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[March 1, 2000] -- The National Hockey League's (NHL) Minnesota Wild announced today the organization has named Roger Godin to the newly created position of Team Curator. The Terrytown, New York native is believed to be the first team curator in the history of the NHL.
Godin, 61 (7/7/38), will be responsible for assisting the Minnesota Wild in its efforts to create a tribute to all areas of Minnesota Hockey within the New Saint Paul Arena and archiving the historical artifacts for the tribute. He will also assist the Wild with archival and historical research.
The curator/author has an extensive experience and knowledge of American Hockey. He served as Executive Director for the United States Hockey Hall of Fame from 1971-1983 and as Director-Curator from 1985-1987. He has also served as Assistant Director for the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum (1984-1985), Director of the US Army Communication-Electronics Museum (1987-1989) and the US Army Ordinance Museum (1989-1998). Godin has authored 51 biographical essays on American Hockey players published in the Biographical Dictionary of American Sports and his essays on the Hobey Baker Award and Moose Goheen appear in the new American National Biography.
Godin currently resides in Saint Paul and will begin his role with the Minnesota Wild immediately.
PAUL MARTIN WINS THE 16TH ANNUAL MR. HOCKEY AWARD; JAKE BRANDT WINS AWARD FOR TOP GOALTENDERMR. HOCKEY AWARDS BANQUET HOSTED BY THE MINNESOTA MINUTEMEN AND CO-SPONSORED BY ACCELERATION MINNESOTA AND THE NHL'S MINNESOTA WILD
[March 12, 2000] -- The National Hockey League's (NHL) Minnesota Wild announced today that Elk River senior defensemen Paul Martin was the recipient of 16th Annual Mr. Hockey Award given to the outstanding senior high school hockey player in the state of Minnesota. Senior goaltender Jake Brandt of Roseau was presented The Frank Brimsek Award in recognition of the state's top goaltender. The sixteenth annual Mr. Hockey Awards Banquet was hosted by the Minnesota Minutemen at the Prom Catering Company and co-sponsored by Acceleration Minnesota and the National Hockey League's Minnesota Wild.
Martin's 15 goals and 35 assists led the Elk River Elks to a Twin Cities Suburban West title with an 11-1 conference record and a 22-2 overall record. Brandt led the Roseau Rams (21-5-2) to the State Tournament with an impressive 19-3-1 record this season with a 1.7 goals against average while notching three shutouts.
The Mr. Hockey Award is selected by a panel of National Hockey League Scouts and Division I Coaches from around the state. The runners up for this year's Mr. Hockey Award were Andy Canzanello of Rochester Mayo, Ross Carlson of Duluth East, Ryan Connelly of White Bear Lake, Jon Hart of Park Center, Matt Hendricks of Blaine, Tim Jackman of Park Center, Ryan Langenbrunner of Cloquet, Colin Peters of Eden Prairie and Aaron Slattengren of Proctor. Jeff Taffe from Hastings High School was the 1999 Mr. Hockey Award recipient. The John Mariucci Award was presented to Sheldon Weston of Sauk Rapids and Steve Larson of Blaine as the Class A and Class AA high school coaches of the year. Jerry Peterson of Bloomington Kennedy was presented with The Cliff Thompson Award given to the "Old Timer Coach" of the year.
MINNESOTA WILD ANNOUNCES FRONT OFFICE ADDITIONS[March 14, 2000] -- Minnesota Wild President Tod Leiweke announced the following staff additions to the National Hockey League (NHL) club's front office (listed in alphabetical order); Greg Gerlach as Corporate Partnerships Account Executive, Stephen Griggs as Managing Director of Customer Sales and Service, Brian Jore as Director of Information Technology and Chris Kelleher as Manager of Media Relations/Team Services. Interim Director of Ticket Sales Mike Snee has been promoted to the position of Corporate Partnerships Account Executive.
Gerlach's responsibilities as a Corporate Partnerships Account Executive will include the development and fulfillment of corporate partnerships. Prior to joining the Wild, Gerlach served as Marketing Director of the University of Minnesota Men's Athletic Department. The 29-year old Minneapolis resident is a graduate of Drake University with a masters degree in Sports Management from Western Illinois University. He will begin his role with the organization later this month.
Griggs comes to the Wild from Sportsco International, LP and Skydome where he was Vice President of Corporate Sales and Service. His responsibilities as Managing Director of Customer Sales and Service will include overseeing all ticket sales and providing extraordinary customer service and benefits to Minnesota Wild season ticket holders. Prior to his tenure at the Skydome, the Toronto-native served as the Director of Premium Ticket Sales and Service for the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs and National Basketball Association's (NBA) Toronto Raptors. The 32-year old graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University and received his masters degree in Athletic Administration from Ohio University. He will begin his role with the Wild immediately.
Jore joins the Minnesota Wild staff as Director of Information Technology. His duties with the Wild will include overseeing all information technology related to the New Saint Paul Arena and Minnesota Wild team operations. Jore comes to the Wild from Arthur Andersen, LLP where he served as a Business Consulting Manager for information systems projects requiring extensive strategic planning. The 31-year old Lakeville resident graduated from Luther College with a degree in Economics and Management. He will begin his role with the organization immediately.
Kelleher joins the Minnesota Wild staff as Manager of Media Relations/Team Services. He will oversee the team's media relations department and serve as the main liaison between the Wild organization and the local and national media. His duties include running the day-to-day media relations efforts for the club, disseminating team information and coordinating all interviews and appearances with players and staff. Kelleher, 28, will supervise the writing of all press releases and game notes, as well as travel with the team as the media contact on the road. The Los Gatos, California native joins the Wild after working as the media relations coordinator for the NHL's Florida Panthers this past season. Kelleher spent the previous three seasons as the media relations assistant for the NHL's San Jose Sharks, where the department won two consecutive Dick Dillman "Press Box Awards," presented annually to the NHL's outstanding public relations staff. He also served as the administrative coordinator for USA Baseball in Trenton, New Jersey for two years, leading up to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Kelleher graduated from Santa Clara University with a degree in Economics. He will begin his role with the organization in late April.
Snee, formerly the Interim Director of Ticket Sales, has been named a Corporate Partnerships Account Executive. He joined the Minnesota Wild organization in June 1998 and served as Interim Director of Ticket Sales until assuming his new role. Snee's responsibilities as a Corporate Partnerships Account Executive will include the development and fulfillment of corporate partnerships. The 31-year old Duluth native is a veteran of the Twin Cities sports market having previously worked for the Minnesota North Stars, Minnesota Timberwolves and International Hockey League's Minnesota Moose. The Minneapolis-resident is a graduate of St. Thomas with a degree in Economics. He will assume his new duties immediately.
MINNESOTA WILD CELEBRATES 12,000TH SEASON TICKETNATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE CLUB 200 DAYS FROM INAUGURAL 2000-2001 SEASON
[March 20, 2000] -- The National Hockey League’s (NHL) Minnesota Wild announced today that the club has secured 12,000 season (including suites and club level seats) tickets 7 months before the team begins play in the 18,600 new Saint Paul Arena. According to NHL guidelines, the expansion club had until April 15 to reach the 12,000 season ticket mark.
Hockey’s greatest couple, Mr. & Mrs. Hockey® Gordie and Colleen Howe presented the 12,000th Minnesota Wild season ticket holder, Dennis Pladson, 56, of South Saint Paul, Minn. with a Wild jersey. Pladson purchased two tickets in section 205 and plans to attend Wild games with his sons Steve, Ted and Tim, all of whom played hockey at South Saint Paul. Additional dignitaries in attendance to help celebrate this milestone included Minnesota Wild Chairman Bob Naegele, Jr., Saint Paul Mayor Norm Coleman and the Stanley Cup.
“We are thrilled with the enthusiastic support hockey fans in Minnesota and the upper Midwest have shown for the NHL’s return this fall,” said Minnesota Wild President Tod Leiweke. “This validates the NHL’s return to Minnesota and we look forward to building a championship team for our fans.”
In January, the Wild announced the sell out of the 2,800-seat Club Level in five weeks. This followed a sell out of the 64 luxury suites available in the New Saint Paul Arena in a record eight weeks in July. A waiting list has been established for potential Club Level Seat holders and luxury suiteholders. The team will continue to accept a $100 non-refundable deposit for each season ticket. The deposit is used as a reservation for season tickets for the seat selection process. The club has received over 14,400 non-refundable season ticket deposits since it began taking deposits on June 26, 1997. For more information on season tickets, club level seats or suites, contact the Minnesota Wild at (651)222-WILD, www.wild.com or send inquiries to
: Minnesota Wild 444 Cedar Street, Suite 900 St. Paul, MN 55101
The Minnesota Wild will begin play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the 2000-2001 NHL season.
Visit the Minnesota Wild on the Internet at www.wild.com .