It's back and bigger than ever! With less than 24 hours until the puck drops to open the Minnesota Wild season, the Hockey Wilderness Podcast wants to make sure you are ready to go!

We assembled a team of 16 hockey experts to weigh in on how they think Minnesota's season will play out. How many points will they get? Can they make the Stanley Cup Final? Who will put Minnesota on their back? Find out that- as well as everyone's hottest bold prediction!

Here are each of our guests, and where you can find them online!

Joe Bouley (Hockey Wilderness, 2:27)

Dustin Nelson (Minnesota Hockey Magazine, 7:50)

Panda Pete (Twins and Losses, 22:15)

Giles Ferrell (Zone Coverage, 29:50)

Jessi Pierce (USA Hockey, NHL.com, 38:14)

Chris Boyd (HW, 42:00)

Derek Felska (Crease and Assist, 46:00)

Shayna Goldman (Hockey Graphs, 1:01:20)

Luke “Evolving Wild” S. (Hockey Graphs, 1:06:39)

Ben Remington (Zone Coverage, 1:14:33)

Heather Rule (Zone Coverage, 1:24:43)

Bob Spencer (Hashtag Hockey, 1:36:52)

Derek Peterson (The Athletic MN, 2:06:24)

Matthew Coller (ESPN 1500, 2:10:54)

Aaron Holm (2:20:04)

Tony Abbott (2:30:01)

If you want to support the podcast, you can subscribe to us on your favorite podcasting app, tell your friends about our show, and take a few minutes to leave us an iTunes review! We appreciate any support!

We'll see you next week!

We're less than a week from the season, but there's other huge news afoot in Minnesota. Our local baseball club is going to make the playoffs this week. So Tony and Joe brought in our friend Panda Pete from the Twins and Losses podcast to try and do the impossible: Cover the Wild, Twins, and leave some room for breakfast talk. 

Strap in, this episode is a monster.

Topics include:

• Re-litigating last week's Appetizer Draft
• Reviewing last week's Training Camp Cuts
• Defending Carson Soucy from Tony
• Could Zach Parise hit the LTIR?
• Weighing the pros and cons of the Wild's roster bubble
• Craig Leipold's Stanley Cup or Bust comments
• What should Wild fans' expectations be?
• The Twins finally returning to the postseason
• Who was the Real MVP for the Twins this season?
• Joe Mauer's resurgence
• Previewing the one-game playoff
• Who should the Twins be hoping to face in the ALDS?
• Should we bet big money on a World Series appearance?
• Saying goodbye to Glen Perkins
• Drafting breakfast foods
• Should you ever eat hash browns with ketchup? (No.)
• And much more!

If you want to support the podcast, you can subscribe to us on your favorite podcasting app, tell your friends about our show, and take a few minutes to leave us an iTunes review! We appreciate any support!

Check in with us on Thursday to see our 2nd Annual Opening Night Prediction Extravaganza!

The preseason is still dragging along, but we have a special guest to help us get through it! Not anyone you haven't heard before, mind you, but still extremely special. Joe Bouley returns to the co-host's chair, and he sat down with Tony Abbott to discuss the preseason, jerseys, and a lot more! 

Topics include:

• Reviewing the Wild's new jerseys in action
• Will the "M" logo be the next 3rd jersey?
• Ranking the Wild's home jerseys
• Checking in on the position battles
• Parise's back is back at practice
• Referees are calling more slashing penalties... is that good?
• Did the Minnesota Wild get better or worse in the offseason?
• Will the Iowa Wild be any good this year?
• Our favorite alcoholic beverages
• Marshmallow roasting tips
• The cap implications of Parise's health problems
• Is Chris Stewart on the hot seat?
• How's Alex Stalock doing?
• Podcasting tips
• Our appetizer draft... Who will come out on top?!
• And much more!

If you want to support the podcast, you can subscribe to us on your favorite podcasting app, tell your friends about our show, and take a few minutes to leave us an iTunes review! We appreciate any support!

We'll see you soon!

The Minnesota Wild are back, and so is the Hockey Wilderness Podcast! We try getting back in shape during training camp, and we've recruited Derek from The Athletic MIN to help! Derek and Tony sit down to discuss all the recent happenings with the Minnesota Wild, including:

• The Minnesota Twins sniffing a playoff spot
• Why Byron Buxton is a good baseball boy
• Marcus Foligno's new contract
• Foligno's spot in the lineup
• Zach Parise's back issues
• Daniel Winnik signed to a Professional Tryout contract
• Is Chris Stewart in jeopardy of getting cut?
• The Wild at Traverse City
• Mikko Koivu's extension
• Why Koivu criticism is overblown
• Why Luke Kunin should start the season on the top line
• Kevin Gorg's chance of getting a statue at the Xcel Energy Center

And much more!

If you want to support the podcast, you can subscribe to us on your favorite podcasting app, tell your friends about our show, and take a few minutes to leave us an iTunes review! We appreciate any support!

We'll see you soon!

We promised a second August show, and we delivered! It helps that Minnesota did their part to create buzz by signing hometown hero Matt Cullen to be their fourth-line center. To discuss that and more, Tony sat down with Derek, who you may know as @StateOfStats on Twitter. 

Topics discussed:

• Matt Cullen's signing in Minnesota
• Where Cullen fits in on the depth chart
• Can Cullen succeed outside of Pittsburgh?
• Can he fix the Wild's penalty kill?
• The Wild's forward lineup being set
• Will the Wild give Marcus Foligno 3 years on his next deal?
• Minnesota's surprisingly high showing on Corey Pronman's prospect rankings
• Minnesota's severe lack of prospect death
• Kirill Kaprizov's amazing skill
• Kirill Kaprizov's not-so-amazing chances of coming to North America soon
• Luke Kunin vs. Joel Eriksson Ek
• Jordan Greenway's status as a top prospect
• Re-visiting the Alex Tuch trade
• Summer beers
• What our last meals would be
• Whether Minnesota can re-sign Mikael Granlund at the end of his contract

And more

Follow Derek on Twitter @StateOfStats, and his prediction bot @Computron_NHL. You can find Tony on Twitter @OhHiTony.

If you want to support the podcast, you can subscribe to us on your favorite podcasting app, tell your friends about our show, and take a few minutes to leave us an iTunes review! We appreciate any support!

We'll see you soon!

After a month-long absence due to lack of news, the Hockey Wilderness Podcast re-convened when the Minnesota Wild all but ended their offseason. Their two big restricted free agents signed this week, with Nino Niederreiter taking home a 5-year, $26.25M contract, whereas Granlund re-upped for 3-years, $17.25M. 

Tony and Joe sat down on Wednesday night to discuss these moves, answer your mailbag questions, and do a Sandwich Draft. Enjoy!

Topics include:

• Nate Prosser heading to St. Louis
• Nino Niederreiter's new contract
• Whether Nino's long-term deal will mean more ice time
• Saying (again) that Nino is a first-line talent
• Can Nino accomplish the 30-goal season he wants?
• Breaking down the Granlund extension
• Why weren't the Wild willing to commit to Granlund long-term?
• What kind of player will Granlund be going forward?
• Grading the Wild's offseason
• Will Kirill Kaprizov or Jordan Greenway see time with the Wild?
• We draft our favorite sandwiches. Who will be the first pick???

and more!

If you want to support the podcast, you can subscribe to us on your favorite podcasting app, tell your friends about our show, and take a few minutes to leave us an iTunes review! We appreciate any support!

We'll see you soon!

Last week, we bemoaned the lack of movement happening with the roster.

My, how things change in a week.

The Minnesota Wild made their big move, shipping out Marco Scandella and Jason Pominville for Tyler Ennis and Marcus Foligno. It's a big trade that we have a lot of opinions about. Listen to those.

You'll also want to hear about all of Minnesota's Free Agents, especially because you've not heard of a bunch of these guys. 

So here we go.

Topics include:

• The Scandella/Pominville trade
• How that trade freed up much less cap space than most think
• Playing Captain Hindsight with a Scandella trade
• The inherent risk of Ennis
• Why Foligno might not be that bad
• Why Scandella got less value than expected
• Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund filing for arbitration
• Breaking down the Wild's free agents
• Suggesting names for the remaining needs for Minnesota
• Departing Wild free agents
• Why Dallas is scary again
• Connor McDavid's $100 million deal

And more!

If you want to support the podcast, you can subscribe to us on your favorite podcasting app, tell your friends about our show, and take a few minutes to leave us an iTunes review! We appreciate any support!

We'll see you soon!

The Minnesota Wild had a quiet NHL Draft, completely void of the big trades we'd thought they might make- and certainly not the types of deals other teams swung at the Draft. 

Tony sat down on Wednesday night to recap the Draft weekend, set the stage for Free Agency, and answer a ton of your questions about jerseys, potential trades, and more!

Topics included:

• The Jordan Schroeder trade and it's intriguing return
• Bob Woods taking over for Scott Stevens
• Ivan Lodnia and Mason Shaw bringing skill, but no size
• Recapping the rest of the Wild's draft
• Discussing the lack of trades for the Wild
• Are the Wolves now a more interesting team than the Wild?
• Looking over the Wild's not-great free agent options
• Assessing the new-look Wild jerseys
• Why hoodies are superior to jerseys
• Will the Wild avoid Cap Recapture with Zach Parise and Ryan Suter?
• Could a Nino Niederreiter or Mikael Granlund trade be beneficial?
• Matt Cullen's free agent status
• Tony's ideal free agent signing
• Best trade of the offseason
• Best and worst of the Adidas jerseys
• Favorite Pringles Flavors
• An intriguing Would You Rather

And much more!

You can support the podcast by subscribing on your preferred podcast app, taking a few moments of time to leave us an iTunes Review, and telling your friends about our show. Thanks for your support, and we'll see you next week!

Expansion is finally over, and we can all finally move on with our lives! But before we fully cast our attention to NHL Draft Weekend, we decided to do a mid-week podcast to assess the impact and fallout of the Expansion Draft.

Our good friend Dustin Nelson joins the podcast to discuss that and more!

Topics include:

• The awful NHL Awards
• Mikko Koivu losing the Selke
• "The Pledge"
• Whether Vegas used their leverage well enough
• Does this new team even want to be competitive?
• Whether the current Golden Knights will be there in 3 years
• Why Erik Haula was a best-case scenario for the Wild in Expansion
• How Minnesota's depth may have helped them at the Draft
• Will Alex Tuch be a major loss for Minnesota?
• Reigniting the rumored Alex Galchenyuk talks
• Can anyone pry the Wild away from Jonas Brodin or Matt Dumba?
• Drooling over the near-impossible possibility of a Minnesota-Toronto trade

And more!

If you want to support the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast app. Don't forget to take a few moments to go rate and review us on iTunes- the 5th star is our favorite. Let your friends know about us, too! We really appreciate that.

We'll see you next week!

It's here! After months of speculation, of trade rumors, of positioning and jockeying to preserve as many players for the Expansion Draft, the day has finally arrived for GMs to put their cards on the table and decide who they don't want the Vegas Golden Knights to swipe from their rosters.

The Minnesota Wild were no exception, and they had to make some incredibly difficult decisions as to who to protect, and who to expose. Tony and Joe sat down right after those decisions were made public to discuss them at length.

Topics include:

• The Minnesota Wild's massive trade this week! How will Tyler Graovac's loss impact the roster?
• The Minnesota Wild finishing in second for the Jonathan Drouin Sweepstakes
• Drouin's contract, and whether we'd want to take a risk on that
• Minnesota's trade rumors with Montreal
• The (apparently very real) steam surrounding flipping Scandella for Galchenyuk
• Would losing both Brodin and Scandella really be as bad as the Wild think?
• Why the Wild's "kids" should stop being seen as kids in trade talks
• The Wild's over-attachment to their roster in general
• We go over Minnnesota's protection list
• How Jason Pominville's (probable) refusal to waive his No-Move Clause hurts the team
• Why Pominville's refusal to waive is perfectly reasonable
• Could Erik Haula be the perfect player for Vegas to claim?
• Were the Wild right to expose Eric Staal?
• Minnesota choosing Jonas Brodin over Matt Dumba
• Can the Wild still bribe Vegas to avoid snagging one of their prized defensemen?
• What's the best-case scenario for Minnesota
• Oh, yeah! The NHL Entry Draft is also this week!

And much more!

If you want to support the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast app. Don't forget to take a few moments to go rate and review us on iTunes- the 5th star is our favorite. Let your friends know about us, too! We really appreciate that.

We'll see you next week!