Wild players surprise MN peewee hockey teams

MOUND, Minn. (FOX 9) - Inside the David M. Thaler Sports Center, parents, fans, and coaches were all in on a big secret; kept only from the players on Mound Westonka and Orono’s Pee Wee B hockey teams.

"They’re going to be like NHL players for a night," MN Wild Senior Director of Community Relations and Hockey Partnerships Wayne Petersen told FOX 9. "There will be hundreds of people, when typically there would be maybe a handful of people that come to see a game like this."

Wednesday night’s game was the Minnesota Wild’s youth hockey spotlight game. The organization packed up the Xcel Energy Center and brought energy from the entire state of hockey to the west metro.

"We bring our public announcer, we bring our national anthem singer, we bring a DJ," Petersen said. 

Two former Wild players were also in the building.

"We’re here to help them and give them feedback," Stephane Veilleux said.

"No matter what level you are playing, it’s all about attitude and effort," Mark Parrish added. Go out there and have fun and work hard, good things will happen."

All of the proceeds from Wednesday’s game will be split between the Mound-Westonka and Orono Youth Hockey Associations.