Wild Practiced Outside Today

The Wild held an outdoor open-to-the-public practice today. At one point José put on sunglasses under his mask to combat the brightness. Here's the article (there is video included at the link, I can't figure out how to embed it here.)

There are 2 video clips that include shots of José. One shows him warming up skating with PMB.

The other shows him in goal with his sunglasses on.

Created: 02/19/2011 5:44 PM KSTP.com

By: Chris Long

Wild Skate Outside In Front Of 1,800 Fans


The Minnesota Wild have made no secret of the fact they want the NHL to pick them to host an outdoor Winter Classic game - possibly as soon as next year.

Today, they gave a sneak preview.

1,800 fans gathered at The Oval Skating Center in Roseville to watch the Wild practice.

During the hour-or-so session, the Wild ran through drills and scrimmaged.

After the whistle blew, some of the players stayed on the ice to have some fun in a scene reminiscent of kids on a backyard rink ignoring mom's call to come home for dinner.

Several players sported eye black as the sun periodically peeked from behind the clouds on a day that was close to perfect for an outdoor hockey event.

Goalie Jose Theodore combatted the glare by wearing sunglasses under his goalie mask.

The highlight of the workout for fans was watching the "grey team" skate a lap around the massive speedskating oval after losing to the "green team" in the scrimmage. Several of the players tucked in one-behind-the-other in a formation suited to racing typically held on the speedskating surface.

After the session, most of the players slowly worked their way down a line of fans along the sideboards, signing autographs and taking photos with the crowd mostly comprised of younger Wild fans.

The final sight of the event topped off a day full of memorable moments.

The players left the ice and clamored onto their bus for the ride back to their locker room at the Xcel Energy Center - still wearing all their equipment.