Wilderness Walk: Camp Edition

We finally made it to hockey season. It was a long and boring summer but we made it! Sure, opening night is still 19 days away, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun with line speculation, position battles, injuries, and preseason games.

The Wild officially began camp yesterday. Ilya Bryzgalov was in the house as well as newly signed Darcy Kuemper. Mike Yeo tried out some lines and pairings. For more on the highlights of the day, make sure to check out the articles below.

If anyone is interested, today's practice is open to the public from 8:30 to 1:00. Also, single game tickets go on sale today at 10 am at the Xcel Box Office and noon at Ticketmaster.

Lots of NHL news today, so on to the Walk:

Wild News

Massive Day One Wild blog on first impressions and, of course, goaltending | Russo's Rants | StarTribune.com- Lots and lots of info on Day 1. One interesting tidbit: Bryz hasn't been on the ice since Game 6.

Backstrom hopes for healthy season | Star Tribune- I love Backstrom and all he's done for the franchise. But I won't believe he's back to form until I see it.

Emotional Ryan Suter reflects on his dad, talks about moving on | Russo's Rants | StarTribune.com- Suter's first interview since his father's passing is very emotional. Our heart goes out to him.

Wild coach Mike Yeo not about to get complacent - TwinCities.com- Mike Yeo is still the youngest head coach in the league. Surprisingly, only six other coaches have a longer tenure with their team.

Wild: Yeo offers first look at how lines might shake out - TwinCities.com- Ooh those lines look nice!

Wild: Vanek happy he's here; teammates are, too - TwinCities.com- Koivu is especially impressed at how good Vanek is.

What to expect from the Minnesota Wild's special teams this year - Gone Puck Wild- Hopefully, improvement on both fronts.

Off The Trail

Pass or Fail: Pittsburgh Penguins rock the gold in new third jersey | Puck Daddy- The Pens go back to their classic jerseys and wow do they look nice.

Stop calling Ryan Johansen greedy (Trending Topics) | Puck Daddy- Random thought- do you think Johansen's negotiations will affect Mikael Granlund's new upcoming contract? Granted, they are not the same player but if Columbus gives Johansen a long-term, big money contract does Granlund have the leverage to demand something similar?

Yost: Examining today's NHL trend towards '5-on-5' players- Interesting look at how teams are moving towards having four scoring lines and getting rid of facepunchers.

Sakic says Avs ownership gave 'green light' to 'make this team win'- Sakic officially named Colorado's GM to make the team win. We'll see how that goes.

NHL players who are most likely to be traded this season - NHL - SI.com- No Wild players make the list. Which do you think are the most likely to be traded?

Claude Giroux out 2 weeks; Philly fans’ sigh of relief at hurricane force | Puck Daddy- A string of injuries hit some of the NHL's best players. Also out: Crosby, Malkin, and Doughty.

What’s Jaden Schwartz waiting to hear from Blues? | Puck Daddy- Ryan Johansen isn't the only big name waiting for a contract.

IIHF grants Korean hockey teams automatic entry into 2018 Olympics | Puck Daddy- Great news for Korean hockey! They've worked hard to boost their program.