Wilderness Talk

Justin Hein, Luke Sims, and Justin Wiggins are back for their final recap of the 2024-25 Minnesota Wild before we turn our attention to the busy off-season. They dissect the end of the opening series loss to Las Vegas and what went right.... and wrong. 

The guys go over the first four games of the series versus the Vegas Golden Knights and preview the remaining in what has been a fun first-round playoff matchup.

Justin Hein, Luke Sims, Justin Wiggins, and guest Tony Abbott discuss if the Wild have any chance to pull off an upset against the Vegas Golden Knights in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs

Here we are. This is it! The Wild have themselves and "Win-And-You're-In" scenario tonight. The Wilderness Talk guys break down how they got to the final game meaning so much and what to expect tonight. Plus, they discuss the arrival of Zeev Buium.

Justin Hein and Luke Sims discuss the upcoming stretch of Wild hockey, including the last four pivotal games down the stretch. The Wild are playing Gus more than they ever have before. Is that sustainable for the up and down goaltender? The Wild don't really have a choice. What could the addition of Zeev Buium look like for the Wild on the backend? When will Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov really return?  All this and more on the latest episode of Wilderness Talk!

Panic in Minnesota (for some of us)!? Justin Hein, Luke Sims, and Justin Wiggins go in depth to find out just how possible it would be for the Wild to miss the playoffs altogether if their slide continues. Plus, more Justin Brazeau concerns and how this week is an important one for the Wild to start playing up to their potential. 

Luke Sims is skiing and the great Tony Abbott fills in as a guest this week! He joins Justin Hein and Justin Wiggins in breaking down the Minnesota Wild trade deadline and if their additions are enough to stop the current skid they find themselves on. Plus we play a game of "If I were GM for a day"

Gus Nyquist is traded back to Minnesota and the guys are here to break it down. From the good to the bad, Justin Hein, Luke Sims, and Justin Wiggins discuss the trade and where the Minnesota Wild are trending heading into the trade deadline. 

Luke and Justin discuss The Athletic's team prospect rankings and the Minnesota Wild coming in at #2 in the league. Plus, of course we had to break down the wildly successful 4 Nations Tournament so far and TEAM USA's chances of winning the Championship on Thursday.

The Wild head into the 4 Nations Tournament break with quality wins over Carolina and New York, and the Hockey Wilderness guys discuss the vibes surrounding the team. They also get into some 4 Nations predictions, as well as which Wild player will have the largest impact for their home country.

Justin Wiggins and Justin Hein discuss the Ryan Hartman suspension and what his long term outlook is with the Minnesota Wild. They also dig into how the Wild can stay afloat through Kaprizov's reappearance on the injured list. 

With a special guest, the guys discuss the fallout of the Mikko Rantanten trade and what it could mean for the Wild. They also got into the recent schedule and the funk that the Wild are in. In addition, they talked about the curse that appears to plauge the Wild on home ice. Lastly, they looked ahead towards the schedule before the four nations tournament and what the trade deadline could look like for Minnesota. 

Breaking News! Over the weekend on hockeywilderness.com, our very own Luke Sims broke a story with a source familiar with the KHL that prized prospect Danila Yurov has every intention of leaving the KHL to pursue his NHL career after this season. The guys discuss the impact Yurov could have on the Wild roster as soon as he makes the jump.

The Wilderness Talk boys are joined by our friend Joe Cool to preview the Minnesota Vikings playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams! Joe has a podcast you can find titled "The Doctor and the Dog" and bringing him on to talk Vikings was perfect timing! You can follow him on X by searching @JoeCoolSkol! He even has the patience to let Luke be a little optimistic about his Packers before their eventual demise this weekend.

Justin Hein, Luke Sims, and Justin Wiggins return from a short break to discuss the Wild's recent skid and if anyone is panicing yet. 

The guys are back to discuss the litany of injuries hampering the Minnesota Wild and how they just keep on winning anyways. But how long can that last? Plus, a deep dive into the franchise goaltending history brings up a few names as a blast from the past.

The guys react to the bombshell of a trade between Minnesota and Columbus, sending David Jiricek to the State of Hockey as the Wild look to build an Avengers Blue Line. Plus just how shocked are we the Wild sit atop the NHL Standings? 

The Minnesota Wild dropped a pivitoal game against the Winnipeg Jets at home. That leaves the Wild at 0-12-1 against Colorado, Dallas and Winnipeg over the past two years. Aside from the disappointing loss, the Wild have been rumored to be in on David Jiricek from Columbus. All of this and more from the last episode before Thanksgiving!

Wiggins is back from LTIR! Justin re-joins Luke Sims and Justin Hein after they took the reins for a few weeks while he begrudgingly enjoyed the beaches of San Diego. The Wild continue to roll, outside their recent loss to the Dallas Stars. The guys debate if the injury excuse is a worthy one or if another loss to a top Central Division opponent is cause for concern. 

The Minnesota Wild stole five of six points on their recent road trip and now sit second in the NHL standings behind the Winnipeg Jets. Without Wiggins, Hein and Sims talk about the road trip, and Hein gives his in-depth breakdown of the Minnesota Wild penalty kill and looks ahead to the next few games. 

No Justin Wiggins for this episode. Hein and Sims carry this one as they discuss the ugly Minnesota Wild loss to the L.A. Kings, the loss, albeit brief, of Kirill Kaprizov, and how it affected the team the rest of the game. In addition, the dynamic duo recaps the putrid powerplay and penalty kill as well as discussing how Yakov Trenin is kind of bad. Last but not least we do a quick preview of the Wild's upcoming road trip where they should be able to bank a lot of points.  

Justin, Justin and Luke go over their takeaways from a very successful road trip for the Minnesota Wild featuring Marc-Andre Fleury's final game in Pittsburgh, Jake Middleton's offensive output, and Kirill Kaprizov's dominance. 

Justin Hein, Luke Sims, and Justin Wiggins react to the Wild's sweep of two Florida powerhouses this week and what Marco Rossi's hot start means for his future. 

Luke Sims is getting married! So the Justin's are forced to survive an episode without him. But have no fear! Tony Abbott is here! The longtime Minnesota Wild blogger joins the show for his takes on the very early start to the season.

The Minnesota Wild are undefeated! Justin Hein and Justin Wiggins recap the season opener as the Wild defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 on home ice.

We finally made it! The NHL season has started! And with that, the 2024-25 Minnesota Wild season preview. Our predictions for Overachiever (Hein), Underachiever (Wiggins), and playoff possibilities coming your way.

The guys dig into the recent rumors on the Minnesota Wild Superstar, plus react to key storylines emerging from the Wild preseason

The guys break down the final five of the Hockey Wilderness staff prospect rankings for the Minnesota Wild. But first, we react to the reports coming out of the first week of Wild training camp as the start of a new season is right around the corner. 

The boys debate the start of Hockey Wilderness' Wild Prospect Rankings and Hein completely derails the train.

The Wilderness Talk guys break down the recent controversy about where Riley Heidt ranks in the Minnesota Wild prospect rankings.

The guys discuss the possibilty of the Minnesota Wild rolling with a three goalie rotation in net this season, but all while Luke is in the middle of a fantasy football draft. Things go about as well as expected.

Justin Wiggins, Luke Sims, and Justin Hein try something new by discussing the positives they are looking forward to for the upcoming Minnesota Wild season

The Boys dive in to find out what the Wild's crease might look this season, along with some really fun Minnesota Wild trivia 

Justin Wiggins, Luke Sims, and Justin Hein break down the Minnesota WIld's 2024 free agency move (singular) and compare the Wild's free agency strategy to that of your mother's home organization strategy.

It's a start! Justin Wiggins, Luke Sims, and Justin Hein debut the very first episode of Wilderness Talk where they break down the 2024 Minnesota Wild draft class and highlight recent Hockey Wilderness content.