Dumba helps raise $200,000 for Minneapolis ahead of Wild training camp

Matt Dumba is eager to get back to Minnesota for the start of training camp Monday and to ramp up his efforts to help a community in need.

The Minnesota Wild defenseman, with assists from the NHL and the team, has raised more than $200,000 to rebuild Lake Street in Minneapolis. The thoroughfare and many of the minority-owned businesses on it were severely damaged during days of protests following the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died while in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.

Dumba said he hopes the contributions from the NHL Foundation and the Minnesota Wild Foundation, which each chipped in $50,000 to match Dumba's initial donation, will help take the fundraising drive to another level.

"I'm ecstatic that I have the NHL backing me and my own club," Dumba said Wednesday before flying from Calgary to Minneapolis. "I'm just so thankful to (NHL Commissioner) Gary [Bettman] and to (Wild owner) Craig [Leipold]. It just goes to show that people are really opening up their hearts during this time and are looking to help out those in need. I think that's what it's all about. That's how we'll come together and create real change in our communities."

Working with the Lake Street Council, a nonprofit organization, Dumba and his brother Kyle, who works at Nike and was a goalie for the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology last season, organized a raffle for a custom pair of Air Jordan sneakers and a chance to have dinner with Dumba. The first 1,000 donors also received a custom T-shirt with an image of Floyd. The fundraiser has drawn more $60,000 in donations to rebuildminnesota.com.

"As brilliant as he is on the ice, Matt's devotion to the game and his community off the ice are truly outstanding," Commissioner Bettman said. "The NHL is honored to join the Minnesota Wild in supporting Matt's initiative to Rebuild Lake Street and we admire his dedication to the great fans of the Wild and to everyone who lives and works in the Twin Cities."

Dumba pledged to match donations up to $100,000 and extended the raffle, which was scheduled to end July 1, for an additional two weeks with the goal of raising a total of $500,000, including the contributions from the NHL and the Wild.

"To see that support and have names on it like that, I think will help out," Dumba said. "We're trying to really shoot for the moon here. …There's so much money that needs to go into it to help rebuild the area. It's almost like a war zone. So to make sure that these funds are filled and are going to the right places to help out these small minority-owned businesses, I think it's going to go a long way."

Knowing he'll have to take the necessary health precautions because of the coronavirus pandemic, Dumba hopes to get an up-close look at Lake Street and to meet some of the business owners affected after he returns to Minnesota. He said he believes that will give him more of a personal connection.

"What I want to do is show them that I'm there for them and I want to stand up for the community and amplify their voices and make sure they're not looked over," Dumba said. "That's what's happened in the past. I don't want to brush any of these social injustices under the rug either. So I think meeting them and building that connection, seeing the people that we've touched … I just want to show my appreciation for them.

"All my respect goes to those people who have lost it all and are still battling and working for their families to put their lives back together. I just want to be a part of that."

Training camps are scheduled to open Monday under Phase 3 of the 24-team NHL Return to Play Plan, provided health and safety conditions allow. Teams will then travel July 26 to one of two hub cities, where they will begin Phase 4, the resumption of play, with the Stanley Cup Qualifiers starting Aug. 1. The hub cities -- one for the 12 participating Western teams, one for the 12 Eastern teams -- have not been announced.

The Wild (35-27-7, .558 points percentage) are the No. 10 seed in the West and will play the No. 7 seed, the Vancouver Canucks (36-27-6, .565), in one of eight best-of-5 qualifier series, with the winners advancing to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The losing teams will have a chance at the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft in the Second Phase of the NHL Draft Lottery.