The 2008-2009 Minnesota Wild forwards are Eric Belanger, Derek Boogaard, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Andrew Brunette, Cal Clutterbuck, Marian Gaborik, Colton Gillies, Mikko Koivu, Krystofer Kolanos, Antti Miettinen, Owen Nolan, Benoit Pouliot, James Shappard , Stephane Veilleux and Craig Weller. Wild defensemen include Marc-Andre Bergeron, Brent Burns, Kurtis Foster, Kim Johnsson, Erik Reitz, Nick Schultz, John Scott, Martin Skoula and Marek Zildilicky. Goalies include Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding. Gaborik is the only member of the team currently on injured reserve. He so far so good.
With the last game before the break recorded as a loss against the Maple Leafs, the Wild will end January with two more games against the Oilers and Canucks. Then comes February, when the Wild will host games against the Ducks, Predators, Oilers, Avalanche, Senators, Flames, Red Wings, and Kings. Road games during the month of February will be occasions for the Wild to hit the ice on the road against the Red Wings, Blackhawks, Flames and Oilers.
In March, the Wild will continue their road games with games scheduled against the Canucks, Sharks, Kings, Ducks, Avalanche, Stars, Blues, Devils, Rangers, Islanders, Flames, and Oilers. The balance of the games that are held in March will be at home for the Wild and against the Sharks, Avalanche, Oilers and the Canucks.
The Wild will close out the 2008-09 season with home games in April against the Flames, Stars and Predators. Road games in April will be against the Red Wings and Blue Jackets; the last of which will be the final game on Saturday, April 11.
The wild coaches include head coach Jaques Lemaire, assistant coach Mike Ramsey, assistant coach Mario Tremblay, assistant coach Matt Shaw, goaltending coach Bob Mason, and strength and conditioning coach Kirl Olson. Coaching and team staff include Head Athletic Therapist Don Fuller, Assistant Athletic Trainer Travis Green, Assistant Athletic Trainer Tom Kiff, Senior Team Manager Tony DaCosta, Assistant Team Manager Brent Proulx and Assistant Team Manager Matt Benz.
The Wild’s medical staff is led by medical director Sheldon Burns, orthopedic surgeon Joel Boyd, oral surgeon David Hamlar, sports psychology consultant Charles Maher, nutritionist Carrie Peterson, team dentist Kyle Edlund, team dentist team Mike Nanne and team dentist Mike Pelke.
Wild players in the system include forwards Cody Almond, Robert Earl, Eero Elo, Chris Hickey, Danny Irmen, Petr Kalus, Matt Kassian, Corey Locke, Bryan Lundbohm, Morten Madsen, Carson Mcmillan, Peter Olvecky, Jesse Schultz and Roman Voloshenko; defensemen Anthony Aiello, Paul Albers, Tyler Cuma, Riley Emmerson, Justin Falk, Harri Ilvonen, Sean Lorenz, Kyle Medvec, Tomas Mojzis, Maxim Noreau, Brandon Rogers, Marco Scandella and Clayton Stoner and goalkeepers Niko Hovinen, Anton Khudobin and Nolan Schaefer.
The Wilds currently sit, perhaps too comfortably, in 9th place in the NHL Western Conference standings with 23 wins, 20 losses, and 3 OTs. With a total of 49 points, the score is far from the top of the Western Conference standings, where San Jose is at 73 points.
