1-on-1 with former Wild star Mikko Koivu

KSTP sports director Joe Schmit recently spent time with former Wild captain Mikko Koivu. In a televised ceremony an hour before the opening faceoff Sunday vs. Nashville, the Wild made Koivu the first player in franchise history with his number retired.

***Click the video box above to watch Schmit’s conversation with Koivu***

Family members, former Wild general managers Doug Risebrough and Chuck Fletcher and more than 20 of his ex-teammates were in attendance for the event. Wild players wore special No. 9 uniforms in Koivu’s honor for warmups.

Koivu was the first full-time captain in Wild history, a role he held for 11 of his 15 seasons with the club. He’s the franchise’s career leader in games played, assists, points, plus-minus rating and several other categories, after being drafted sixth overall in 2001 out of his native Finland.

Koivu wiped tears from his eyes several times as he watched the event and spoke to the crowd, which chanted his name more than once.

The Associated Press contributed to this report