By Tony Abbott -
The Minnesota Wild's "Not Weird. Wild" ad campaign is getting a lot of love, but for my money, no local sports ad in history can compare with putting Nick Punto in an aquarium, which the Minnesota Twins did back in 2006.
That was back in the "Little Piranhas" days of the Minnesota Twins. They supplemented their two big superstars, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, with several singles-hitter-types in Punto, Jason Tyner, Jason Bartlett, and Luis Castillo. Despite having no offensive rep to speak of, all they did was push an already-crazy Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen over the edge.
"All those little piranhas -- blooper here, blooper here, beat out a ground ball, they're up by four," he ranted in August 2006. "They get up by four with that bullpen? See you at the national anthem before tomorrow. ... People worry about the catcher, what's his name, Mauer? Fine, yeah, a good hitter, but worry about the little [piranhas], they're on base all the time."
The Iowa Wild has given the NHL club their fair share of Little Piranhas over the last several seasons. No coach was game-planning against the Wild, wondering how to stop Brandon Duhaime (19 goals in 193 Wild games), Connor Dewar (19 goals in 190 Wild games), or Mason Shaw (eight goals in 82 games). Still, all three were positive contributors that would chip in with a timely hit, a badly needed clear on the penalty kill, or even the not-so-odd shorthanded goal.
These guys were cheap, homegrown gamers. And when Minnesota shipped out their "Deweys" at the deadline and let Shaw hop across the border to Winnipeg in the offseason, there was a new vacancy open in Minnesota: Piranha Wanted.
About a month into the season, it looks like Mikey Milne will get his opportunity to fill that role.
Passed over in the 2021 Draft, Minnesota scooped Milne up at No. 89 overall in 2022, making him a late-third-rounder. The Wild had gotten their injection of skilled forwards in Liam Öhgren (No. 19), Danila Yurov (No. 24), and Hunter Haight (No. 47) and changed gears by grabbing a player whose main sell was "This kid's a freaking gamer."
A typical (and abridged) scouting report of Milne from Elite Prospects' Mitchell Brown in December 2021 read:
Milne is Milne. He's the driving force of the [WHL's Winnipeg] Ice. He's always attacking the inside lane, whether that's after a crafty retrieval, battle win, or forecheck steal. Took a puck off the boards and drove inside for a scoring chance. Now consistently hitting teammates in scoring position. His pace, physicality, and scanning habits ensure that he'll create for teammates at the next level.
He scored 38 goals and 81 points in Winnipeg that season, and then he went to the pro level. Three years later, he's establishing himself as a key engine of the Baby Wild's lineup.
Milne turned 22 in September and is second on the Iowa Wild in goals (four) and points (eight). He also ranks fifth on the team in shots (27). For want of a better on-ice measurement than what the AHL provides, Milne is one of three players who have played more than three games in Des Moines with a positive plus/minus.
"He's easily been Iowa's best player so far this year," glows Ben Gislason, the Baby Wild's play-by-play announcer. "Huge motor, plays the game with fire, too. Great skater and was hugely mentored by Shaw when they were here together."
Shaw was notable for connecting with his young teammates, assuming a leadership role despite his young age. Their former captain may be gone, but the youngsters in Des Moines have carried on the close-knit locker room. Milne and Carson Lambos, for example, are teammates twice-over as partners in an intense EA NHL rivalry against Caeden Bankier and Kyle Masters.
And Bankier, another potential Piranha-like forward in the Wild's system, is perhaps Milne's closest companion in Iowa. They're road roommates, and the two have caught the attention of the people of Des Moines... though, not always on the ice.
"Last year, when moving into his apartment, he and Bankier were taking his mattress in the back of a pickup to his new place," recalls Gislason. "It flew out in the middle of rush hour on one of the busiest roads in Des Moines and caused a huge backup as they scrambled out to get it back in the truck."
While coach Brett McLean might want to stress the fundamentals of properly securing cargo in pickup, Milne doesn't seem to be having problems with the details at the rink. He ended last season on a hot streak and has managed to carry it over into 2024-25. The AHL is a development league, and teams are looking for an upward trajectory from their young players. They've got that in Milne. In his first 85 games in Iowa, he scored seven goals and only 17 points.
Over his last 22 games? He's the proud owner of nine goals and 20 points. He has multi-point outings in seven of them.
John Hynes has taken notice.
"From the start of the season, he’s been the most consistent player that’s been down there," he told The Athletic, explaining why Minnesota recalled Milne over Öhgren. "Fast. Plays hard. He’s producing down there. He’s been consistently the top forward there."
In short? The kid's a little piranha, straight out of a prospect pool that always seems to be hiding some of those players under their big fish. Soon, we should see whether he can bring the same bite to the lineup as the Deweys and Shaw did in seasons past.
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