or if you are just getting into hockey for the first time, it’s the perfect time to come and check out how far the men in green will go this year. Will they break their slump and make a mark for their team in the Stanley Cup finals?
There’s only one way to find out. Order your tickets today!
A Team on the Rise
Three years after the teams founding in 1997, the Minnesota Wild played their first game ever in the 2000-2001 season. The brand new franchise had a lot to prove and had their hands full facing off against more experienced teams with years of experience under their belts. This experience rocked The Wild in their first several games, where they failed to record a win until they beat the Tampa Bay Lightning. Even at the time, sports commentators said that the Wild had potential and promise, but their inexperience led them to many early roadblocks, defeats, and disappointments.
The big break for the team came in the 2002-2003 season, where the team made the playoffs to the conference finals where they lost to The Mighty Ducks. The years that followed were a time of growth and change for The Wild, who made it to the playoffs for 8 of their 15 seasons since 2003. The team is hungry for another playoff attempt this season, and have all the tools they need to make that dream happen. From signing on Mats Zuccarello, the highest-scoring Norwegian player in NHL history to keeping the power duo of Parise and Suter, we can see all the ingredients for an incredible year for the Wild.
So when the Wild’s opponents meet them on their ice, they will be looking at nothing less than a fierce line up that will demand nothing less than a shot at the Stanley Cup!
All about Boudreau
Even the most talented teams need solid coaching to keep them on the course for success and that’s what the Minnesota Wild have with Head Coach Bruce Allan Boudreau. This coach has had a total of 141 recorded NHL games and 30 games with the WHA over his 20 professional play career. He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Chicago Black Hawks, and the Minnesota Fighting Saints of WHA fame. During his career, Boudreau has earned several accolades, awards, and records that remain with him to this day.
These include remaining the 16th leading all-time goal scorer in the AHL with an incredible record of 316. He has also remained the 8th all-time greatest scorer in minor league play with 1,368 recorded points. Altogether, he remains in the top 25 list of all-time scorers for professional hockey competition. He has earned two records with the Springfield Indians, recording 74 assists in the 1987-1999 seasons as well as 116 points that same season. His achievements on the ice have also earned him the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy, the Memorial Cup, and the J. Ross Robertson Cup while with the Toronto Marlboros. He also earned the John B Sollenberger Trophy during his record-setting seasons with the Springfield Indians and the Memorial Cup.
When he finally ended his on-ice career, he naturally went on to coaching including his NHL tours with the Washington Capitals, the Anaheim Ducks, and currently, the Minnesota Wilds starting in 2016-2017. His coaching career has been marked with success, including leading the Bears to the 2006 AHL Calder Cup Championship. It was expected that he would bring that energy and success to the Minnesota Wild as well, starting strong with a 2nd place finish in the Central Division during his first season. Even after the team fell in the first round of playoffs, he continues to support his team and strives to bring them back to the playoffs and overcome his and his team’s record in Stanley Cup playoffs play.
Will Boudreau lead the team to a championship run this year? There’s only one way to find out!
More Information about Xcel Energy Center
The Xcel Energy Center, also known as “The X” is a multi-purpose arena based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The arena is named after the local corporate sponsor, Xcel Energy and has an official capacity of 17,954. The arena is divided into four spectator levels, one suite level, and three general seating levels and serves as the home for the NHL Minnesota Wild. The arena belongs to the city of Saint Paul and is operated by the team’s parent company, Minnesota Sports & Entertainment. The arena has great company being on the same block as the RiverCentre convention facility, Roy Wilkins Auditorium, and the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. But it isn’t all entertainment for Xcel Energy Center, as it has also served as the official home to the 2008 Republican National Convention.
The Venue has seen use for concerts, motivational seminars, and talk series from popular guests and celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey. Many of the features that Xcel Energy Center provides makes it an ideal all-purpose arena that continues to be popular whether you visit for hockey or not.
Once you enter the concourse areas, you will see hockey jerseys from every high school in Minnesota hanging on the walls supporting the image that Minnesota is “The State Of Hockey”. Around the arena at all four corners, you will find crows nests, that each contains a separate feature. One nest has an organ into the shell of a Zamboni to play music to hype up the crowd during all Wild games. Another has a foghorn that blasts when the Wild take the ice before games, after all, Wild goals, and whenever the Wild record an at-home victory. The third nest is used for the “Let’s Play Hockey” announcement before each games puck drop, as well as game ops interviews, announcements, and contests. The last nest is an additional stage that sees a wide variety of uses.
The arena also has an integrated display used for scoring, video, information, and advertising from Daktronics. The system includes an LED circular center-hung scoreboard for optimal viewing no matter where you are seated in the arena. The arena also replaced every seat with cushioned seating so that everyone can enjoy a comfortable experience during their visit.