Monday, September 15, 2003

Boogie Fever

The Minnesota Wild have began training camp last week and given the team’s appearance in the Stanley Cup Semi-finals last year, local interest is sky high this year. It’s going to be difficult for the team to live up to the raised expectations of the casual fans (like me) of at least equaling their playoff run of last year. Even if they play up to their abilities, merely gaining a playoff birth may be all one could reasonably expect.

But there is one way to keep those like me happy, no matter what the on ice results are. Get a goon with some personality. A story from yesterday’s Star Tribune suggests that perhaps they have their man:

With a meaty left hand, 6-7, 261-pound Derek Boogaard ended the ban on fighting Saturday morning. Boogaard, a seventh-round pick in 2001, ripped the helmet off Nick Greenough, spiked it, then traded punches with the overmatched 6-4, 225-pound defenseman.

"I don't like hitting the helmet," Boogaard said. "The helmet is a lot harder on the hand than the melon. Plus, they usually fall when you hit them in the head."


Bluntly put, but undeniably true. Turns out Boogaard, or “The Boogey Man” as he’s known, is already a folk hero among those obsessive, fixated fans of the hockey underground (for directions to their subterranean lair, see the Elder ). He also makes regular interview appearances on a Web site known as Wild Enforcers. See below for just a hint of what we Minnesotans may be enjoying all winter long:

Q: How do you approach most of your fight partners? Call them out doing a face off, tug at their sweater during play, just make eye contact?

A: A combination of all of them. Sometimes I just smack them with my stick on the way by.

Q: You renewed an old rivalry with Mike Lee the other night, how did it feel to square off with him after a few years (and get a little payback)?

A: I fought him year after he broke my jaw, and I beat him up pretty good, so it really didn’t matter.

Q: ...your fights and checks have earned you a reputation as someone to watch out for, does that bother you or do you like hearing that?

A: No, it doesn't bother me. It's a confidence booster to have player's watching over their shoulder looking out for me. It keeps them in check so they don't take liberties with our skilled players.


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