Below is the updated interactive depth chart for the Minnesota Wild 2011-2012. It includes player name, number, salary info and contract status for the Wild roster, sorted by position. Holding command and clicking links to a YouTube video.

Enjoy.

Now that the Minnesota Wild's 2010-2011 campaign has ended, it's time to move forward. Wild management has some decisions that need to be made. To help you better and more easily understand where the Wild currently stands, I built this interactive depth chart for you to play with. In it, you'll find a classic depth chart along with players' ages, salaries for this year and next and a link to a YouTube highlight (command+click to open).

If you've ever interacted with a large group of Minnesota Wild fans, read the message boards, the blogs, or basically been a Wild fan for any amount of time, you've most likely debated the merit of having Minnesotans on the team. There are a few categories of thought on this topic and, despite the pretty clear and consistent outline of arguments, fans continue to go round and round in this debate. With every signing and especially every summer's draft, the discussion is brought back up again and the different sides reignite the issue.

There are generally three categories of thought on the issue of Minnesotans playing for the Wild:

1. MINNESOTANS! This group wants as many Minnesotans as possible and believes it is the only way for the team to ever be successful. They rejoiced when Nick Leddy was drafted by the Wild in 2009 and wept when he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks. Every summer is a new hope as it's the Wild's chance to draft the latest Mr. Hockey.

2. I know, but it would be nice... This group knows it's not rational to want a team entirely made up of Minnesotans but wouldn't mind having some homegrown talent suiting up. While they acknowledge that the best player regardless of hometown talent is always the best, their state pride still holds a small bias towards players from the State of Hockey.

3. No. Stop it. No, really. This group is sick of people wishing there were more Minnesotans on the team. The irrationality of some of the proposals makes them want to explode. They will welcome talented players who happen to be from Minnesota, but are wary of it. They never want the Wild to draft another Minnesota high school hockey player ever again. Go Finland (/Canada/Sweden/Russia, etc.)!

Not all fans fall directly into these categories, but most can place themselves into one of the general idea of each (obviously the above are somewhat sarcastic, tongue in cheek descriptions). This debate is probably never going to end, so follow the jump to see some stats about Minnesotans on the Wild and more in-depth analysis of why this is such a big deal to fans.

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Oh fantasy hockey. It’s been such an interesting experience so far. The standings may say I’m currently 3rd worst team in the Hockey Wilderness fantasy league, but we’ll just glaze over that for now.

Make the jump to see what I learned in my first month of fantasy hockey, my therapeutic player drop and how my team would dominate a best hair category...

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Fantasy hockey.

Every year around this time, people start setting up leagues, ranking players and devising strategies. Me? I never thought about it much, skipped over the pages of fantasy analysis, pitied those who missed drafts and ended up with a bad team. I’ve never been one of the girls who hates fantasy leagues, I just never really got into that part of sports. That is, until this year.

Bryan put up a post calling for people to join a HW league. Initially, I glanced over it and didn’t think about it too much. But then I thought to myself, "Self, how lame will you be if you don’t join the fantasy hockey league for the site you write for?" So I sent Bryan a quick email asking for a basic explanation and tips. A few hours later, I received an essay back detailing what was basically fantasy hockey for dummies. I emailed him back telling him that I was in.

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I vividly remember the first hockey fight I ever saw in person.

It was April 29, 2003 and I was in the stands for Game 3 of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Minnesota Wild were playing the Vancouver Canucks (the Wild would eventually take the series in seven games to advance to the Western Conference Final.) The tension had been building between the two teams throughout the season and ran over into the playoffs. Minnesota enforcer Matt Johnson and Vancouver pest Brad May had spent the pre-game skate eyeing each other, occasionally exchanging words. The ref dropped the puck for the opening face off and seven seconds later the two players dropped their gloves. The crowd, already high on the surprising success of the Wild and excitement of the playoffs, gasped and roared with every punch thrown.

The role of enforcer can be traced throughout the NHL, with plenty of debate following it. The role of fighting in hockey has been questioned and the usefulness of "goons" put under a microscope. The Minnesota Wild have seen a fluctuation of team scrappiness throughout their brief history, but always had a top fighter. But this off-season, the team said goodbye to a heavyweight and one of the top fighters currently in the NHL in Derek Boogaard, seemingly leaving them without an enforcer for one of the first times in franchise history.

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The 2010 NHL Entry Draft is quickly approaching, as you can tell by all of the draft-centric posts on Hockey Wilderness and SBN Hockey as a whole (make sure you're reading that, by the way, because there's some really great coverage on all the sites).

Minnesotans have a thing about our lovely state - we love it and we love having homegrown talent. There is always the group who wishes the Wild had a Minnesotan on its roster or hopes the team drafts the Minnesotan player. Darby Hendrickson and Mark Parrish were both hometown boys who contributed for the Wild but there are also Minnesotan draft picks like A.J. Thelen.

That being said, there's a new crop of Minnesota boys in this upcoming draft (but, with the Wild picking ninth, it's very unlikely they will select a Minnesotan). Here's a graphic of some of the top Minnesota players in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft and their basics (position, hometown, teams). You can find a full list of Minnesotans available for the 2010 Draft here. Mouse over the stars to learn more about a player.

You can follow Elise on Twitter @elisebutler or send her an e-mail at 18568reasonswhy@gmail.com

This season wasn't the happiest for Wild fans. The ups and downs expected of a franchise trying to completely change their organization and style of play happened, leaving the Wild out of the playoff picture and looking for answers. But enough of the negatives, here are some high points for the 2009-2010 season that Minnesota fans can look back on with a smile.

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Russo broke the story today that the Minnesota Wild will sign UMass sophomore forward Casey Wellman to a two-year, $1.8 million contract. You can read all of the details in BR's post below or Russo's blog.

One big thing about Wellman is that he plays center. The Wild aren't exactly overflowing with centers. This gives Wellman a lot greater of an opportunity to come to the team and get more of a chance. At this point in the season, might as well see what the guy can do at the NHL level.

But really, who is Casey Wellman...

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