Wild Rewards Sellout Crowds
October-November 2015

Three games into November, the Minnesota Wild found themselves selling out games and holding their own in the rough and tumble Central Division, the most competitive of the National Hockey League’s four divisions.

The Wild lost more than a hockey game on November 5 when star winger Zach Parise was injured in a collision against the burly Nashville Predators in the first of three November home games. Parise’s loss was not immediately felt, as the team went on to defeat Tampa Bay 1-0, on November 7 and Winnipeg 5-3, on November 10.

The Wild’s current 9-3-2 (20 points) record is a reflection of the team’s ability to overcome adversity and soldier on, as typified by its captain, Mikko Koivu, otherwise known as Mr. Consistency.

In an era filled when flashy, trash-talking showboat players seem to get all the media attention, Koivu goes about his business in a stoic, intense manner that belies his dry sense of humor. Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher understood Koivu’s value to Minnesota when he signed him to a contract that does not expire until the conclusion of the 2017-18 season. Since then, Fletcher has frequently referred to Koivu as the Wild’s most valuable player. You will find him on the ice in all key situations, both leading and defending power plays. Koivu ranks first on the Wild’s all-time lists in assists, points, power-play points, and multi-point games.

Koivu has played in 695 games with the Wild. He became captain of the team on October 20, 2009. His assist on Nino Niederreiter’s goal against Winnipeg gave him 12 points in the Wild’s last 12 games. In shootout situations, he is the first off coach Mike Yeo’s bench and has a 43 percent success ratio. If he played for Montreal, as his brother once did, Koivu would be a national hero, rather than an unsung Finn.

Also key to the Wild’s success this season is the goaltending effort by six-foot, six-inch Devan Dubnyk, who pitched the 1-0 shutout over the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team that last season advanced to the Stanley Cup finals. An unknown commodity in the Upper Midwest when Fletcher snatched him away from Arizona for a third round draft pick on January 14, Dubnyk proceeded to lead a slumping team to the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 27-9-2 record.

A native of Regina, Sask., Dubnyk was a first-round draft pick by Edmonton and began his professional hockey career in 2006 as an Oiler farmhand at Wilkes-Barre in the American Hockey League. The following two seasons saw him toiling for Springfield of the AHL. His NHL debut at Edmonton (4-10-2) was less than spectacular, and he was sent back to Springfield. He made the big club to stay in 2010-11.

Dubnyk was traded by Edmonton to Nashville for Matt Hendricks on January 15, 2014. Nashville had little use for him, and he finished that season at Hamilton of the AHL. He was serving a backup role in Phoenix when Fletcher acquired him.

All he did for Minnesota was win the Bill Masterton Trophy and got voted to the NHL All-Star Team (second team). He finished third in the Vezina Trophy voting. He earned a Wild contract good until 2020-21.

The security of a long-term contract didn’t pay immediate dividends this season, as Dubnyk was shaky in early outings, causing nervousness in the front office, but Fletcher stood by his goaltender, believing his best days are yet to come. The 31 saves Dubnyk made in the Tampa Bay shutout reinforced the general manager’s opinion.