Vintage Minnesota Hockey - History

1945:  Hall of Famer Jacques Lemaire born in LaSalle, Que.  Lemaire played in the NHL 1967-68 through 1978-79 with Montreal, and later coached the Canadiens, the New Jersey Devils and the Minnesota Wild.

1955:  Former NHL defenseman Bryan Maxwell born in North Bay, Ont.  Maxwell played in the NHL 1977-78 through 1984-85 with the Minnesota North Stars, St. Louis, Winnipeg and Pittsburgh.  He later worked as assistant coach with the L.A. Kings.

1955:  Former NHL goalie Lindsay Middlebrook born in Collingwood, Ont.  Middlebrook played in the NHL 1979-80 through 1982-83 with Winnipeg, the Minnesota North Stars, New Jersey and Edmonton.

1960:  Former NHL forward Dusan Pasek born in Bratislava, Czech.  Pasek played in the NHL 1988-89 with the Minnesota North Stars.

1964:  Former NHL right winger Jeff Parker born in St. Paul, MN.  Parker played in the NHL 1986-87 through 1990-91 with Buffalo and Hartford.

1968:  Former NHL left winger Warren Babe born in Medicine Hat, Alta.  Babe played in the NHL 1987-88 through 1990-91 with the Minnesota North Stars.

1978:  NHL player Matt Cooke born in Belleville, Ont.  Cooke has played in the NHL since 1998-99 with Vancouver, Washington, Pittsburgh, and Minnesota.

1989:  Mike Peluso signed with the Chicago Blackhawks as a free agent out of the University of Anchorage.

1990:  Bob Brooke officially announced his NHL retirement after 7 seasons with the NY Rangers, Minnesota North Stars and New Jersey.

1995:  The crew at Christian Brothers Hockey Sticks in Warroad, MN built a 107 ft. stick of white and yellow aspen with a finished weight of 7,000lbs.  On this date the stick was loaded onto a Kirscher Trucking transport and hauled, free of charge, to Eveleth.  The 4hr trip required a full MN Highway Patrol escort since all of the traffic had to be re-routed to the shoulder to allow for the sticks passage.

2000:  Minnesota Wild officially opened their first training camp, at Parade Ice Gardens in Minneapolis, MN

2004:  The World Cup of Hockey International Ice Hockey Tournament was held in 7 host cities - eight years after the inaugural 1996 World Cup of Hockey.  Team USA faced off vs. visiting Russia on this date in the Tournament Quarter-Finals at the host United States venue - Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN.  USA won the game 5-3 in front of an attendance of 17,218. 

2011:  A plane carrying the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) Lokomotiv Yaroslavl crashed shortly after takeoff leaving for a game in Minsk, killing all of the team's roster and coaching staff.  Aboard the plane was former Minnesota Wild Center Pavol Demitra whom was a member of the Wild from 2006-2008 skating on the teams' top line with fellow Slovakian friend; Marian Gaborik.