"Kirill Kaprizov is awful," Evason said with a laugh. "He's the most skilled athlete, probably ever, but he just never played. Billy (Guerin) and I actually played up in Duluth with him and (Alex) Goligoski in a match, and by the end of the round, he's hitting shots, he's making putts, he's chipping in shots, so clearly he's got a skill set. But as far as having him on my team in golf, yeah, no thanks. Hockey, 100 percent."
Evason, Kaprizov and the rest of the Minnesota Wild team teed off in the inaugural Wild Off the Tee Golf Tournament at the Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo on Monday. Each Wild staff member and player was grouped in with foursomes of organization and ticket sponsors, as well as a few lucky 4Ever Wild Rewards winners and season ticket holders. A portion of foursome entry fees benefitted the Minnesota Wild Foundation.
"We haven't done this in a long time. And you know, we really appreciate the stuff that our organization does and the community does for us," said Foligno. "Things like the hospital visits and going to Treasure Island for bowling and stuff. We haven't been able to do those things because of COVID. And it's just really great to see our fans and the people who sponsor our team, and long-holding season ticket holders. It's great for us to get back into it and for them to see us. I know last year brought a lot of excitement, and it's going to be a great year getting to know the fans and the people that support us day in and day out this year."
Foligno admitted that while his putts on the public course were decent, it was his group from Bryant Heating and Cooling that were carrying the team.
"He hits it a long way," Bryant Schreifels said of Foligno's game. "I'd say it's been a group effort. They're all great. This is the best. I was so excited to come today."
Added Rick Olson: "it was a no brainer. It was an easy day to take off."
Frank Rush, whose family's season tickets date back to the Minnesota North Stars days, won the day off through a 4Ever Wild Rewards sweepstakes. He and a few buddies grouped up with Wild goaltending coach Freddie Chabot for the day.
"I'm pretty psyched. We're all happy to be out there, and it's been a lot of fun thus far," said Rush. "It's always fun to just get to chat with the players a little bit and see how they're thinking the year's gonna go. We have high hopes, and hopefully we can make a run this year. I think we've got it in us, and I'm excited to see what happens."
Evason is equally as excited to get the season going. The Wild open up training camp on Thursday.
"An event like this, when things are optimistic for the beginning of the season and you get to interact with fans, who are so excited, almost as excited as we are, it's great," said Evason. "It's nice to actually get out and talk to people. You're high-fiving, and fist pumping, and all of that stuff was gone for such a long time. So it's nice to interact with people, and it's nice for us as an organization. I know the fans love interacting with the players, and they're all so excited to get back into the season. We're excited for that too."
FORE! Overheard on the course
Marcus Foligno: "It's tough when you get frustrated and you can't hit anyone out here. If you start hitting someone, I think someone's calling the cops on you. That's the challenging part of it. You know, there's no fans kind of cheering you on when do something good."
Ryan Hartman: "Usually I get out for like 75 rounds, but this year was maybe only 15 or 20. (My) short game (is better). Drive for show and putt for dough."
Dean Evason: "Summer never goes too fast. We want to play until June."
