EDINA, Minn. — Pulling into a cozy lakeside neighborhood, it’s easy to spot which house belongs to Wild defenseman Alex Goligoski.
There’s a hockey net in front of the beautiful white, two-story, five-bedroom home. A bike and a couple of small hockey sticks are lying in the grass near a big leaf pile that was made by six-year-old Roman and four-year-old Mila. Spiderwebs hang from the awning, and pumpkins sit on the steps of the porch. The house is ready for Halloween.
Advertisement
Jax, the family’s two-year-old soft-coated wheaten terrier, pounces on me as I approach and am welcomed by Goligoski, 37, who is holding the puffy white pup’s collar.
“Hope you like dogs!”
Inside, the kids sit at the kitchen island coloring — both working on their “monsters.” They talk about their Halloween costumes. Roman will be Spider-Man, Mila will be Rainbow Dash from “My Little Pony.”
“Maybe you’ll get to see them after dinner,” Goligoski’s wife, Amanda, says.
Outside the hockey rink, this is where Goligoski is most comfortable: at home, in his kitchen. He’s more than just a “foodie.” He’s a passionate cook. He and Amanda prepare meals together nearly every non-game night. The Grand Rapids, Minn., native used to organize a “Chef Night” when he was with the Stars. He and teammate Jason Demers would cook a five-course meal for the team. Since joining the Wild in 2021, he has regularly picked the brain of the team’s chefs, and he has even traded ideas with local award-winning chef Gavin Kaysen. Goligoski may go to culinary school when his career is done.
As he approaches his 1,000th NHL game Thursday against Vancouver, I thought what better way to get to know him than by experiencing this area of skill and passion up close? Even with the Wild mired in an 0-3 start, coach Dean Evason has emphasized the importance of players disconnecting, and this is Goligoski’s favored method. He invited me to his place, and he and Amanda pored through cookbooks and blogs, digging up something to prepare. Now, here I am, two nights before his milestone game.
“I’ve never made this before,” he says. “So who knows what will happen?”
Amanda has been Goligoski’s teammate in the kitchen for the 10 years they’ve been married and more. The Cottage Grove native, who went to St. Thomas, met Gologoski when she was 19 and they were set up on a blind date. It was lunch at Brasa, a comfort-food staple in St. Paul, and they bonded over food. Goligoski’s parents, Paula and Dan, often made traditional Italian dishes during his childhood; Amanda’s family owns Tinucci’s in Newport. From their dating days to parenthood, most evenings have been spent in the kitchen — together.
Advertisement
“It was a lot of stir fries and stuff in the early days — figuring out how to cook, basically,” Goligoski says. “We got into it deeper and deeper.”
Amanda already has some prep done, with carrots and brussels sprouts chopped. She’s cutting gouda as Goligoski readies the main course. There are 12 uncooked chicken cutlets in a pan on the counter, and Goligoski is pumped to try the new recipe they found on one of their favorite food blogs.
The dish is prosciutto apple and sage butter chicken with side pan sauce, which includes apple cider and wine. Good fall flavors.
“This is going to be fun,” he says.
Before arriving, I called Demers for a scouting report. The two used to host the entire Stars team for football Sunday on their “Chef Night,” starting the five-course meal at 4 p.m. Antoine Roussel was their Sous chef. They made nachos, bruschetta, tacos, steaks. The whole thing started because both were bragging about how good they were in the kitchen.
“Our significant others always make fun of us for texting about cooking,” Demers said, laughing. “You’d think we’d text about sports or something else. But we’re just sending pictures of food.
“For us, it’s relaxing. It gets your mind away from hockey. You can be a normal human for a night, just cook dinner for your family. It’s a great outlet.”
I told Demers that Goligoski was going to make me dinner, and the 34-year-old defenseman prepared me.
“You’re going to love it,” he said. “He’ll turn it on for you. He has the flair in there. You can just tell him that I’m more classically trained and he’s more of a meat-and-potatoes guy. I’m a little more refined. He loves plate presentation, though. I’m assuming he’ll go out.
“Make sure he breaks out the good wine, though. None of that cheap s—.”
Goligoski laughs as I relay Demers’ message. “It sounds like something he would say,” he says before opening a Cab from Oak Yard Vineyards in Lodi, California.
Advertisement
“All right, I’m going in,” Goligoski says.
Goligoski prepared each chicken breast by topping them with apple butter and gouda and wrapping them in prosciutto. Now he kneels down and puts the roasting pan with the entree into the oven.
“I hope it tastes good,” Goligoski quips.
“If not, we know a really good takeout place,” Amanda says, laughing.
The chicken is roasted in the oven for about 20 minutes, then the pan sauce is finished on the stove. While we wait, Goligoski pours the wine and Amanda checks on the kids, who are in the backyard jumping on a trampoline.
Roman is a hockey player already, often practicing either in the front yard or basement, where there’s a mini shooting range next to the gym. Goligoski shows me each room on a mini-tour, including the kids’ playroom near the entryway. The couple moved in just over a year ago, and Goligoski’s hockey memorabilia is still wrapped up and sitting against the wall in the basement.
The fact that his 1,000th NHL game is so near hasn’t quite hit him. His parents, brother and some friends will be at Thursday’s game against Vancouver, but he’s not making a big deal out of it. The team plans to honor him on Nov. 19.
“It’s such an arbitrary number,” he says. “It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. But it’s obviously a huge, huge number and a cool milestone to hit. I’ve been thinking about it a bit. It’s a cool feather in your cap.”
We head back upstairs because it’s time to take the chicken out of the oven. Goligoski puts on his oven mitts and digs in. You can feel the heat and smell the roasted chicken as he shakes the pan. The cheese has melted, and the apples have caramelized. Now it’s time to put the chicken and apples on a side plate before he and Amanda prepare the sauce.
The pan sizzles on the stove, with the roasted garlic and shallots in it. There’s browned butter, fried sage, white wine and fresh apple cider.
Advertisement
“Plenty of fall flavors,” Goligoski says.
Mila yells in from the backyard to Amanda to remind her she promised to jump on the trampoline with them.
“OK,” Amanda yells. “Two minutes!”
Amanda departs the kitchen, and I step in to help stir the rice. Heck, it’s the least I can do. And it isn’t a heavy lift.
As we go, I try to write down the details of everything from the cooking process to the kids’ costumes.
Roman, back in the kitchen, interrupts me.
“Why are you writing that down?” he asks.
“So I don’t forget,” I reply.
“What do you think Joe does?” Goligoski says. “Why do you think he’s writing stuff down?”
“Because his brain is off and he can’t think of anything?” Roman asks.
“That might be one of the reasons,” Goligoski says.
Everyone laughs.
How true that is.
“It’s dinner time!” Amanda yells.
The sauce is about finished, so Goligoski puts the main course in a serving dish and brings it to the table. He sprinkles some balsamic vinegar over it, and the meal looks restaurant quality. (Demers was right about Goligoski’s plate presentation.)
Goligoski routinely visits the kitchen by the weight room at the Wild’s practice rink and talks with the chefs about new restaurants to how their meals are made. “He’s surprisingly knowledgeable about food,” says Wild chef Tyler Montgomery. “It took us a little bit by surprise. He knows the preparation and technique. He knows what goes well with certain things.”
I take my first bite of chicken and experience all the flavors. It’s sweet and cheesy at the same time, with the chicken tender. The apples are a unique touch, as is the cider. The Goligoskis have made a similar meal in the past, only using peaches. They’ve gotten creative with other kinds of cuisines, from Indian to Mexican (taco night) to sushi, which Goligoski jokes is better to have in restaurants. Goligoski routinely uses his new wood-pellet grill out back and has fallen in love with the Green Egg he has at the family’s cabin on Balsam Lake.
Advertisement
Goligoski used to think it’d be fun to open up a little restaurant with a bar, but he has learned — especially from Amanda’s family experience in the industry — that it’s “more work than people think.” He’s not in a rush to end his hockey career, either. He’s signed through 2023-24 at a $2 million cap hit, and while he’s getting older, he enjoys the grind, the game and being around teammates.
“I still love playing,” he says. “So we’ll see how it goes. I don’t want to put a timetable on it. Just stay in the moment.”
When Goligoski does retire, he may go to culinary school. Demers had the idea of the two of them teaming up to write a cookbook, maybe something for hockey players.
Goligoski laughs at the idea.
“Good, clean approachable recipes that athletes will be able to cook,” he says. “That’s an idea.”
(Photos: Joe Smith for The Athletic)
