Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
Way back on the second day of free agency last July, Matt Kiersted signed with the Minnesota Wild in a decision that took him from North Carolina’s summer heat to a decidedly chillier climate to start this weekend.
Kiersted, an established defenseman with the Charlotte Checkers, had just been through the grind that is the Calder Cup Playoffs, falling two wins short of a championship. As each round passed, Charlotte’s heat and humidity arrived in abundance.
So it’s a good thing that the 27-year-old Kiersted, now an alternate captain of the Iowa Wild, is a Minnesota product. Today’s conditions for the Iowa Wild Outdoor Classic will be, well, the polar opposite of what he faced with the Checkers last spring. Going up against the Milwaukee Admirals in Hastings, Minn., as part of the Hockey Day Minnesota celebration, the Wild will also be facing the elements outdoors.
The forecast for Hastings is sunny and a brisk minus-19 Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service. Puck drop is scheduled for 5:08 p.m. CT, just as the sun is setting.
The Wild left home Thursday morning for the bus ride to Minnesota and held an afternoon practice on the ice at the United Heroes League complex, host of this year’s annual Hockey Day Minnesota event. Outdoor games bring challenges beyond the weather, too. The angles are different. The background is different, particularly for goaltenders. That’s all part of the charm.
For Kiersted, going outdoors will be another memory in a season that has already made plenty of them. He has played four games with Minnesota, picking up an assist, and he certainly remains a top recall option as this season moves along. He is a part of Iowa’s leadership group and has played 26 AHL games in his first season with the organization. Coming from Elk River, a town just 35 minutes from the Twin Cities, this has been a homecoming.
“It was a lifelong dream to play for Minnesota,” Kiersted said.
What isn’t new for Kiersted is playing outside in Hockey Day Minnesota. He played two seasons for Elk River High School and had a chance to compete outdoors then. Now he gets to do it as a pro wearing Iowa’s forest-green-and-white jersey, a member of the NHL organization that he cheered for growing up in Elk River.
“To be able to come back now and have the opportunity to play in it in the American Hockey League is really cool,” Kiersted said.
It will take him back to Elk River, where he spent many winter days on an outdoor rink at the Handke Pit, which came complete with a warming house.
Like Iowa teammates Jaxon Nelson, Jack Peart, Ryan Sandelin and Will Zmolek, Kiersted has strong Minnesota roots. It’s a hockey culture all its own, he says.
“I think Minnesota’s different than a lot of states,” Kiersted explained, “just because most states have the AAA programs. But in Minnesota, I think it’s more of a community feeling. You grow up, you go to school with all your buddies, and then you go play hockey with them. You play for your town.
“That’s what makes Minnesota unique.”
