Photo by Rich Moll
Written By: Ryan Baker, Journalist
Despite being the 2024 UFA Champions, Minnesota is walking into the 2025 season with a chip on its shoulder.
They hear the voices coming from Chicago after a big offseason. They are hearing the noise that, because of the conditions in Salt Lake at Championship Weekend, their title run doesn’t have the validity as some of those in the past. They know they have a target on their back. However, none of that matters to the champs. They know it’s a new season and anything can happen, but expectations are still sky-high.
“You don't get many opportunities to repeat a championship, so expectations are pretty darn high. We are excited to have some new blood and refreshed divisional opponents, but we're still very much about needing to build throughout the season,” said Head Coach Ben Feldman. “We have to start with defending the division, and getting back to championship weekend.”
Outlook on the season
The champs have had one of the deepest rosters in the league for some time and added even more depth this year. After re-signing a majority of their crew from the title run, they also added two high-flying defenders, Justin Burnett from Atlanta and James Pollard from Philadelphia. To get more insight on those two additions, click here!
“James and Justin are going to be available for almost the entire slate of games, which is huge to learn our systems and get comfortable,” said Feldman.
“I always like to play with the chip on my shoulder, no matter what. I didn't win a championship last year. I haven't been to Championship Weekend. I haven’t won anything yet, so it doesn’t change anything for me regarding mental preparation,” said Burnett.
Having those two protect the deep space is going to make life that much easier on veteran and defensive cornerstone Dylan DeClerck, along with the talents of Noah Hanson and Bret Bergmeier.
The Wind Chill will have to adjust to not having their Captain Brandon Matis for the beginning of the season, as he is on IR without a set returning timetable.
“We're already a team that relies on our defensive intensity as an identity. James and Justin add fuel to that fire. Justin plays at a really fast pace, and we've been able to crank up the fast break,” said Matis. “We're getting a lot more chemistry with him [Pollard]. He poses a lot of different challenges with his size and his throwing ability.”
That identity only strengthens as they are coming off a season producing the second-most blocks in the league, along with the third-best break percentage. Minnesota also had six players with more than ten blocks throughout the season, with Matis leading the charge at 15.
“It’s about being able to add skills to a team that's already really great at defense. I know I'm bringing in more height, and that was a struggle. I know we're locking down the height issues this year,” said Pollard.
On the offensive side, there weren’t any major moves made by the Wind Chill, but something that is going under the radar is the full season that 2024 Finals MVP, Will Brandt, is going to be able to have. Brandt hasn’t been able to play more than eight games in a season due to college, yet was third on the team in assists the last two years.
“In past years, I missed most practices in the preseason, and then I would just show up and play. I feel like I've been able to build a lot more this year with the team and with the lines that I'm on,” said Brandt.
Another college player that will be fully available this season is 2024 Most Improved Player Gordon Larson. Larson came on to the scene last year after putting up 25 goals, 19 assists, and over 2,220 receiving yards in just nine games.
“We've got a launch pad that we're starting on already knowing the ways that we like to play. Instead of learning that halfway through the season, we're feeling even more prepared. I think it'll show up even earlier this season in a bigger way,” said Larson.
Those are just two of the plethora of young talent this Minnesota team has. Do not let that take away from the fact that they have some of the most talented veterans in the league. Captain Bryan Vohnoutka, Matthew Rehder, Josh Klane, and Colin Berry are just a few of the returning names who are a pivotal part of this team. These veterans know that teams are going to be gunning for them.
“We're excited to take on the challenge of other teams giving us their best shot because they want to take down the champs,” said Vohnoutka.
“Back-to-back. Repeat. That's the goal. We got some people saying last year was a Mickey Mouse championship. We want to show that it's not,” said Klane.
For the Wind Chill to get back to the pinnacle of the league, they will have to scrape and claw their way through their tough schedule. Captain Tristan Van De Moortele understands that each week is going to be a battle.
“Not taking a week off. Not taking a game off. Not taking a practice off. It was really hard last year, and nothing's going to be easy this year either. Having that mindset of it's a new year and nothing's been accomplished yet is going to keep the team hungry,” said Van de Moortele.
2025 Schedule
The season opener for the reigning champs begins in Indianapolis for a matchup with the AlleyCats on May 10. Following that, they host the Chicago Union in their home opener on May 17. A game that will be the first test for the Union after their busy offseason. That matchup will be a must-watch to see two top-three power-ranked teams go head-to-head.
“There won't be any footage on Chicago, so there's going to be some unknowns of what they're going to look like. It'll be a really good challenge for our coaching staff strategically to adjust mid-game,” said Feldman.
One week later, the Wind Chill hit the road again, but this time for a matchup with the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds on May 24. Then, Minnesota returns home to host the Atlanta Hustle for their annual game hosted at TCO Stadium, the Minnesota Vikings practice facility. A cross-divisional matchup against Burnett’s former team will hopefully be the first win in TCO for Minnesota, as they have lost all three games there thus far.
“I'm super excited. It's going to be awesome. It's going to be fun to see all the old guys and absolutely dunk on them and destroy them,” said Burnett. “A little peak into Atlanta's practices is that when O and D go against each other, it’s the chippiest and most aggressive game you've ever seen. I always would say that if someone random were to show up to our practices, they would think it was two rival teams that hated each other,” said Burnett.
The home stand continues for one more week with the Wind Chill hosting Pittsburgh on June 7. After that, they travel over to Breese Stevens Field to play the young Madison Radicals on June 13. That will be a test to see if Minnesota can hold off a team with a younger atmosphere heading into the year.
On June 21, the Wind Chill hosts the AlleyCats, but then their schedule gets hectic. A small break until the beginning of July will provide the team time to rest, heal up, and mentally prepare for the final stretch of the season.
Over the Fourth of July weekend, Minnesota will take a road trip to Chicago for their second matchup of the year on the fourth. Just a day later, they have a date with the Mechanix in Detroit.
“They've [Chicago] been making their voices heard, and I think they're getting a little overconfident. We'll see what happens when we're on the field,” said Larson.
Seven days of rest will follow the doubleheader, but then the Wind Chill will need to gear up for three games over eight days to close the season. The first one is a home game on July 12 against the Radicals, a matchup that Minnesota hasn’t lost at home the last three years.
The second game is arguably one of the most anticipated matchups of the year. Minnesota will travel to Salt Lake to play the Shred on July 18. Despite only playing each other once, there is a sense of rivalry between these two. Two years ago, the Shred came to Minnesota for Championship Weekend and beat the Wind Chill on a buzzer-beater to advance to the championship. Conversely, Minnesota went over to the Shred’s home field and won a title last year.
“They're going to get in your grill, talk some trash, and shove you around a little bit until the refs notice it. I think that's something that we weren't really comfortable with, but now we are expecting it and looking forward to it,” said Larson.
Finally, they will close the season on a home game against Detroit. It is a tough slate for the champs. While there are teams such as Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, and Detroit that don’t pop off the page, Minnesota has to be able to build on every game to get back to Championship Weekend.
“I don't know if we could boil it down to one thing. I think last year we built a really strong foundation, but a lot of people still don't believe in this team and our ability to win another championship. It'll be making sure that we keep that strong foundation that we've built over the past few years,” said DeClerck.
“We know challenging ourselves during the season has played out pretty well for us in the past. We want to play the best teams and have the biggest challenges, so we’ve been there when it comes to the end of the season,” said Feldman.
The Wind Chill has a chance to make history by winning back-to-back titles for the second time in UFA history (Previously done by the New York Empire in 2022 and 2023). It will be a matter of whether Minnesota can build off of last year and stay healthy, or if they are hungover from hoisting the trophy last summer.
