Wild About Reading Wild Buddies Teacher of the Month Hockey Lab STEM Day

The Minnesota Wild is dedicated to helping teachers, students, and parents continue to focus on education during these uncertain times. During the month of May, the Wild will unroll various educational initiatives focused on assisting with distance learning for students of all ages. These projects will allow students at home to stay engaged and excited about learning.

Wild Buddies

During the 2025-2026 season, the Wild Buddies mentoring program celebrated its 25th year of mentoring elementary school students from St. Paul. Remarkably, this program existed even before the Minnesota Wild had players on the ice. Since 1998, Wild staff members have mentored 4th grade students from a St. Paul elementary school, most recently at Horace Mann Elementary School. Over 50 Wild staff members made weekly visits to Horace Mann this past year, working with students on math, reading, social skills, and more. Our weekly visits helped students grow both inside and outside the classroom while sharing plenty of encouragement and fun along the way.

Teacher of the Year

The Minnesota Wild, in partnership with EVERFI and the NHL's Future Goals Program, honor the following Minnesota teachers as our Teachers of the Month during the 2025-2026 academic year:

Minnesota Wild Hockey Lab

The Minnesota Wild partnered with the University of St. Thomas to host its first-ever Hockey Lab, bringing together hockey and engineering for a hands-on innovation experience. Twelve students worked in teams to develop creative solutions focused on ankle and shin injury prevention, reimagining the traditional shin pad. The program combined real-world insights from industry professionals with collaborative design and prototyping, culminating in final presentations at TRIA Rink. The Hockey Lab showcased the power of innovation, education, and teamwork in advancing player safety.

Stem Day

The Minnesota Wild is proud to partner with Pentair and EVERFI to help bring "STEM Day" to life! Wild employees participated in STEM Day as part of the Future Goals program. Children from Olson Elementary School & Annunciation Catholic School were taught STEM topics by a field trip to Blaine's Super Rink.