Bill Guerin @KFAN1003

0:00You're listening to the official Minnesota wild pond cast presented by Acresher. Final hour filling in for Paul Allen and Eric Nordquist, Kevin Faulness along with Brett Blakemore here on KFAN 9 to noon and we've been talking a whole lot of hockey and I don't think that'll change for the next 10-15 minutes as we bring in the general manager of the Minnesota wild. Mr. Bill Garen who I assume is in the belly of the beast. I assume you're in Dallas, Billy? Yes, I am Kevin. I'm in Dallas. I know that was obvious, but you're a world traveler, so you could be just about anywhere, but today you're in Dallas. It's not an obvious question, it's not an obvious answer, it's not. Okay. Well, good. I'm not always with the team. Right. So I don't feel bad about confirming it, but I can't imagine you'd be anywhere but in Dallas and not only because you're taking on the hated Dallas stars, but an opportunity to get a look at. I first round playoff preview with the wild and stars.

1:00It's locked in stone. What we don't know is will game one be in St. Paul? Will it be in Dallas? Do you, Billy? Does it matter one way or the other? How important is home ice in your mind? Well, I think it does make a difference. Look, if you don't get it, you don't get it, but like if there's an opportunity to get it, you have to play for it, you have to try and you know, that's a, this team has meaning tonight. You know, that's what's great about it. And I just, it's a really good test for our team. You know, Dallas has been a big rival for a long time now and you know, we have an opportunity. So yeah, I'm glad that I'm here. It's a different aura around this team heading into the playoffs this year compared to last in the fact that you're not going down to the wire. You've got your spot locked up, you know, two weeks early. As opposed to last year where it took into the final seconds. Is there a little bit, again, there's still something on the line here. You're battling for, for home ice advantage, which is something, but is there something

2:03a little bit better about the fact that you've got that spot locked up a little bit earlier than the final seconds of the regular season? Oh, my God, yes, like, yeah, come on, Kevin, you kidding me? I thought it's brutal last year. Like, yeah, it's much better to be in the position we are in this year than in the last year. I mean, that was way too close for comfort, but you know, the guys have played well all a year and, you know, worked really hard and it's really, really hard to make the playoffs in the national hockey league. And I just think it's in a, I mean, that's an accomplishment for all the teams to do it on its own, but now it's, you know, getting ready, getting ready to try to win the first round and move on from there, but you know, it's funny, like, you know, when I broke into the league in the 91-92 season, there were 21 teams in the league and 16 made it.

3:06Now all these years, later, there's 32 teams, but the number of teams that make it has not changed. So that just kind of paints a little bit of a picture of how difficult it really is to make the playoffs in this league. So I'm really proud of our group. And look at these races, Billy, we were just doing this earlier in the show talking about the battle in the Eastern Conference for the final playoffs, spot the battle in West for the play, the final playoffs spot. Guys are losing their jobs with eight games left to go in the regular season, four games left for Patrick Law and the Islanders. What a dogfight it is each and every year, and this year's no exception. It's crazy, the race outies, you know, starting at like seven o'clock Eastern, the playoffs race in the East, it changes hourly, it's crazy, like, it's just, but I think that's the health of the league, you know, like it shows the health of the league and how competitive it is. And I just think it's so much better for our fans because, you know, there's so many

4:12teams that are still in it playing meaningful games that are, you know, it doesn't, you know, there are a lot of teams, a lot more teams in it to the end, it gives more importance to the games and the fans can enjoy it that much more. So I just think it just shows on what a good place our game is in. Yeah, no doubt it's going to go down to game number 82 for a lot of these teams, luckily for Bill Garen and the Minnesota Wild. They've already got their spot secured 78 games in, Billy, if I told you you'd be in this spot coming out of October when you had dropped 9 of 12 and now here we sit with a chance to potentially leapfrog to start for home ice advantage. It's incredible the turnaround. What changed so drastically from Halloween to where we sit now in the middle stage almost of April? Yeah, you know, and I think the start was a bit of a wake up call for the guys. I think they realized that, you know, they couldn't continue to perform the way that they

5:13are performing and have success. I, you know, and this is kind of what John is talking to them about now and I think this is what happened back then is that we have to play with identity before systems. You know, we can worry about systems and, you know, where everybody has to be, you know, that's great. But if you don't play to your identity, that doesn't matter. So let's get to our identity, play the way we're supposed to play, be super competitive and things will turn around and they did. And I think that's just such a, you know, a key point of our season. The guys on the ice are the guys that you're going to handle what happens to this team, but you've done a good job of giving John Hines and the rest of the team something to work with this season. And of course, everyone's going to look at the Quinn Hughes trade in the middle of December.

6:13That's a game changer. No question about it. Gives the wild three legit superstars in their lineup. But some of the other below the radar moves I think have been bearing fruit. One guy in particular, Billy, and I didn't have a huge ceiling for him coming into this year was Vladimir Tarasenko. What a pain in the backside. He's been for the wild for many, many years, especially when he was with the scene who was blues. And he's found himself again in a wild uniform 11 goals last year with Detroit. I think he's up to 23 now with the wild and he looks reborn. How impressed are you with what he's done for you in the wild uniform? And I'll happy are you form easy guy to root for not when he's wearing the opposition's uniform, but an easy guy to root for when he's playing for your team. Yeah, I'm thrilled for him. I mean, you know what, sometimes it's just not a fit. And I just don't think it was a fit in Detroit. He's come here and yeah, it's just been a good fit and glad he's done the work. You know, he's put the time in, he's put the effort in, he's really, he's really been

7:18a committed guy for us and, you know, we're thrilled for him. And yeah, all those years in St. Louis or he was shooting the puck in our net. It's nice to see him shooting it in the opponents net for us. So really, really, really happy for him in the year that he said 23 goals on the season also at an overtime winner against the stars last month in the third of four meetings. The fourth one coming up tonight, 745 pregame right here on the fan. That's just one of many little under the radar moves this team made, especially at the NHL trade deadline and a couple of those big bodies that I had, I think have a real big opportunity to have an impact on this series and whatever playoff run the wild go on. Nick Filino and Michael McCarran, what have you liked about them now having a chance to see them for however many games since the deadline? Yeah, obviously it's like their, their competitive nature is, is what I really like. They're just, they're on every night. You know, they're in the fight every night.

8:21They bring a lot worth of great toughness, but like, you know, you look at the detail in their game, you know, they're excellent penalty killers. They're really going to face us. And they, like, you know, you're looking at both of them, just, they just know how to play the game. You know, they limit turnovers. They're responsible in their D zone, but, you know, there are a lot of little nuances to both their games that, that, you know, you, you might not, you know, it doesn't jump off the TV screen to you, but they're just little plays that help you have a successful shift or a successful penalty kill or something like that. And then, you know, the, the character part to me and the leadership is, you know, the, I guess all the intangibles that they bring are, are really valuable. And they bring some beef. A guy that does not. There was also added at the trade deadline was Bobby Brink. He's not going to scare anyone with his physical prowess, but I know that you love the potential

9:22upside for Bobby Brink. What role do you see him playing as you make your way into the playoffs and then in that series against Dallas? Where do you see him fitting into the, what role do you see him playing here with for John Heinz and company? Yeah. We'll see where he fits in, you know, that's going to be up to John, but like, you know, I love Bobby's a hockey player and, and, you know, he's not the, he's not the most beautiful skater in the world, but what he has is he has great hockey sense. He's got good hands. He's got intelligence and he's, he's very competitive. And that's what we really like about him. And you know what? This is violence. He's bringing that each and every night. He does, you know, it, he does just great. Yeah, I think Bobby's going to, Bobby's going to be a big contributor for us. A couple of quick ones here about a couple of young guys that aren't in the lineup. They aren't available to you at least for tonight. Charlie Stramel's one of them talked to him earlier in the show.

10:23You can go podcast that. I don't think you will. But the listener could have they missed the conversation with Charlie Stramel entry level contract earlier this week, bummer for sure, broke his ankle there a couple of weeks ago against Wisconsin, but continues to make waves as an up and coming prospect within the organization. What did you see him from from the time you drafted them to the time that he finished up his career there on in college hockey and wish with Michigan State? How much are you excited about the upside of Stramel? Oh, man, we're really excited about him. You know, honestly, just what he showed in his college career was incredible, you know, fortitude and my old coach, Dan Biles, where he used to say, have a word called stick tutiveness. And he just stuck with it because the first two years at Wisconsin were not great. They're a real struggle for him.

11:24You know, he switches over to Michigan State and, you know, Adam Nightingale does a great job with him kind of, you know, losing his confidence and he did such good work over his four years in college is incredible to where he started to where he ended up in top 10 for whole denominations like it was unbelievable. So we're really excited about Charlie, you know, at the, you know, six foot three or four, whatever he is, 220 pounds center. It's just unfortunate that he got injured and we don't have access to him right now. That's a bummer. No doubt about it. The center, big body, great 200 foot game. He sounds like another guy that you already have on your roster. Is it too much to compare him to Jules Erickson Eck? Yeah, no, I mean, I guess it's tough to always compare the guys who have been in the league for 10 years, but they have the same, they have some of the same, you know, attributes

12:27and the size and the strength, you know, the skill part. I know, you know, Ecky's skill and scoring didn't kind of come into a few years into the league, but Charlie's got the, he's got the package and it's just a matter of putting it all together. The other guy I want to talk to you about another college for aging is signed from UConn and I don't care if you only signed him for his name. I think you signed him probably for more than that, but Viking Gustafsen Niburg. What can you tell me about this kid? I see him listed at 6, 6, 225 pounds, a defense man out of Sweden. We love our Swedes. But are you kidding me? Viking Gustafsen Niburg. Yeah, when we had the phone call with him, I told him, I said, you have to sign here. There's no other alternative like you have to. I said, you'll probably make more money off the ice and you will on the ice because just because of your name. And it's only a matter of time that our beloved bikes have them blowing that horn before

13:31the game. I mean, that's a no brainer to me. But honestly, like the name aside, like you said, 6, 6, 225 and he's a very good skater. He's a great clip of his assist last night playing for Iowa on Twitter or whatever you call him now. Yeah. He's got some real good, real good, real nice qualities about his game because at his size, he's a very good skater too. And he knows what he is. And I think for a young player, knowing what your identity is, knowing who you are, that's such a big, that's kind of half the battle because you got to know what you are before you start really taking the next step. So we're really happy that we have him. He's joined us here in Dallas, like I said, at breakfast with him this morning and we chatted for a while and he's a great kid, so it's, we're excited for him.

14:34Love to hear it again, Blakey, Gustafson, Nyberg, you're no stranger to this game, Billy, you know all about, yeah, I know it's phenomenal. You know, stranger to this game this time of year, there's nothing like it. Do you expect some playoff intensity tonight, even though it's game number 79 of the regular season, whatever it is, you still got games before you get to the playoffs, but you know this is your first round matchup. Do you expect some playoff intensity tonight in Big D? I do 100%. Yeah. 100 if I did it, yes, without a doubt. Awesome stuff. Billy, good luck tonight, good luck to rest of the season and on behalf of the entire state of hockey, good luck in the playoffs. Thank you, my friend. I will tune into your podcast on X or Twitter, whatever they call it. I won't. No, I won't. I was kidding. I know you are. I hope everybody else does. All right, buddy. Thank you. General Manager of the Minnesota Lyle, Bill Garrett, it is confirmed for Nicky's intervention. And he should be. You need a game plan for an extraordinary advantage everywhere else.

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