CALGARY — The Wild’s “Amazing Race”-themed team-building exercise had already been over for 24 hours, yet the winners were still being debated Tuesday afternoon.
Not even a kangaroo court — a mock-justice system that included teammates — could settle it.
“We won,” Matt Dumba said. “Whatever anyone else says is a lie.”
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It sounds like a team led by Ryan Reaves and Mats Zuccarello (along with Nic Petan and Joseph Cramarossa) was ultimately given the win.
“Unofficially,” Ryan Reaves said, smiling. “There was a lot of shadiness going on.”
This was all in fun, of course. The Wild, continuing a four-game road trip in Calgary on Wednesday, arrived at the Plush Kananaskis Mountain Lodge late Sunday night (after their crazy 6-5 shootout victory over the Stars). The resort, about an hour outside Calgary, was a perfect spot for Monday’s off day, with a team meal and time at the spa. But, before that, there was an “Amazing Race” themed challenge, where teams of four were put forth on a 14-station challenge in the snowy winter wonderland.
“Breathing that beautiful Alberta air,” said Albertan Mason Shaw.
“It was tough running through the snow in my size-14 Timberlands as a 35-year-old,” Reaves said, laughing. “I don’t run and definitely don’t run through the snow. I’m a little sore today.”
Can confirm no one was hurt in the making of this video 😂pic.twitter.com/X59H13l99O
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) December 5, 2022
The idea had been brewing for months, since director of team operations Andrew Heydt had talked with coach Dean Evason over ideas for the bonding trip. Dog-sledding was discussed. So was a hike. But with the timing of the trip, and the weather, a spinoff of the Emmy Award-winning reality adventure series show became the right fit.
Heydt connected with a third-party retailer in the area and created the 14 separate challenges, which were completed either on the resort property or nearby trails. “As soon as they got the first clue, you could see the level of compete and the level of excitement,” Heydt said. “They all did their first activity in the first room and got their clue and immediately were sprinting out the door.”
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There were around four or five cameras following them around (which will be important later).
Teams were mixed up (even best friends Zuccarello and Kirill Kaprizov were split up). Captain Jared Spurgeon was on a team with recent call-up Andrej Sustr. Reaves’ team featured Zuccarello with Petan and Cramarossa and Dumba’s team had Sam Steel, Freddy Gaudreau and Connor Dewar (the other almost-winning team).
“It was good to mix it up,” Spurgeon said. “Sparked different conversations.”
The competitions?
Stacking cups, a crossword puzzle, tying knots, trivia and how far you can throw a pipe-cleaner tower? Most of them involved clues and finding a certain location on site like a van or parking spot.
Finding a parking spot in the garage seemed like the most challenging for several teams.
“We got hung up a little in trying to find that one,” Dumba said. “We found the parking lot but couldn’t find our way in. One of the workers at the resort took us a secret way — that helped.”
How did it end? The Reaves-led group finished with the lowest time. The Dumba-led team came in two minutes later, but they had won a separate challenge that gave them five minutes off their time, which would have technically made them the winner.
But it was debated. Enter the Wild’s version of the Zapruder film.
There were some that contested that Dumba left his group to help complete a challenge — a no-no by the rules.
“There was some video evidence that showed (Dumba) was straying from the pack a couple times,” Reaves said. “I personally saw him stray from the pack a couple times. Rules are rules. If we don’t abide by the rules, we’re just Neanderthals.”
The kangaroo court — done before the team meal — settled it.
“They cheated us out of that,” Dumba said. “Just because they were the loudest voice in the room. We knew we had played an honest game and believed the justice system was going to hold up for us. We didn’t even need to go to the stand because we knew we were innocent.
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“(The kangaroo court) needs some work. I didn’t have the energy after we won to fight it.”
The disputed finish aside, this was another example of how the Wild group has bonded together. The results have been up and down on the ice in the first few months, but you can see why the group didn’t waver after their rough 0-3 start or their patches of injuries. Are they the most talented team in the conference? No. But they certainly seem like they play for each other, buying into their identity of a gritty team with skill. Their most recent four-game winning streak, which included back-to-back shootout wins, is another example.
“These experiences translate on the ice,” Dumba said. “You get to know guys better, you want to go to war with them and be there for them.”
I asked Reaves, a veteran of a handful of NHL clubs, what he sees in the Wild’s culture.
“Honestly, it’s how much fun they have at the rink, off the ice,” Reaves said. “It’s loud in the dressing room before the game. It seems like they’re so tight, but they have a lot of fun together. It’s good to see. Some teams have fun. The last couple teams I was on (the Rangers and Golden Knights) had that. But this team just seems addicted to it.
“It’s not like we’re having fun and not taking care of business. It’s like they’ve found a nice balance of both.”
Other Wild notes
• Defenseman Jonas Brodin was a full participant in Tuesday’s practice — his first since suffering a lower-body injury last week. But it doesn’t sound like he’ll be ready for Wednesday’s game in Calgary. The way he looked, it wouldn’t be a stretch to see him in one of the final two games of this trip, which includes games in Edmonton on Friday and Vancouver on Saturday.
“He looks great,” Evason said. “His skating ability is elite. And even if he wasn’t 100 percent, he still looks as good or better than anyone out there.”
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• After switching up the lines constantly the first couple months — partly due to an array of injuries — it seems like the Wild have settled into a comfort zone with their forward group. Steel has solidified his spot as the No. 1 center, and the Jordan Greenway-Joel Eriksson Ek-Marcus Foligno line has looked great in their reunion.
“We talked about it as a staff a couple days ago,” Evason said. “It’s nice to not mess around with it. There are probably some coaches that like to tinker and see. For a player, you want to have that chemistry, you want to have that familiarity in terms of where they are in certain situations, the communication and all of that. We’re really happy we’ve been able to leave the four lines and literally the six ‘D’ alone.”
• The Wild have a league-leading five short-handed goals, led by Dewar, who scored another beauty on Sunday in Dallas.
Connor Dewar scores a beauty of a shorthanded goal. Minnesota now leads the league in shorthanded goals with 5 pic.twitter.com/griLYbFmUd
— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) December 4, 2022
It looks like it’s been a product of some tweaks to the penalty kill for the start of the season.
“We’re aggressive, right?” Evason said. “Our penalty kill is very much changed as far as the system and how different it is as far as aggressiveness. That leads to some more opportunities, more breakdowns. When you’re working and skating like we are, we get some opportunities.”
• An interesting scenario will come together when Ryan Hartman and Brandon Duhaime are healthy. Both forwards aren’t close yet, though Hartman was making some progress skating on his own before this road trip. But my sense would be that Hartman could slide into Petan’s spot on the third line with Matt Boldy and Gaudreau. Duhaime would be in the mix on the fourth line with Shaw, Dewar and Reaves. Another variable will be Marco Rossi and when the Wild decide he’s ready to come up. There’s not really a spot for him right now, though it’d probably be better for him to get a shot with Boldy and Gaudreau to see what he can do before Hartman and company are ready. The Wild never gave a timetable for how long Rossi will be in AHL Iowa, though it was believed to only be a temporary thing. The team is winning, so they’re going to roll with what they have.
(Top photo of Mason Shaw, Andrej Sustr and Jared Spurgeon: Courtesy of the Minnesota Wild)