NA3HL Approve Minnesota Wilderness 

The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) has announced that it has approved the membership of the Minnesota Wilderness. 

The board of governors approved Wilderness owner Barry Bohman’s request to purchase the Minnesota Loons of the NA3HL for relocation. The Loons, currently home in Breezy Point, MN, will be moved to Northeast Minnesota and will be rebranded as the Minnesota Wilderness.

“We are excited about the new opportunity for continued exposure of players at the NA3HL level in the state of Minnesota,” NAHL Commissioner Mark Frankenfeld said. “The Wilderness are a great storied franchise in the NAHL, and having an NA3HL team under the same umbrella will provide great advancement opportunities for players.” 

The NA3HL Wilderness will bear the same colors, logo and uniforms as the North American Hockey League’s (NAHL) Minnesota Wilderness squad. The Wilderness will begin playing in the NA3HL’s West Division, which includes four other teams based in the state of Minnesota. 

“We are thrilled to bring the NA3HL to Northern Minnesota,” Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL) General Manager Dave Boitz said. “We believe that having another team in the area will just give that many more players a chance to continue to develop their game and prepare for the next level. Many good players in the arena are not quite ready for the NAHL, so this will give those players that extra year or so that they may need to make the jump.”

The NA3HL Wilderness are expected to play out of Eveleth, MN. 

The Wilderness will begin building its roster immediately, with the help of the NA3HL Draft scheduled for April 24.

The NA3HL will be entering its 14th season of operation during the 2024-25 season. It is the only USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III junior hockey league.