ST. PAUL, Minn. \u2014 Mari\u00e1n Gabor\u00edk got a quick tour of the Minnesota Wild\u2019s practice facility at TRIA Rink on Tuesday and seemed blown away.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t have all this when I was here,\u201d he said, smiling.<\/p>\n
Gabor\u00edk, 43, a member of the original Wild team and their first big star, was in town as part of the 25th anniversary season celebration. While Gabor\u00edk\u2019s group didn\u2019t have the plush facility, they had one thing a young generation of Minnesota players and fans haven\u2019t experienced.<\/p>\n
A long playoff run.<\/p>\n
The Wild\u2019s run to the Western Conference final in 2003 is one of Gabor\u00edk\u2019s favorite memories from his nine years in Minnesota. They beat the star-studded Colorado Avalanche, then the Vancouver Canucks, overcoming a 3-1 series deficit against both, before running out of gas and getting swept by the Anaheim Ducks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was amazing,\u201d Gabor\u00edk said. \u201cI remember coming home from Vancouver after we won a game, and in my driveway, kids or neighbors were there with chalk writing different messages. And coming back from the plane to the car, there were fans waiting at the airport. It was incredible. Nobody expected us to go that far. It was definitely special.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope and I believe Wild fans can experience again something like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
the boys are back home pic.twitter.com\/SZKBvCorQY<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) October 29, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s been 22 years since that Gabor\u00edk-led run, and 10 years since the Wild last won a playoff series. But one of the bigger takeaways from the visits by Gabor\u00edk, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Stephane Veilleux and Brian Rolston was reflecting on the success of those early teams and what the Twin Cities would be like if it happened again.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be part of that, I will remember that all my life,\u201d Bouchard said. \u201cThe atmosphere at the rink, outside the rink, it was unbelievable, and it was pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n Gabor\u00edk is still the franchise\u2019s leading goal scorer (219), and many will never forget his five-goal game against the New York Rangers in 2007. While Gabor\u00edk went on to play for the Rangers and win a Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Kings, his time with the Wild meant a lot to him.<\/p>\n Gabor\u00edk read the Wild lineup card before Tuesday\u2019s game, was part of the ceremonial faceoff and visited with several players, including Kirill Kaprizov, in the morning. Kaprizov is 28 goals from passing Gabor\u00edk for the all-time Wild goals mark.<\/p>\n what Gabby said pic.twitter.com\/RwIVZO6HCO<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) October 29, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cEvery place I played was special in some way, but this is close to my heart because I started here,\u201d Gabor\u00edk said. \u201cI spent nine years here, including (the) lockout. Things obviously didn\u2019t end up the way everybody wanted, but it is what it is.<\/p>\n \u201cGreat memories. Made a lot of great friends here, which I still keep in touch with and other guys that I played with. Yeah, they were special nine years, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n Special day for special kid<\/p>\n Ten-year-old Weston Paszkiewicz, who has been battling leukemia, had quite the day Thursday when he signed a one-day contract with the Wild thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He got his own jersey, his own stall and even got to play with the Wild during their morning skate. He scored goals, got pointers from players like Ryan Hartman and posed for pictures with everybody from Jared Spurgeon to Kaprizov.<\/p>\n In one of the sweetest experiences, future Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury snuck him into the dressing room during pregame warmups where they played a series of practical jokes at Kaprizov\u2019s changing-room stall, including cutting off the ends of his dress socks and putting Icy Hot in his boxers. Weston loved it.<\/p>\n Fleury asked Weston if they should prank other players, but Weston said, \u201cJust Kirill.\u201d<\/p>\n Weston and Flower really put the TRICK in trick or treat \ud83c\udf83 pic.twitter.com\/Np2vHPCr5b<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) October 31, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n After the Penguins won, general manager Kyle Dubas and captain Sidney Crosby arranged for Weston to come into their dressing room, where he was presented with their Hero of the Game helmet. Weston\u2019s father could not have been more appreciative as Weston posed for a picture with the entire team.<\/p>\n Tonight’s player of the game helmet went to 10-year-old Weston Paszkiewicz, who\u2019s battling leukemia and signed a one-day contract with the @mnwild<\/a> through the Make-A-Wish Foundation \ud83d\udc9b pic.twitter.com\/C5Ra5gFIG0<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 31, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Tarasenko\u2019s \u2018good luck charm\u2019<\/p>\n Vladimir Tarasenko broke out with a power-play goal and two assists during Saturday\u2019s 5-2 win over Vancouver, with the goal coming in the first period \u2013 the only period his wife and three sons were at the game for.<\/p>\n Tarasenko\u2019s oldest \u2013 18-year-old stepson Mark Besedin \u2013 plays for the Dallas Junior Stars AAA team, who had a tournament for five days in Blaine. The start of the season had to be hard for Tarasenko with his wife and youngest two boys still in Florida and his oldest in Dallas, but with the entire family in Minnesota, they got to go trick-or-treating on Halloween and, on Sunday, Tarasenko attended Mark\u2019s game.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s my good luck charm, I guess,\u201d Tarasenko said, since he had such a big game Saturday night. \u201cMy most important thing is to spend time with my family. I like my family together, and we had a chance to do it (Friday), and I\u2019m looking forward to (Sunday).\u201d<\/p>\n Eriksson-Ek and Tarasenko combine for an INSANE GOAL \ud83e\udd2f\ud83d\udea8 pic.twitter.com\/AVJV7IuTOC<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 B\/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Mark ended up not starting Sunday\u2019s game. The Stars play again Monday morning, but Tarasenko has practice at that time.<\/p>\n Tarasenko doesn\u2019t exactly love being a goalie dad.<\/p>\n \u201cSo much easier when it\u2019s a forward,\u201d Tarasenko said. \u201cIt\u2019s stressful. He\u2019s always in the net for 60 minutes, so you always have to pay attention. I don\u2019t know if he\u2019ll be in the net Sunday, but I still will go for the game. I want to see his team. I watch all the games on LiveBarn, but I\u2019ve never seen it live.\u201d<\/p>\n Childhood friends now linemates<\/p>\n Hartman\u2019s suspension last season landed childhood friend Vinnie Hinostroza in Minnesota after the Wild claimed him off waivers from Nashville. Linemates parts of late last season with Marcus Foligno, the Foligno-Hartman-Hinostroza trio is playing together again in recent days, and on Saturday night, Hinostroza assisted on Hartman\u2019s empty-net goal like they were kids again.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s cool to play together,\u201d Hinostroza said. \u201cIt was special for us to start our career together (with the Chicago Blackhawks). And we could have never imagined playing on two teams together. It\u2019s been cool and obviously both of us have kids now, so to get to do the little things like trick-or-treat. My oldest son was helping his little guy trick or treat (Friday), so it\u2019s crazy. Full circle.\u201d<\/p>\n Hinostroza\u2019s sons Vinnie and Nash dressed as cowboys and his daughter Ella as a cowgirl. Hartman\u2019s son, Keyes, dressed as a duck.<\/p>\n Hartman and Hinostroza, each 31, became friends at around 8 years old when they played on different mite teams \u2014 Hartman for the Crystal Lake Leafs and Hinostroza for the Chicago Blues. Hartman\u2019s team beat Hinostroza\u2019s team for a state AA mites championship.<\/p>\n They then played together for years on the Chicago Mission, where they won several state peewee and bantam titles. They even played football together on the Bloomingdale Bears. Hartman was a nose tackle, kicker and fullback, while Hinostroza played running back and outside linebacker.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve been teammates in the world junior championships and with the Rockford IceHogs, Blackhawks and now Wild.<\/p>\n Hinostroza coast to coast pic.twitter.com\/SXuBbVRInF<\/a><\/p>\n