A year later, Wild reflect on the day everything shut down - Bemidji Pioneer

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Let’s rewind to March 12, 2020. That game itself figured to have some pretty important playoff implications, with the Wild trying to climb in the Central Division, and the Golden Knights trying to separate from the pack in the Pacific Division.

Wild coach Dean Evason remembers game planning with the rest of his coaching staff when he got the call from general manager Bill Guerin.

“We got the call from Billy and he said, ‘You have to leave the rink immediately,’ ” Evason said. “Literally we went out and told the guys, ‘You’ve got to get out of the rink.’ It was really weird.”

Some players were already leaving the facility as winger Marcus Foligno was arriving. It was an optional skate, as is the case for most game days, so Foligno was pulling up just in time for the team meeting.

“All of a sudden I remember Eric Staal walking up the ramp and saying, ‘Turn around, buddy. We’re going home,’ ” Foligno said. “That was kind of the biggest thing that stood out to me.”

In hindsight, the writing was on the wall as soon as the NBA paused its season the night before, on March 11, 2020. That started a nationwide domino effect, and less than a week later, most of the country was in full lockdown.

“It was an eerie feeling,” Foligno said. “It felt like we were having a snow day almost and hopefully we would be back the next day. That wasn’t the case, and here we are a year later.”

So much has changed since the Wild walked out of the arena that day. More than 2.5 million people have died from COVID worldwide with nearly 550,000 deaths in the United States alone.

Though there seems the end might be near with the vaccine rollout in full swing, it could be a while before life goes back to something resembling normal.

Meanwhile, the Wild have done their best to adapt to any situation. They played the Vancouver Canucks in August as a part of the NHL’s Return to Play Plan, bowing out quickly with a 3-1 series loss.

The playoff bubble in Edmonton was a new experience for everyone, and the Tampa Bay Lightning ultimately emerged as Stanley Cup champions in late September.

That started a lengthy offseason across the NHL before teams finally started to reconvene for training camp shortly after New Year’s Day.

When the Wild walked back into the Xcel Energy Center for the first time about nine weeks ago, Evason was reminded of how quickly everyone cleared out on March 12, 2020. He walked into his coach’s office, looked at the whiteboard, and saw the Golden Knights lineup from the game that never happened 10 months earlier.

“We had left it all up in our coach’s room with our matchup stuff and all of that,” he said. “It was up there even when we came back here to start this season.”

While the Wild are certainly happy to be back in action, this season hasn’t exactly been normal.

On top of navigating a condensed 56-game schedule with games being played pretty much every other night, the Wild had to overcome a COVID outbreak that ceased team activities for a couple of weeks last month.

Through it all the Wild are among the most surprising teams in the league. Led by dynamic wingers Kirill Kaprizov and Kevin Fiala, as well as the emergence of rookie goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen, the Wild (15-8-1, 31 points) are brimming with confidence and appear to be getting better with each game.

“It’s obviously a little bit different and weird without fans,” Foligno said. “We have still been playing with that emotion, and maybe that’s why our record is the way it is.”

This has been a rewarding season for the Wild to this point. Especially considering everything they have been through the past 365 days.

“We had no idea how long it was going to last,” Evason said. “We were thinking we will be off for a few days and then come back. Obviously it kept lingering on and got to the point where it’s at. Let’s hope it’s all behind us.”

As center Nick Bjugstad put it, “The sun is coming out here. I think people are starting to see the end.”

For the Wild, it looks like it might be just the beginning.

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