Minnesota Wild History.

Minnesota Wild, men’s professional ice hockey team and one of five teams in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The club name, the result of a fan write-in campaign, reflects Minnesota’s natural beauty and wildlife. The team colors are red, forest green, harvest gold, and wheat. The Wild play in the New Saint Paul Arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

The Wild are not the first NHL team to play in Minnesota. The Minnesota North Stars played there from 1967 until 1993, when owner Norm Green moved the team to Dallas, Texas, and renamed it the Stars. Soon after the North Stars departed, a group of Minnesota investors began searching for a new team. On June 25, 1997, the NHL officially awarded expansion team franchises to Minnesota; Atlanta, Georgia; Nashville, Tennessee; and Columbus, Ohio.

Businessman Bob Naegele, Jr., who is associated with the in-line skate manufacturer Rollerblade, Inc., was the Wild’s lead investor and was most closely involved in bringing the team to Minnesota. He heads Minnesota Hockey Ventures, the company that owns the Wild. The Wild’s first season in the NHL was the 2000-01 campaign. Before the season the team filled its roster by selecting players in a series of drafts.