23. Mikael Granlund – C 4 Seasons, 240 Games, 31 Goals, 101 Assists, 132 Points Mikael Granlund was the Wild’s first pick, 9th overall, in the 2010 Draft. He established himself as a top player in the Finnish League, earning Rookie of the Year and the Finnish version of the Lady Byng Trophy. In international play, he helped team Finland win Bronze at the 2010 U18 Championship, and Gold for the big team at the 2011 IIHF World Championship (the tournament where he scored the phenomenal LaCrosse-style goal against Russia). Granlund made his Wild debut in the lockout-shortened 2013 season. Despite hisMore
Author: Aaron
3ITB’s Top 33 Wild Players of All Time – #26
26. Marek Židlický – D 4 Seasons, 241 Games, 25 Goals, 98 Assists, 123 Points Marek Židlický started his professional career in Finland, and due to a contract dispute with the Rangers, held out there until he was 26, when the Rangers traded him to the Nashville Predators. In 2008, after 4 solid seasons with the Perds, the Wild made a deal for 31 year-old Marek Židlický, sending Ryan Jones and a 2nd Round draft pick to Nashville in return. Židlický, primarily an offensive-defenseman, led all Wild defensemen in scoring during his first two seasons in Minnesota. In his third year, he wasMore
3ITB’s Top 33 Wild Players of All Time – #29
29. Nino Niederreiter – RW 3 Seasons, 243 Games, 58 Goals, 58 Assists, 116 Points “El Nino” came to the Wild from the Islanders in a trade that sent fan-favorite Cal Clutterbuck packing (with a 3rd round draft pick). Niederreiter, a former #5 overall draft pick, had struggled in his two first forays in the NHL, collecting just 3 points in 64 games with the Islanders. Relegated to the AHL for the entire lockout shortened 2012-2013 season, the trade gave him a chance for a fresh start with a team that needed offensive help. Within 5 games of his Minnesota Wild career,More
3ITB’s Top 33 Wild Players of All Time – #32
32. Kyle Brodziak – C 6 Seasons, 446 Games, 72 Goals, 97 Assists, 169 Points Kyle Brodziak had an interesting career with the Wild. As an RFA, he was traded on draft day from the Oilers to the Wild, and was coming to a team that was so uninspiring that it had fired it’s only head coach and lost it’s oft-injured top star to free agency. He signed a 3 year extension with the Wild, and his career in the State of Hockey was on the move. While playing 3rd and 4th line minutes in Edmonton, he began to blossom inMore
3ITB’s Top 33 Wild Players of All Time – #33
Last week on Twitter, friend of the show, Chris Frost, suggested that we do a Top 50 All-Time NHL players list. We thought that that was a good idea, but we’re Wild fans. So we figured we’d do our own twist on the list and put together our list of the Top 33 Wild players of All-Time. Each of us filled out a ballot sheet, we let Google Drive do the heavy lifting, and we now have our list. While it might not be perfect, and some choices might be borderline criminal (which we’ll discuss with an end-of-the list podcast),More
Episode 105 – 3ITBBQ
It’s the summertime, and what does one normally do during the summer? Have a BBQ, of course! So we did and we invited guests of the show as well as a handful of our friends from Twitter. We pulled some folks away and made a little impromptu show! Thanks to Derek Felska from State of Hockey News, Timnado, Megan and Chris for helping with the show!
Episode 104 – Gotta Catch Em All
It’s the off-season, but we’re still recording, not golfing. In this special July episode we talk about Free Agency, The Draft and the upcoming NHL Expansion with a little Twitter talk thrown in there.
The Doghouse and the Anchor
First off, just let me say that we really haven’t done something like this before. Normally we do a weekly podcast where we talk for 45-60 minutes about the Wild and how they’ve done in the past week. With that said, these types of posts probably won’t be a regular thing. We’ll leave the typing stuff to folks like Russo, Derek Felska, The Hockey Wilderness folks, et al. So why am I typing? Because there is a guy that’s been firmly parked in Yeo’s doghouse. There’s plenty of advanced metrics out there that probably show you why or why notMore
Episode 088 – Kenney Laundering
In this off-the cuff midweek edition of 3 In the Box, the boys discuss the poor performance by NBC Sports, whether penalties should be reviewable and a little bit about the Wild.
Episode 085 – Robo Bettman
In this extra special mid-week episode, we’re pleased to invite Derek Felska of State of Hockey News to the show, where we talk about the Wild week, the big contract extension by Jared Spurgeon and Ice Girls!