Wild legends try hands at 'Sauce Toss'

BLAINE -- Growing up in Sudbury, Ontario, Andrew Brunette and his friends used to place plexiglass over two full-size hockey nets, carve holes in the corners and five-hole and take turns blasting tennis balls at the openings. They'd keep score for a while, but the contests quickly deteriorated into a different kind of target practice.
"We tried to kill each other with slap shots," the former Wild star and current assistant general manager said Saturday at the first-ever State of Hockey Sauce Toss tournament, pitting pairs of players in a cornhole-style test of saucer-passing accuracy combined with all the creature comforts of a Minnesota summer.

For Brunette, it was somewhat similar to those days in the driveway as a kid. But this game -- which is becoming more and more popular at regional lakes, cabins, tailgates and other offseason outdoor events -- requires a little more finesse.
Two tiny nets, placed 28 feet apart, with an even smaller net inside each. Three points for hitting the smaller net, one for making it into the larger one. First team to 21 wins.
Even Brunette and his celebrity partner, NHLer and Elk River native Paul Martin, needed a few turns Saturday before finding a groove. So did Wild assistant coach Darby Hendrickson, who along with several other former pros highlighted the day by playing against a few lucky tournament contestants inside the National Sports Center stadium.
"I've never been involved in an event like this," said Hendrickson, the Richfield native who scored 29 goals and 31 assists for the Wild from 2000-2004. "It's different. It's creative."
The tourney itself drew 40 teams and also featured former members of the Wild organization Ryan Malone and Mark Parrish, and Wild Vision host and Cities 97 DJ Paul Fletcher as emcee. Proceeds will benefit the Hendrickson Foundation founded by Darby's father Larry, who died
earlier this month
.
A close partner of the Minnesota Wild Foundation and the club's Hockey Is For Everyone initiatives, the Hendrickson Foundation says its mission is to
make hockey accessible to all individuals
. The foundation supports Minnesota Special Hockey teams, the Minnesota Wild and Junior Wild sled hockey organizations, and Minnesota Warriors, a military veterans' hockey group.

"Just creating opportunity for other people and people who have had challenges," Darby Hendrickson said. "That was my dad's] vision, and what I've been impressed with is the people he surrounded himself with that have really taken it to another level. I think he is proud to see a lot of people benefit from the program. He also, I think, was wise enough to really surround himself with really good people to help make it grow."
Saturday also provided at least a brief respite from the hustle and bustle of free agency season, which officially opens Sunday at 11 a.m. Teams have been allowed to speak with pending free agents throughout the past week.
And with a new general manager in Paul Fenton, it's meant a busy and eventful offseason for all members of the front office.
"There are changes, and I think you're always looking at pieces," Hendrickson said. "You kind of put pieces of the puzzle together and try and improve. Sometimes, they're small moves, meaning a couple here or there that you're not making the huge, huge free agent noise with maybe the first top-end free agent. But I think they're identifying some really key people that we need, and trying to put that on our roster. It'll be exciting to see how that plays out in the coming days. I know that good things are going to happen. Hopefully there's some tweaks that can make us a better team next year."
**Related:**
- [Wild assistant Darby Hendrickson remembers his father - Wild issues statement on passing of Larry Hendrickson - Growing disabled hockey a family affair for Hendricksons - Hockey Is For Everyone: Hendrickson Foundation