panoo

by Paul Christian
Post-Bulletin
6/29/2007 9:48:49 AM

The goal of any hockey player is to win the Stanley Cup.

And if you can't win it? Maybe become the announcer of the team that does.

Mike Greenlay was close. He was the radio analyst of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim from 1999 to 2001, before he moved over to Minnesota as a TV analyst with the Wild.

The Ducks, of course, were winners of this year's Stanley Cup. They whipped the Wild 4-1 in the first round of the playoffs, then cruised to the championship.

"Do I spend time thinking 'What if?' No, I don't," said Greenlay. "It was good for me to see the Ducks win because I have a lot of friends out there, but I'm not going to tell you I wish I were still there.

"I'm more than happy in Minnesota, and I want to be here the day the Wild is able to win the Cup. Now, that would be special. I could get really excited over that."

Greenlay and his TV partner of two years -- Dan Terhaar -- and current players Derek Boogaard and Mark Parrish were here Tuesday as part of the Rochester stop of the 17-city 2007 Wells Fargo Wild Road Tour.

The tour culminated Thursday night with the Wild Summer Bash in St. Paul.

"This is something I really enjoy," said Greenlay. "We get to meet the fans in such an informal atmosphere. Really, I enjoy it."

Like the players, Greenlay is enjoying a much-deserved off-season. From mid-September to sometime in April, May or (hopefully) June, he is pressed into service with the team.

"We still do community-related activities with the team," said Greenlay, who is employed by the Wild, "but for the most part this is our time. It's a long season; generally speaking we're gone one, maybe two weeks, every month during the season. So this is a good time to be home and get reacquainted with the family."

Greenlay will start his sixth season with the Wild in the fall. He began his broadcast career with the Houston Aeros in 1995 (now a Wild affiliate) as a radio and TV analyst. His other broadcasting stops have included Nashville with the Predators, Orlando with the Solar Bears of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, and TV analyst with the International Hockey League Game of the Week and the Turner Cup Finals.

Professionally, he played for six seasons as a goaltender with Edmonton, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay. In college, he was a member of the 1988 Lake Superior State team which won the NCAA championship.

Long story short: He knows his hockey.

"This is a job I love to do," he said. "Hopefully, I can relate some of this knowledge to the fans."

The Wild were bounced by the Ducks in the playoffs last year, but at least they made the playoffs.

"It was a very good season," he said. "The bar was set at the beginning to make the playoffs, and now the expectations will be to take another step in the playoffs. We'll see, the team is headed in the right direction."

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