MSP Sports | MSP Sports | Rolston Looks Like the Real Deal

Brian Rolston sat in the locker room Saturday remarking about how incredible it was that the fans in Minnesota turned out in droves for a meaningless exhibition hockey game. He raved about the fans, the passion, the noise. Perhaps, however, it is the fans who should be ranting and raving about how great it is to have Rolston here in Minnesota.

Rolston was a player who coach Lemaire had experience with. He played for Lemaire in New Jersey. In between, he played for Colorado and Boston. His best season came in 2001-02 when he had 31 goals and 31 assists. Additionally, except for the 1999-2000 season, when he split time with three different teams, Rolston has always had a positive plus-minus rating.

So Wild fans knew they were getting a decent player when he signed with the Wild in the summer of 2004. What Wild fans maybe didn’t realize, was that they were getting a leader, a versatile player, and a potential fan favorite as well.

Rolston has nine short-handed goals in 2001-02. He’s a pesky defending forward who can take the puck all the way down the ice if he gets it. His extensive experience on the power play (37 career PP goals) and short handed (26 career SH goals), as well as in crunch time (39 game winning goals), is an excellent example for a roster full of young, impressionable talent.

More than that, though, Rolston’s just a genuinely good guy. It showed in his excitement about playing in front of a GOOD hockey crowd. It showed when he talked about how talented some of the Wild’s young prospects are. And it shows every time he takes the ice, no matter the situation, and busts his butt to make the little plays. Minnesota not only signed a potential team-leading scorer, they also signed a potential captain and leader for their young stars. They signed a finisher. They signed a guy who will soon be a hero to young hockey players across the upper Midwest. He says he’s happy to be here, but we are even more happy to have him here.