Years of pining turned into months of anticipation — and then more weeks of waiting.
Now, the countdown to the Winter Classic on Saturday at Target Field between the Wild and Blues is finally down to days, hours and minutes.
"Everyone is excited," Wild alternate captain Matt Dumba said. "There's a buzz in the city. Just even being at the grocery store, you see little things set up and everyone is gearing up for the Winter Classic. It's pretty cool."
With a rink draped across the infield and eight additional sheets of ice set up in the outfield in homage to pond hockey, the Twins' home has already been transformed into a hockey hotbed. There's also a log cabin, pine trees and ice fishing holes, with the NHL taking inspiration from Minnesota's outdoors to create "Lake Winter Classic."
"We pride ourselves on being the State of Hockey," said defenseman Alex Goligoski, who's from Grand Rapids. "Such good hockey communities here, so it's awesome for the state."
But Target Field won't just have the look of a winter oasis. The New Year's Day spectacle will also feel the part.
"I'm not ready for that," winger Jordan Greenway said. "I'd be lying to you if I said I'm not worried about that at all."
Temperatures on Saturday are expected to remain below zero with a high of minus-7 and the low dipping to minus-21. Puck drop is at 6 p.m. and nationally broadcast on TNT, the first Winter Classic scheduled for prime time by the NHL.
"Those are the conditions we definitely monitor," said Mike Craig, the league's senior manager of facilities operations and hockey operations. "We actually have two in-line heaters that will be part of our system. The ideal temperature when we're outside here for the ice is about 22 to 24. We monitor that and then if we need to adjust and actually add a little bit of heat to the system, we can."
Of all the outdoor showcases in NHL history, this one has the potential to be the chilliest.
The Heritage Classic in Edmonton between the Oilers and Canadiens in 2003, the league's first game outside, is currently the coldest at zero degrees. Michigan Stadium holds the record for the coolest Winter Classic in 2014, featuring the Red Wings and Maple Leafs at 13 degrees.
Earlier this year when Target Field was originally supposed to host the Winter Classic on Jan. 1, 2021, before the game was postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the temperature was 23 degrees.
"Not looking forward to it at all, that end of it, for sure," Wild coach Dean Evason said about the forecast. "But apparently there's lots of heat going on the bench. Hopefully we can be close to the heaters. As somebody that grew up playing in Northern Manitoba, once you get out there, you won't feel it. As coaches, we'll feel it. But the players won't."
Staying warm?
Dumba might wear long sleeves under his equipment and eye black.
"It helps with the reflection of the lights and keeps you dialed in," he said. "It can be a lot being under all the lighting that they have in the stadium to have it at night. So I think that's what I'll use it for."
Goligoski doesn't anticipate tacking on any extra layers. Goalie Cam Talbot also isn't going for a bulkier getup.
"I try not to add too much," Talbot said. "You're out there sweating enough, and hopefully it's not too windy. That makes it a little bit worse. Obviously, if it's windy, we'll see if we have to do anything. But as far as that, I try not to change too much of what I normally wear."
Talbot, however, did make a change the last outdoor game he played, donning a knit hat on top of his mask when he shut out the Jets with the Oilers at the 2016 Heritage Classic in Winnipeg.
"I'll see if I do that again," he said.
Teammate Mats Zuccarello also has experience in this setting, suiting up for the New York Rangers in a pair of games at Yankee Stadium in 2014 and the 2018 Winter Classic at Citi Field against the Sabres where the temperature was 21.
"I had a mask full," Zuccarello recalled. "I don't like to get cold, especially when I play. I'm sure we have some stuff that we can use. But once you get into the game, you don't really feel it. It's more before the game you think you're going to get cold, but then during the game you don't really think about it."
Representing the Twin Cities
With or without additional gear, the Wild's attire will be different as the team debuts its Winter Classic jersey.
While the team's traditional green is displayed prominently, the new details include two stars representing Minneapolis and St. Paul and the outline of the state to go along with canvas gloves and pants.
Backup goalie Kaapo Kahkonen kept that vintage vibe by adopting brown pads, while Talbot's setup has the same color palette as the jersey. His mask is an ode to hockey and baseball, with skaters on one side and the Twins logo on the other. Numbers of retired Twins players are scattered throughout.
"I had this idea in my mind for a while now," Talbot said, "since we found out we're going to be playing."
That announcement, now almost two years ago, ended a lengthy pursuit by the Wild to stage the league's marquee event after previously playing in just one other outdoor game: a Stadium Series matchup on Feb. 21, 2016, at TCF Bank Stadium that the Wild won 6-1 against the Blackhawks.
St. Louis has also competed only one other time outside: the 2017 Winter Classic at Busch Stadium, also vs. Chicago.
Overall, this will be the NHL's 13th Winter Classic, 33rd outdoor game and the first of three exhibitions scheduled for outside this season.
"You never know if you're going to get another one," Talbot said. "So you just kind of take it all in."
