An in-depth look at the Wild, who open the season Thursday, with reporter Dane Mizutani

NHL: Boston Bruins at Minnesota Wild — Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov reacts after scoring a goal against the Boston Bruins during the first period Wednesday, March 16, 2022, at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

By Mick Hatten, Jess Myers, Eli Swanson, and Kris Kerzman

October 12, 2022 at 7:05 PM

Dane Mizutani is a long-time beat reporter of the Minnesota Wild for the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

The Wild are coming off the best regular season in franchise history, though the postseason ended in the first round of the NHL playoffs .... again. Among their offseason moves, the Wild moved goalie Cam Talbot and Kevin Fiala, two key players. Who is going to replace them? What should Wild fans expect out young players like Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi?

An in-depth look at the Wild, who open their season against the New York Rangers on Thursday as Mizutani talks with The Rink Live's Jess Myers and Mick Hatten.

WATCH OR LISTEN:

MORE MINNESOTA WILD COVERAGE:

TIME STAMPS

1:30 How Dane was born in Hawaii, but ended up covering the Minnesota Wild for the Pioneer Press, how SPAM is to him

3:20 The toughest part about being a beat reporter in the NHL

4:35 Favorite NHL road trips, least favorite road trip

6:15 What is the biggest question mark for the Wild going into the season?

8:00 Kevin Fiala's big regular season, tough postseason, his personality

10:40 First-round pick Marco Rossi and what can fans expect out of him

13:45 What kind of role will former UND F Tyson Jost have for the Wild

15:40 The Matt Boldy effect, his skill set, what the Wild expect from him

18:00 Kirill Kaprizov's scary offseason

20:35 How healthy Matt Dumba is, the impact he has on the team, his status in a contract year

24:00 Marc-Andre Fleury, the goaltending situation, backup Filip Gustavsson, will we see Jesper Wellstedt this season

27:25 Why Joel Eriksson Ek and Jonas Brodin are underrated, how Ek might have the most franchise-friendly contract in the NHL, how he ticks opposing players off

31:30 NHL refs

By Mick Hatten

Mick Hatten is a reporter and editor for Forum News Service and helps manage TheRinkLive.com, a website dedicated to hockey. He began working for Forum Communications in November 2018 and has covered St. Cloud State University hockey since 2010. A graduate of St. Cloud State, he has more than 30 years of experience as a journalist and has been a youth hockey coach since 2014. mhatten@forumcomm.com

For more coverage of St. Cloud and the surrounding communities, check out St. Cloud Live.

An in-depth look at the Wild, who open the season Thursday, with reporter Dane Mizutani

A look at some of the questions facing Minnesota, its key players and what expectations are like as it opens the NHL season against the Rangers. Wild beat reporter for the Pioneer Press checks in on The Rink Live podcast.