Minnesota Wild Five Best Minnesota Born Players

Minnesota has produced more NHL players than any other state in US history. The Minnesota Wild have been fortunate to have 21 players from the North Star State to grace the ice at the Xcel Center. Although there have been many great players, who makes the list as the best?

They don’t call Minnesota the State of Hockey for no good reason. In the history of the NHL the state of Minnesota has produced 244 NHL players that have played in 57,409 contests, the most of any other state in these great United States of America. Makes sense though don’t it?

As a reader of this website (thank you for your patronage!) you’re aware that we in Minnesota love the sport as have the generations before us. Our support of our NHL franchises the North Stars, and now the Wild has been the bench mark for other fans everywhere.

What’s even more impressive has been not only have we had strong fan support for the Wild, but there has been strong player support as well. In the 15 year history of the Wild franchise, 21 players from Minnesota have donned the sweater for the hometown Wild.

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That’s something that few franchises can even come close to matching. It seems like it’s an extra special thing for a player who grew up in the same place we did to come back and represent the hometown Wild.

So in the pantheon of Minnesota Wild players from Minnesota there’s been a lot of great ones for sure, but a few seem to rise above the crowd. So getting straight to the point here’s my vote for the five best Wild players to hail from the Star of the North.

5) Keith Ballard – It doesn’t get more Minnesota than a player who was a standout defenseman at the U and then eventually makes it back to Minnesota. Baudette’s own Keith Ballard played 8 NHL seasons for Florida and Vancouver before signing to come home to Minnesota in the summer of 2013.

Drafted 11th overall in the 2002 NHL entry draft Ballard would help lead Minnesota to back-to-back NCAA National Championships, be a Hobey Baker Award finalist, and finish with 33 goals to rank him seventh all time among defensemen in his time at the U.

Oct 10, 2013; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild defenseman Keith Ballard (2) skates with the puck in the first period against the Winnipeg Jets at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Ballard’s two seasons in Minnesota would not be as eventful, but Ballard was the veteran leadership would teach the Brodins and Spurgeons to be the strong players they are now. His unfortunate retirement due to lasting concussion symptoms from a horrific hit from Matt Martin was tragic, but everyone will remember him for the heart and soul player he was.

4) Mark Parrish – Bloomington’s own Mark Parrish was force for Jefferson High School and helped them to back to back State Championships in 1993 and 1994. After high school Parrish headed up I-94 to St. Cloud to be part of the Huskies and forge his way into the NHL with a third round selection by the Avalanche in 1996. He would make the jump for a season to the WHL and play there for a season before making his debut with the Panthers in 1998-99.

Before landing in Minnesota Parrish would tally 20+ goals in all but one of those seven seasons. With the Wild Parrish brought a ton of energy and would add some scoring to the young Wild lineup notching 19 and 16 goals in both his seasons for the Wild.

Unfortunately, salary demands eventually drove out Parrish from the Wild. But after completing four more professional seasons he returned to the Twin Cities and is a part of the hockey community once again.

3) Matt Cullen – Hailing from Moorhead Minnesota by way of Virginia Minnesota, Matt Cullen would be a force playing for his father Terry at Moorhead High. Cullen led Moorhead to three state tournament appearances to include two runner-up finishes. After high school he matriculated at St. Cloud State for two seasons and where he was drafted 35th overall by the Ducks in the second round of the 1996 draft.

Feb 26, 2013; St. Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Matt Cullen (7) against the Calgary Flames at the Xcel Energy Center. The Wild defeated the Flames 2-1 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Cullen would play 12 seasons in the NHL for five different teams, to include Carolina in 2006 where he hoisted the cup, before making it to the Wild. In his three seasons with the Wild from 2010-2013 Cullen was a fan favorite not necessarily for scoring points, but for playing a complete game on both sides of the puck that seemed to put anybody else’s work ethic to shame.

It was unfortunate that at the end of his third season with the Wild the team largely did not seek to resign Cullen mostly because he was 36 at that time. As we all know Cullen has not slowed down and this last season proved to be an ageless wonder contributing significantly to the Penguins Stanley Cup win. If you’re missing Cullen, fear not the confidence is high that he’ll be signing with the Wild very soon, but don’t quote me on a rumor…quote Russo.

2) Darby Hendrickson – Richfield’s greatest son is none other than current Wild assistant coach and Gopher alum Darby Hendrickson. Hendrickson was a standout high school player at Richfield High School, where he earned the prestigious Mr. Hockey Award in 1991. That would give him all he needed to earn a spot playing college hockey for the University of Minnesota, and to be drafted by the Maple Leafs with the 73rd overall pick in the fourth round of the 1990 draft.

Hendrickson would spend the first seven seasons of NHL his career with Maple Leafs, Islanders, and Canucks. The Wild came calling in 2000 and Hendrickson would be picked in the franchise’s expansion draft. Darby would score two of the most impactful goals in the Wild’s history.

On October 11, 2000 Hendrickson would score the first goal by a Wild player at Xcel Energy Center, and in the 2003 Stanley Cup Playoffs he would score the game winner against the Canucks to cap the Wild’s second straight series comeback after being down three games to one. The result was the Wild moved on to their one and only franchise Western Conference Finals.

1) Zach Parise – Son of North Star great JP Parise, Zach grew up in Prior Lake and eventually ended up being an alum of the greatest hockey prep program ever at Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Faribault. Playing for the Sabres in his final two seasons Parise would score 146 goals and 194 assists in 125 games making him a very sought after prospect.

After Shattuck, he decided to play his next level of hockey in Grand Forks for the Sioux where he started very strongly scoring in his first game and being named the first ever UND freshman finalist for the Hobey Baker award. At UND, Parise would excel in only two seasons posting 116 points (49 goals and 67 assists), be named an All-American in his sophomore year, and was nominated for the Hobey Baker Award again after his sophomore year.

After his Freshman year at UND, Parise’s performance would catch the eye of the New Jersey Devils who would trade up in the draft to select him with the 2003 Entry Draft’s 17th overall pick.

Zach wasted no time establishing himself among the NHL elite. As a matter of fact he scored a goal in his first NHL game. In his seven seasons in New Jersey, Parise scored 30 goals or more in five of those seasons. Also while in New Jersey he would lead the USA to a Silver Medal at the Vancouver Olympics, and captain the Devils to a Stanley Cup Finals appearance falling to the Kings in six games.