Rough Sanded Woodworking<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe whole process is just very therapeutic for me,\u201d Lange said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a hobby that\u2019s blossomed into a huge social media following, which grew even more when Foligno gave Lange and Rough Sanded Woodworking a shoutout during a postgame interview with the TNT broadcast crew following Game 6 of the first-round series.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe made us a bunch of stuff and then this year, he\u2019s like, \u2018I got something great for you guys,\u2019\u201d Foligno said in the interview. \u201cIt was awesome. It\u2019s been awesome to get someone like that, a season ticket holder involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lange made a playoffs puck holder for the team last year, too. It was a simple box with four slots and the 2024-25 team\u2019s theme \u201cHard\u201d etched into each slot. That was done on a bit more of a time crunch, since the Wild didn\u2019t officially make the playoffs until the end of the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This year left Lange with a bit more breathing room to create the wooden Stanley Cup. They bounced around ideas before Foligno came back with: \u201cHey, what about something shaped like the Stanley Cup?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like \u2018yeah, I could do that,\u2019\u201d Lange said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He used canarywood \u2013 denser and sturdier than plywood \u2013 and laid out the generic outline design of a Stanley Cup on his computer and put it into the CNC machine to cut it out. \u00a0<\/p>\n
He created the spaces for 16 pucks while also being mindful of keeping the entire piece compact, since he knew it would travel on the road with the team. He only had one actual game puck for reference, which made it a bit of a challenge, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPromotional pucks are different,\u201d Lange said. \u201cThe printing on the sides is different. The size is different.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cutting it out of the machine took around an hour, followed by three hours of sanding; \u201cthat\u2019s the fun part,\u201d Lange said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Being a hockey fan and using his hobby to have a partnership with the Wild in this way is \u201cunreal,\u201d Lange said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI tell my wife every day, \u2018what world am I living in here?\u2019\u201d Lange said. \u201c\u2019How did I get to this position?”<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s surreal. It\u2019s definitely an honor.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lange got this year\u2019s puck holder to the Wild right before they left for Dallas to face the Stars in the first-round playoff series. The puck holder wasn\u2019t empty for long, after a 6-1 win in Game 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s temporarily taken the place of the Redwood Hat the Wild awarded to the player of the game throughout the season, and that player in the playoffs does the honors of placing the puck in the wooden cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always need something like that to kind of come around with as a whole team, you can gather around something,\u201d Foligno said. \u201cYou might think it\u2019s the reason why you\u2019re winning. There\u2019s a lot of superstition in this league, in sports.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jesper Wallstedt, with his first career playoff win in net, did the honors of placing the first game puck into the holder. The Wild have shared videos and photos of the puck holder on social media after wins in the playoffs. Wallstedt took a couple of attempts to make sure the puck was secured.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe (Matt) was laughing because he saw one of us try to smash it in,\u201d Foligno said. \u201cHe\u2019s like, \u2018I\u2019m sorry, man. They fit, but sometimes there\u2019s a little bit of fragments left over.\u2019
\u201cYeah, he did a good job.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lange first connected with Foligno about four years ago, after Lange had reached out to the Wild Foundation about donating some of his woodworking items. Foligno was the host of the Whiskey and Wine event, so Lange obliged the Foundation\u2019s request to make a charcuterie board as a gift for Foligno.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The two kept in touch after that.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got unbelievable stuff,\u201d\u00a0Foligno said, adding that he\u2019s asked Lange for charcuterie boards, too. \u201cHe\u2019s a good guy to know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Wild filled up one side of the cup with pucks after a series win over Dallas. The dream, of course, is to fill each slot with a puck from a Wild playoff win. Foligno said if that happens, they\u2019ll put the cup holder in a glass case. Or maybe they\u2019ll return the favor, sign it and gift it back to Lange.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat would be incredible,\u201d Lange said.<\/p>\n