Two Minnesota Wild players and a former Wild player took the stage at the Pete Peterson Bandshell in Smokey Bear Park to sign autographs Monday morning when the 2012 Wild Road Tour rolled into International Falls.
Wild center Chad Rau, defenseman Justin Falk and an original member of the team, Wes Walz, met with fans who came to the park between 10-11 a.m. on the first stop on their tour that will take them to various places in Minnesota this week before concluding Thursday with the seventh annual Wild Summer Bash at the Guidant John Rose MN OVAL in Roseville from 6-9 p.m.
“I really enjoy it — I get to interact with the fans and stuff, so we’re having fun,” said Rau, who is from Eden Prairie and has signed a new two-year contract with the Wild.
After being called up from the Houston Aeros last season, Rau, 25, scored two goals appearing in nine games for the Wild. Both his goals were game-winners, including the one coming in his NHL debut Jan. 21 on “Hockey Day Minnesota” against the Dallas Stars.
The Wild began the 2011-12 campaign with one of the best records in the NHL before being plagued by injuries and ending up not qualifying for the playoffs. Rau said staying healthy will be key to Minnesota’s success next season.
“Management’s done a great job putting pieces together where they need,” Rau said. “There’s a lot of young guys signed, and it’s just going to add more depth to the team. There’s a lot of great players returning, too, so I think it’s going to be a really strong team this year.”
Falk, 23, who is entering the 2012-13 season as a restricted free agent and has received a qualifying offer from Minnesota, has been with the Wild for three seasons, compiling 12 points in 72 career games.
Originally from Snowflake, Manitoba, Falk said the road tour makes it possible for him to see cities in Minnesota where he otherwise wouldn’t be traveling.
“I get to see these young kids come out here — the excitement in their faces — to meet us and see us,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
In 2012-13, Falk said he hopes the Wild will be able to “keep things rolling throughout the course of the year.”
“We’re going to have adversity like we did last year,” he said. “We hope that we just gained enough experience from those situations that we can maybe handle things a little better, individually and as a team, that we can fight through that and keep things rolling the good way we had going.”
The Wild open the preseason schedule Sept. 25 against Dallas. Their regular season opener is set for Oct. 13 at home against Colorado.
Walz said the road tour makes it possible to meet with Wild fans who don’t always have an opportunity to get to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul to see games because of the distance.
“It’s nice for us during the summer to take three or four days and just jump on a bus and bounce from town to town all over the state of Minnesota and give back to the folks that have provided unbelievable support for the Wild,” Walz said.
The Wild Road Tour also provided a fund-raising opportunity for local youth hockey associations. A “chuck-a-puck” fund-raiser took place at Smokey Bear Park to benefit Falls’ youth hockey association.
Youngsters also scaled a climbing wall brought to the park for the road tour by the Minnesota National Guard.
