Practice Thoughts

I was very fortunate to be able to attend a Wild practice recently, and here are a few observations that I came away with:

• They do a lot of similar drills to a Squirt B hockey team (10 year olds). There were plenty of breakout drills, 2-on-1's and some goofy shooting contest at the end. From what I could tell, Demitra was the winner. Jez be proud.
• Mark Parrish has a mouth like a sailor. There was no mistaking what he was saying from my perch 25 rows back.
• Manny likes to mock and ridicule the shooters, while Backstrom says nary a word. Manny appeared jovial, loud and boisterous, often calling skaters out who miss the net. Backstrom practiced, spoke little to anyone and left practice without chatting up with the coaching staff.
• On the way to the rink I walked 10 feet behind Patrick Marleau of the Sharks for a couple of blocks. He probably thought I was stalking him, but I was just headed to the arena like he was. Before I got to the rink I had to navigate through a group of autograph hounds who showed no interest whatsoever in Marleau, hoping instead for Joe Thornton. I felt bad for Patrick when he walked by unbothered. He's the captain, but clearly not recognizable by these St. Paul hockey geeks.
• No Boogaard? I couldn't believe it. I thought I might see the big guy doing some skating, but he was no where in sight.