It's finally here! The 2014-15 NHL season is officially underway, and the Minnesota Wild open the season at Xcel Energy Center tonight. In addition to featuring a team that is looking to have a record season, the Wild's opening roster will include a league high five players from their home state of Minnesota!
Across the NHL, there are 33 Minnesotans (listed by team below) that have earned a spot on an opening night roster. Last year, 32 players with Minnesota roots started the year in the NHL and 44 players played over the course of the season.
Here's to another exciting year of NHL hockey and good luck to all of the great players that call Minnesota home!
Anaheim Ducks – Tim Jackman (Brooklyn Park)
Arizona Coyotes – None
Boston Bruins – None
Buffalo Sabres – None
Calgary Flames – None
Carolina Hurricanes – Justin Faulk (South St. Paul)
Chicago Blackhawks – None
Colorado Avalanche – Erik Johnson (Bloomington)
Columbus Blue Jackets – None
Dallas Stars – Alex Goligoski (Grand Rapids)
Detroit Red Wings – None
Edmonton Oilers – Matt Hendricks (Blaine)
Florida Panthers – Nick Bjugstad (Blaine)
Los Angeles Kings – None
Minnesota Wild – Zach Parise (Bloomington Jefferson), Keith Ballard* (Lake of the Woods), Nate Prosser (Elk River), Stu Bickel (Eden Prairie) and Ryan Carter (White Bear Lake)
Montreal Canadiens – Tom Gilbert (Bloomington Jefferson)
Nashville Predators – Matt Cullen* (Moorhead)
New Jersey Devils – None
New York Islanders – Kyle Okposo (St. Paul), Brock Nelson (Warroad) and Nick Leddy (Eden Prairie)
New York Rangers – Derek Stepan* (Hastings) and Ryan McDonagh (Mounds View)
Ottawa Senators – None
Philadelphia Flyers – None
Pittsburgh Penguins – Paul Martin (Elk River)
San Jose Sharks – Justin Braun (White Bear Lake), Alex Stalock (South St. Paul) and Eriah Hayes (La Crescent)
St. Louis Blues – Jordan Leopold (Plymouth), David Backes (Spring Lake Park) and TJ Oshie (Warroad)
Tampa Bay Lightning – J.T. Brown (Rosemount)
Toronto Maple Leafs – Jake Gardiner (Minnetonka)
Vancouver Canucks – None
Washington Capitals – Jack Hillen (Minnetonka), Matt Niskanen (Virginia) and Nate Schmidt (St. Cloud)
Winnipeg Jets – Mark Stuart (Rochester), Blake Wheeler (Wayzata) and Dustin Byfuglien (Roseau)
*Injured Reserve