Some Minnesota Wild Podcasts Worth Listening To…

Its almost August, are you missing some Wild hockey talk?  I think I might be able to help with that.  A little over a year and a half ago I got involved with a podcast that was running on the Alive & Social Network, on their Wild Wednesdays show that run hosted by Jeff Dubay.  With regulars like Scott Schweitz, Tony Dean and Sarah Sheely the show brought plenty of in-depth Minnesota Wild hockey talk as well as some fun as they’d broadcast from various establishments like Burger Moe‘s or Bennett’s Chop and Railhouse.  The podcast embodied the kind of discussion when you get a group of passionate fans at the bar, and I was lucky enough to sit on a few episodes and loved the discussion.  The pace was freewheeling and with a little beer or mixed drinks flowing with the Wild Wednesday’s crew they didn’t hold anything back.  You got a very honest and raw Wild discussion.  Unfortunately, things change.  Lives can be complicated and without going into specifics being able to get together to make it happen was more and more difficult.  Wild Wednesdays unfortunately came to an end with their New Year’s Eve show that I happened to be on and so far production has been in permanent hiatus since then.  But leaving something great like that leaves a void so I took my friend Tony Dean’s advice and I gave a listen and Twitter follow to another podcast called 3 in the Box.

3 in the Box is the longest running underground Minnesota Wild podcast and its first episode dates back to September of 2012.  The three member ‘crew’ of Aaron (@AngryFinn), Kenney (@NostraKennius), and Jive (@JiveMidnight) steer the ship with Wild talk but with plenty of humor mixed in.  All of these guys have experience as musicians and sound recording so they utilize a lot more technical skills than your typical podcast, and the result is a delivery that is more akin to your favorite radio sports talk show.  Like any KFAN show, they use sound bites to spice up the discussion and lighten the mood a bit.  They love answering questions they receive via Twitter (@3intheBox) from fellow Wild fans and as long as you tag your question #3ITB its likely to get answered.   With over a 100 episodes archived so far, the show provides plenty of opportunity for a person to get a fans perspective as notable events in team history took place (i.e. the firing of Head Coach Mike Yeo).  If you’re wanting to hear some fun and insightful Wild talk in the summer, 3 in the Box is certainly worth listening too!  I feel fortunate to say that myself and my partner in crime Theresa Ferries have been a part of the show a few times because as great as their show is, they’re even better people.

This next podcast is one that has been gaining steam the last 6 months or so but it started in the spring of 2014.  30-something year old hockey fans will immediately recognize their Blades of Steel (NES) inspired show intro which was performed by the band Same Day Delivery which some of their bloggers are a part of.  Usually hosted by Tony Abbott (@OhHiTony) the show usually consists of members of the Hockey Wilderness (SBNation) writing crew but on occasion they will have guests from other blogs or even members of hockey media like ESPN’s Corey Pronman or NCAA Men’s hockey freelance writer Nate Wells (@Gopherstate) to provide perspective.  If you like analytics, Hockey Wildernesscast can provide plenty of analysis in that regard and while they have their own distinctive, often sarcastic style of humor they don’t hold back in their assessment of players, coaches or team decisions.

Another podcast I want to talk about is The Voice Behind the Voice which is one that isn’t 100% dedicated to hockey although it seems to come back to that sport with greater frequency than you might expect.  The irony of the show is that Sean Aronson himself is the ‘voice’ of the St. Paul Saints baseball team, and as a broadcaster he became fascinated by the stories of how others got into broadcasting and ended up becoming so iconic for their respective teams or sports.  Even though he’s just recorded 18 episodes thus far, a number have a hockey connection including his first interview of the show which was Minnesota Wild radio play-by-play broadcaster Bob Kurtz.  Hartford Whalers & Carolina Hurricanes’ broadcaster Chuck Kaiton, Nick Nickson the radio play by play of the Los Angeles Kings; Randy Hahn, the TV play-by-play voice of the San Jose Sharks, Derek Wills radio play by play of the Calgary Flames and Anthony LaPanta have been among his interviewees so far.  One of the remarkable things about Aronson’s interviews is how he manages to step back and allow the broadcasters to tell their stories and you can really gain an insight to their personality.  For any aspiring broadcasters out there, Aronson’s podcasts are a must because no broadcasters path is the same and while some benefited from perfect timing others made it making the slow steady climb from the minor leagues to the pinnacle of their sport.

An extension of the popular Saturday morning KFAN show Beyond the Pond, Beyond the Pod is a way to extend the hockey talk beyond just the length of the Minnesota Wild’s season.  Hosted by Brandon Mileski (@BMileskiKFAN) and Pat Micheletti (@PatMick2626) the show talks about current Wild topics and occasionally will include a guest interview or two.  Micheletti brings more of the ‘insider’ perspective with his league and player connections while Mileski provides more of a balanced fan perspective.  If you want a short and more to the point podcast on Wild news then this is the podcast for you.

Wild beat writer Michael Russo (@Russostrib) is more or less the go-to source for Minnesota Wild news and Jim Souhan (@SouhanStrib) serves as the host for this podcast.  Russo offers up a little more personality and opinion than what you typically see in his columns or his interviews on the Fox Sports Net broadcasts.  He takes great amusement in his super fans like Wild Parodies star Kari Wahlen (@Kari_wahlen) or his many parody accounts like Russo’s Slacks (@Russoslacks) but its arguably the most informative Minnesota Wild-focused podcast by the fact how well connected Michael Russo is.  Here is one of Kari Wahlen’s parodies that is Russo focused that he highlighted during one of his podcasts.

Every podcast has its own vibe and dynamic that makes them work.  With this variety of different podcasts available there should be at least one that fits the wants of any Minnesota Wild fan.  Hopefully this will give you your fix for all the Minnesota Wild talk you could ask for.