Long-time Minnesota Duluth coach Mike Sertich, who died in the summer of 2024, used to say that in his three seasons of college hockey for the Bulldogs, he only scored one goal.

“And I still have the shin pad I scored it with,” he would joke.

In a similar vein, Wild forward Justin Brazeau was asked on Saturday afternoon if he would save his right skate, which was the catalyst for his first goal since joining Minnesota earlier this month.

For the eventual game-winner in the Wild’s 4-1 victory on Saturday, Brazeau took his hulking 6-foot-6 frame right to the top of the Sabres’ crease where a puck from teammate Brendan Gaunce glanced off the newcomer’s skate and over the goal line. After the Buffalo coaches took a thorough look at the replay, they did not challenge, as it was not intentionally kicked in.

“Yeah, it definitely wasn’t the prettiest, but I’m happy it went in,” Brazeau said of his 11th goal this season. He scored 10 with the Boston Bruins, before Minnesota traded for him on March 6. The Bruins were in Carolina at the time, while the Wild were in Vancouver, meaning Brazeau had to traverse the continent in roughly 20 hours to join his new team. On Saturday he got his first point in eight games with the Wild, playing right wing on their fourth line.

“It was definitely a crazy start, but it was obviously really nice to play the last whatever, five, six, seven games here at home and kind of be able to get situated and get a spot to live and everything like that,” he said. “So, it’s been really good. Yeah, it’s been a bit of a crazy turnaround, but sometimes just hopping right into it’s the best way.”

The Wild gave up forwards Marat Khusnutdinov and Jakub Lauko to get Brazeau, who has size and a net-front presence that could prove to be even more valuable come playoff time.

“I think it’d be a good confidence boost to him. I think any type of player comes into a new team, you wanna be able to contribute. And I think he’s gotten better and better, and more comfortable, and you start to see, at least from my standpoint, I start to see what he brings,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “He’s a big body, he’s got good hands. I think he has poise with the puck. He knows how to defend, he’s a responsible player and he’s good in and around the net. And we need him to be able to chip in like that throughout the lineup and it was nice for him to get his first one tonight with us.”

It was the third career game-winning goal for Brazeau, who is 27 and made his NHL debut last season, playing 19 games with the Bruins and scoring five goals. Like his new teammates in Minnesota, the end to his scoring drought seems to be coming at the best time.

“Yeah, it’s obviously huge. I mean, any time you’re in that drought it can get a little frustrating. Grip your stick too much or, you know, try to force it a little bit,” he said. “But I think we did a really good job of just kind of sticking with it knowing that it was coming. Once the seal’s off, just go from there.”

Related Articles

Wild’s second-period salvo sinks Sabres

Wild players acknowledge ‘friendly fire’ is painful, but normal, in hockey

Post-suspension, Wild forward Ryan Hartman making the most of his return

Minnesota Wild, St. Paul Saints make pitches for state bonding projects

In a late game, the Wild pounced on Seattle early

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Mickey Gasper has been fighting for a roster spot practically his whole life going back to high school, and the utilityman has learned a valuable lesson from those experiences.

“I’ve kind of learned how to not play GM and not be like, ‘Well, I’ve got to do this and do that and this has to happen for me to be here,’” Gasper said. “I like to go out and just let my play show.”

Gasper is one of the players the Twins have evaluated all spring and is on the bubble to make the Opening Day roster.

The Twins will play their last spring training game on Tuesday, then head to St. Louis to prepare for the start of their season. But injuries have opened the door for players to make the team, and manager Rocco Baldelli said the staff is still working through its options.

Royce Lewis’s hamstring injury opened up a spot in the infield, and now it appears Brooks Lee (back) could potentially miss Opening Day, as well. The Twins have confirmed that Michael Tonkin (shoulder) has been ruled out, too, and it appears Brock Stewart (hamstring) will be, as well.

“It’s not unusual for a roster to come together in the last day, or two days of spring training,” Baldelli said. “We have a number of guys that competed really well in this camp that are still vying for a spot or two that are open, both on the pitching and position player side.”

One player trying to nab a spot on the 26-man roster out of camp is Rule 5 selection Eiberson Castellano, whom the Twins risk losing if they do not carry him on the major league roster for the entirety of the season.

“I’m calm right now,” Castellano said. “Right now, I come here, do what I have to do, and at the end of the day, the manager is the one that’s going to make the decision.”

The Twins like Castellano’s stuff and believe in his ability, but the 23-year-old — who has yet to pitch above Double-A — has issued far too many walks, eight in 7 2/3 innings pitched this spring. Un the Twins’ 2-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday, Castellano threw a pair of scoreless innings, walking one, allowing a pair of hits and striking out a batter.

“He’s a 23-year-old young man with a very bright future who gave everything he could possibly give in spring training this year,” Baldelli said. “He was very focused. He worked very hard for us — and threw the ball pretty well.”

If the Twins don’t take Castellano, they could opt for a non-roster invite or even claim someone off of waivers. On the position player side, if Lee were to miss Opening Day, the Twins seem to have three spots open with Gasper, Edouard Julien, Austin Martin, DaShawn Kiersey Jr. the 40-man options still in camp.

“I think we’re getting closer to making a call … but I would also say that if I told you I knew who was going to be on our final roster, I’d be telling you something that wasn’t true,” Baldelli said. “We still have a little ways to go.”

Twins on TV

Updates on how to watch the Twins on television — on providers such as Comcast and DirecTV, among others — are expected to trickle in over the next few days. But at least one deal has been worked out and announced for fans: Those with Paul Bunyan Television will have access to Twins games on HD Channel 558 and SD Channel 58.

Twins games also will be available to stream on Twins.TV for those who do not have cable or satellite. That service is offered at $19.99 per month or $99.99 for the full season.

Briefly

Willi Castro left Twins camp Friday to fly to Minnesota to be with his wife for the birth of their third child. … Joe Ryan will get his last start of the spring in on Sunday when the Twins venture across Daniels Parkway to take on the Boston Red Sox. Walker Buehler will start for Boston. … Byron Buxton hit his second home run of the spring on Saturday, accounting for the Twins’ only run.

Related Articles

Twins’ Willi Castro’s focus? Becoming a threat on the bases again

Twins’ Pablo López sets sights on turning in two strong halves

Now with the Phillies, Max Kepler remembers time in Minnesota fondly

Already down one infielder, Twins’ Brooks Lee dealing with back issue

What’s left to settle? Twins still have multiple roster decisions to make

A Fargo battalion chief said he believes a fire was intentionally set at a Tesla charging station early Friday morning.

Firefighters responded around 3:15 a.m. to the charging stations in the parking lot of Scheels on 45th Street South.

Smoke and heat damage can be seen at the base of a Tesla charging station at the Fargo Scheels. (WDAY News)

There was a small fire next to the charging stations, and one of the charging stations was smoking. Firefighters were able to put it out quickly.

They found burned wood chips at the charger and a gas can nearby.

A power company crew responded to the scene, and power was cut to all chargers. Cones were placed in front of the chargers, and it is unclear when they will be turned back on.

A police K9 was also called out to investigate.

Firefighters contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which they say is standard procedure in these cases.

Tesla has been the target of vandalism across the country in recent days. Among the incidents, several Tesla cars were set on fire at a service station in Las Vegas.

Related Articles

St. Paul kidnapping case followed by federal drug trafficking charges

Roseville police arrest 29 in retail theft blitz

‘Her name is Darisha,’ sister of teen intentionally struck in Forest Lake says at killer’s sentencing

4 sentenced to prison in Colombia for murder of Twin Cities comedian

Jury convicts alleged ringleader of massive Feeding our Future fraud scheme

Two Cybertrucks caught fire at a dealership in Kansas City, Mo. Investigators there believe it is arson.

A woman was also captured on camera vandalizing a newly constructed Tesla dealership in a Chicago suburb.

These incidents come as Tesla CEO Elon Musk has gained a powerful position in President Donald Trump’s administration. He is the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, which says it is reducing the size of the federal government, and has led that department to cut tens of thousands of federal jobs.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — So much of the talk surrounding Willi Castro has centered on what position the hyper-versatile 27-year-old will play. Will he be at second, where the Twins haven’t named any kind of starter? Will he fill in for Royce Lewis at third? How much time in the outfield will he see?

At one point this spring, Castro was even taking reps at first, although that’s not expected to be a position where he’ll see playing time.

But when manager Rocco Baldelli first saw the utilityman this spring, he had something else he wanted to talk to Castro about: baserunning.

Castro was an aggressive runner in 2023 when he swiped a career-high 33 bags and was caught just five times. Last year, he ran less and was caught more, successful in just 14 of 23 attempts, often getting thrown out by a half step or so.

“If there is one thing that Willi can focus on this year, I think that would be a great thing to focus on,” Baldelli said.

And he has been.

Castro thinks he has pinpointed the issue he had last year, saying he felt like he was inconsistent in getting good leads.

“When you’re in the rhythm, like stealing every day, that’s when you know where you’re standing, when you are in the right spot,” Castro said. “I thought I was far, but I was close to the base. I think when you’re in the rhythm (of) stealing, that’s when you know where you’re at — when you know how far you can get (and still) can come back easily.”

The Twins aren’t a particularly fast team; by sprint speed, they were 29 of 30 teams last season. And they don’t steal a lot of bases; their 65 last year ranked dead last in the majors. But they know Castro has the potential to make an impact on the bases.

Though he ran much less last year, his 14 stolen bases were twice as many as anybody else on the team. Byron Buxton and Austin Martin were next, each with seven. Harrison Bader stole 17 last year for the New York Mets. While he adds that element on the bases for the Twins, the team hopes Castro can get back to the runner he was a year prior, too.

Castro played in 158 games last year, both a team high and a career-high for him. By the end of the season, he admits, he was certainly feeling it more physically, which could have contributed to a dip in his aggressiveness on the basepaths, as well.

“He’s very capable of being an above-average baserunner, being aggressive, stretching the limits, making the defense rush, stealing some bases,” Baldelli said. “He can do all of those things, and I think he’s mentally prepared to do all those things.”

He’s set his sights on shattering his career high. This spring, he’s taken off twice. Twice, he’s been successful.

“I’m going to do a better job this year because I know what I did wrong last year,” Castro said.  “I’ve just got to trust myself.”

Related Articles

Twins’ Pablo López sets sights on turning in two strong halves

Now with the Phillies, Max Kepler remembers time in Minnesota fondly

Already down one infielder, Twins’ Brooks Lee dealing with back issue

What’s left to settle? Twins still have multiple roster decisions to make

Results are good but Twins’ Bailey Ober working to find his timing