TEAM GUIDE

TEAM IDENTITY
Minnesota Sports & Entertainment (MSE) was originally formed in 1997 by majority owner Bob Naegele, Jr., and a group of investors
when they were awarded the rights to an expansion National Hockey League (NHL) franchise for the City of Saint Paul.
On June 25, 1997, the NHL officially approved expansion to 30 teams by the year 2000 with the announcement of new clubs in Atlanta,
Columbus, Minnesota and Nashville. The Nashville Predators entered the League in 1998-99, the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999-2000. The
Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets began play in 2000-01.
On Jan. 22, 1998, Minnesota and hockey fans all over the world were introduced to the Minnesota Wild. During a historic ceremony at
Maplewood, Minnesota’s Aldrich Arena, the organization revealed the name which was chosen from thousands of suggestions offered
by Minnesota hockey fans over a six-month period.
In front of a capacity crowd of hockey fans young and old, the logo was unveiled on the side of a large puck which descended from above
at center ice. The mark depicted the word “Wild” designed in an organic, naturalist form and included the team’s official colors of Iron
Range Red, Forest Green, Harvest Gold and Minnesota Wheat.
“We think it [Wild] represents what Minnesota hockey
fans hold most dear — our rugged natural wilderness,
the premier brand of hockey that’s native to
Minnesota and the great enthusiasm of all our hockey
fans,” said Minnesota Wild CEO Jac Sperling.
The Wild continued to honor the history and naturalistic
tradition of the state of Minnesota when it unveiled
its sweater on Nov. 18, 1999. Again, the club turned
to its hockey roots by holding a ceremony to reveal the
sweater at the Roseville Skating Center in front of a
sold-out crowd of season ticket deposit holders. The
crest of the jersey, one of the most unique and striking
marks in all of professional sports, is a Minnesota
Wilderness pictogram including a wild animal, the
North Star, evergreen trees, a red sky, the sun and/
or moon and a stream. It now appears on the front of
the road sweaters. The road jersey is white, trimmed
in Iron Range Red, Harvest Gold and Forest Green. The
numbering and lettering on the jersey is tri-color with
an organic design, which also ties into the overall
wilderness theme the club has established.
In 2003, the Wild unveiled a third sweater – now the team’s home jersey – inspired by the heritage and tradition of hockey in Minnesota.
The jersey incorporated the same colors found in the club’s original home and road editions. The main color is Iron Range Red, with
Forest Green stripes highlighted by Minnesota Wheat trim on the bottom band and shoulders of the jersey. The new crest featured the
team’s traditional animal head mark in a classic chenille icon with the team name, Minnesota Wild, offset by a Harvest Gold North Star
on each side of the logo. The new sweater paid tribute to the heritage of hockey with a traditional lace-up collar in Minnesota Wheat.
Also, in keeping with the simplicity of design and vintage look of the new jersey, no shoulder patches were created.
The Wild unveiled a new third jersey at the Minnesota State Fair’s FAN Central building on Aug. 30, 2009. Based in the Wild’s Forest
Green with Wheat trim and a hint of Iron Range Red, the jersey’s classic sports look was the overwhelming favorite of Wild fans surveyed
during the summer of 2008. The jersey crest features a script “Minnesota” with “WILD” emblazoned below. The script look, including the
classic “M”, harkens back to historic Minnesota teams of the past including Minneapolis and Saint Paul teams of the 1930s and 1940s.
The familiar “north star” element, borrowed from the primary Wild logo, dots the “I” and adds a decorative detail to the stylized “M”.
The Wild unveiled a new white road jersey on Sept. 1, 2013, at a public event held at the Minnesota State Fair’s FAN Central building.
The new road jersey follows the more classic design style of the red home jersey unveiled in 2003 and the green alternate jersey unveiled
in 2009. The jersey keeps the primary Wild logo at the center of the sweater and features Iron Range Red numbers and collar, including
Minnesota Wild text hidden on the inside of the collar. Additional features of the new jersey are Forest Green lettering, a traditional
lace-up collar in classic Wild Forest Green and the Wild circle crest as a shoulder patch. The new road uniforms include Forest Green
stripes on the arms and waist of the jersey, as well as on the new white socks.
The new road jersey design was led by the Wild’s Creative Services team in partnership with Reebok and the NHL. The Wild used season
ticket holder feedback throughout the 18-month design and prototype process.
2016 2017
TEAM MANAGMENT
10
THE STATE OF HOCKEY
2016-2017 MINNESOTA WILD TEAM GUIDE
2016-2017 MINNESOTA WILD TEAM GUIDE THE STATE OF HOCKEY 11