The Minnesota Wild is excited to announce that Becoming Wild: Iowa Wild Outdoor Classic, will debut on Thursday, Feb. 26 following the Minnesota Wild game at the Colorado Avalanche at 8 p.m. on FanDuel Sports Network. The episode takes fans behind the scenes of the Iowa Wild vs. Milwaukee Admirals game on Friday, Jan. 23 as part of Hockey Day Minnesota 2026 in Hastings, Minn.
Fans can follow along as the Iowa Wild departs Des Moines the morning of Thursday, Jan. 22 and arrives at United Heroes League’s Outdoor Rink in Hastings for practice, through their departure following a 3-2 overtime loss on Friday night. It was a cold trip to Hastings!
It was the coldest outdoor game in professional hockey history as the official temperature at game time measured -8°F, breaking the previous professional hockey outdoor record of -5.7°F, set at the 2022 NHL Winter Classic between the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues at Target Field on January 1, 2022.
Fans can also watch the episode on the Minnesota Wild YouTube channel, wild.com and the Minnesota Wild app starting at 8 p.m. on Saturday. For more information, visit wild.com/becomingwild.
Highlights of this episode include:
- Hermantown native and Minnesota State University, Mankato Alum Ryan Sandelin was mic’d up at practice and the family skate on January 22.
- Iowa Wild head coach Greg Cronin wore a mic for the morning meeting on January 23.
- Cameras followed Hunter Haight and Ben Jones in the hours leading up to the start of the game.
- Iowa’s all-time leading goal scorer, Gerry Mayhew, was mic’d up for the game.
- Iowa Wild Head Athletic Trainer Dan Barker explained how they kept players warm during the game.
This is the 15th season of Becoming Wild presented by Toyota, the Emmy® award winning television and online series that gives fans an in-depth look inside the life of Minnesota Wild players and the organization.
