Debut host Wild eager for fittingly frigid Winter Classic

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Alex Goligoski grew up in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, precisely the type of up-north community where a pair of hockey skates are as prevalent of a possession as the snowblower and the parka.

Winter activity for Goligoski and his friends was an easy pick. They took their sticks and pucks to the rink at the elementary school playground two blocks down the street from his home.

Goligoski's career on the ice is about to come full circle.

In the veteran defenseman's first season with his home-state team, the Minnesota Wild will play in the NHL's marquee outdoor event for the first time Saturday night when they face the St. Louis Blues in the Winter Classic at Target Field.

The game the Wild have long lobbied the league to host was delayed a year by the pandemic.

“If any state would appreciate an outdoor game, it would definitely be Minnesota. Those are my favorite hockey memories growing up, playing on the outdoor rink,” said Goligoski, one of nine players on the Wild roster who've participated in a fresh-air NHL game. He played for Pittsburgh in the Winter Classic in 2011 at Heinz Field.

There have been 637 players drafted in league history who were born in Minnesota, according to NHL records. That's the most of any U.S. state. Goligoski and teammates Nick Bjugstad and Rem Pitlick are the Minnesota natives on the Wild among the 49 players who have appeared in a game this season, also the most of any state.

“It is a sense of pride in that way. It’s obviously such a great organization, the way the communities support the game and how important hockey is to this state,” Goligoski said.

The Wild have played outdoors once before, in a Stadium Series game in 2016 at the University of Minnesota’s football stadium. Wild goalie Cam Talbot posted a shutout in the...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Debut-host-Wild-eager-for-fittingly-frigid-Winter-16741171.php