Mark Wick speaks about mental health awareness during the Minnesota Wild’s Hockey Talks seminar prior to the Wild’s 4-0 win over the Seattle Kraken. He is pictured with Minnesota Wild Senior Manager of Communications and Engagement Dave Schwartz.On March 19th, 2025, the Minnesota Wild held their fourth annual Hockey Talks pregame program before their matchup with the Seattle Kraken. Hockey Talks is a program that spotlights mental health while featuring a seminar from a mental health advocate. In the past, the event has featured talks from Clint Malarchuk, Chris Hawkey, and more. 
The Wild are one of 18 NHL teams to feature a Hockey Talks program. The program was created following the death of beloved Vancouver Canucks forward Rick Rypien. Rypien’s passing was one of several notable deaths in 2011 related to mental health and substance abuse issues, including former Minnesota Wild enforcer Derek Boogaard. The Canucks were the first team to host a Hockey Talks program, and the initiative continues to grow.
The speaker for this year’s Hockey Talks program was Mark Wick, a coach with over 30 years of experience at the Division III level. Wick, a Hermantown native, is most known for his time as the head coach of the College of St. Scholastica from 2004-05 until 2017-18. Wick struggled with mental health for much of his coaching career before he retired from behind the bench. Now, Wick travels as a motivational speaker, sharing his story and struggles with depression, anxiety and anger.
Wick’s seminar was a raw and open discussion that covered several mental-health-related topics, including his struggles, how mental health is often challenging to speak up about in the athletics community, and how important support can be. One of the key topics of the conversation was how mental health struggles can affect anyone.
“The one thing is this (mental health struggles) does not discriminate. Young, old, rich, poor, male, female, white, black, it doesn’t matter.” Wick said, “I’ll tell you why I have depression, I think. It’s because I’m human. If we talk about that, we can normalize it.”
All tickets bought through the Hockey Talks program had a percentage that benefited The Ranch – Teammates For Life, a nonprofit organization that makes a positive difference in the lives of veterans, athletes and others who need help. The Ranch is run in honor of American hockey hero Mark Pavelich. Pavelich was a member of the 1980 Miracle on Ice hockey team and played seven NHL seasons. Pavelich struggled with mental health throughout his life, ultimately leading to his death in 2021. The Ranch, located in Sauk Centre, aims to provide crucial health care in Pavelich’s memory.
While the pregame seminar with Mark Wick was a fantastic spotlight for mental health awareness, the Wild supported the cause in numerous ways throughout the night. Mark Wick and Paul Martin led the traditional “Let’s Play Hockey!” chant at the beginning of the game. Martin is a widely respected advocate for mental health awareness in his own right as the co-founder of Shine a Ligh7, an organization with the mission of advocating for improved resources and destigmatization of mental health for children.
Sophie’s Squad, a Minnesota-based nonprofit focused on raising mental health awareness in athletics, was also part of the game’s slate, setting up on the concourse to provide resources to those in need. Sophie’s Squad was also a partner for the Wild’s 50/50 raffle, with the prizewinner taking home over $6,000. Sophie’s Squad’s Director of Marketing, Ryan Bahl, spoke about the importance of initiatives like this for mental health recognition.
“The Wild are a great partner, and we couldn’t be happier to be involved in the Hockey Talks program. People need to talk about mental health to lower the stigma, but when an organization like the Wild does it too, it raises the profile of these issues.” Bahl said, “We all have to do our part in recognizing the importance of mental health, and The Wild helped spotlight that for over 15,000 people tonight.”
While the game was a vital opportunity to spotlight mental health initiatives, it was also a key game for the Wild on the ice. Minnesota entered the game with six losses in their last 10 games and scored two goals or less in eight of those contests. The Wild have seen themselves slip down the standings after a rash of injury issues, most notably to their star forward Kirill Kaprizov, slowed down the team after one of the best starts in the NHL.
The Wild are still holding on to a playoff spot but have needed to get back to their winning ways to build momentum going into the postseason. Fortunately for Minnesota, March 19th’s game against the Kraken presented only positives for the team.
The first period saw a blitz of offense from the Wild, who scored three goals in quick succession. Ryan Hartman, Matt Boldy, and Liam Ohgren scored in that order to give the Wild a commanding lead. All three goal-scorers put in a strong performance. Matt Boldy has seen his production dip a bit this season, and Liam Ohgren is trying to find his footing in the NHL. Their two goals in the first period came at an opportune moment for both players.
Filip Gustavsson earned a shutout in Wendesday’s victory.LPH PHOTO BY ROBERT BRENTFilip Gustavsson also played a starring role in the game, making some huge stops to keep the Wild up 3-0 in a scoreless second period. Gustavsson again shut the door in the third period to earn a 34-save shutout where several of the Kraken’s shots were high-danger attempts.
The shutout was Gustavsson’s fifth of the season, earning the Wild their 39th win of the 2024-25 campaign.
