Team hopes banner becomes first of many

In his illustrious Hall of Fame career, Jacques Lemaire has earned one more Stanley Cup ring than he's got fingers, so the Wild coach has seen a banner-raising or two in his day.

But the magnitude of the banner that was lifted to the Xcel Energy Center rafters Saturday night wasn't lost on Lemaire, the only coach the Wild has ever had.

Seven years from the franchise's inception, the Wild won its first division championship in the cutthroat Northwest last season, yet it was an accomplishment that became a mere footnote after the Wild's second consecutive first-round exit.

"I talked to the guys last year when things were tough," Lemaire said before the Wild's 4-3 victory over Boston. "We came out of [it] and had a chance to finish first, and I told them how this is important because you can always say I was part of this every time you'll step in the arena.

"We're a young team, and we don't have a lot of history, but we're getting there and it's great to have the first one."

Watching that banner rise was especially emotional for the 13 players on the Wild's opening night roster that have never worn another NHL sweater.

"It's awesome," said Stephane Veilleux, in his sixth season in Minnesota after being drafted in 2001. "Nobody can take away that divisional championship. You've got to be proud of that accomplishment, especially the way we won that division. It was a crazy battle, not clinching until the 81st game. It means when you battle through, good things happen."

Players from state champion teams Bloomington Jefferson Junior Gold A, Edina White Under-16, Edina White Under-19 and Lakeville Junior Gold B helped raise the banner.

Defenseman Nick Schultz, who signed a six-year extension late last season, hopes it was the first of many banner raisings he will witness.

"I think it's a steppingstone for us to get a chance at winning a [Stanley] Cup," Schultz said. "This is big. It shows as an organization we're moving forward and getting better every year. To win the division is big, but hopefully we can add to that and ultimately win the conference and get a chance to play for the Stanley Cup."

Rookie Colton Gillies, 19, recorded his first NHL assist in his debut during Saturday's 4-3 win over Boston.

After the game, he got some advice from 17-year NHLer Owen Nolan.

"I came off the ice, thinking, 'Whoa, I just got my first game under my belt,' and Nolan said, 'It goes by quick, so you better enjoy it while you still can,'" Gillies said, smiling.

Asked his impression of Gillies, Lemaire's eyes opened wide: "He's got to shorten up the shifts. Once there, I was looking at my watch. 'Is he ever going to get off?'"

Gillies still has a chipped tooth thanks to a Brian Campbell elbow in the preseason.

Gillies said he'll soon get the tooth repaired: "I don't want to look like [Brent] Burns forever," a reference to the fact Burns, whom Gillies calls his big brother on the Wild, has long been missing the same tooth.

Gillies took the spot of newcomer Craig Weller, who was a healthy scratch.

• With defenseman Marek Zidlicky not able to make his Wild debut because of a sprained ankle, seventh defenseman Erik Reitz, the Wild's sixth-round pick in its first draft in 2000, played his seventh NHL game. It was Reitz's first time making the opening night roster, making the Detroit native the Wild's only American-born player (fewest in the NHL).

• In order to create more of a team feel, the Wild has bordered its locker room with year-to-year action shots of moments from team history. Some highlights include Marian Gaborik's five-goal game last December, Niklas Backstrom and Manny Fernandez posing with the Jennings Trophy (fewest goals against) in 2006, Andrew Brunette's 2003 quarterfinals-clinching goal and the first-ever Wild faceoff.

• Gaborik wore the "A" as the Wild's second alternate captain.