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MINNESOTAHOCKEYJOURNAL.COM // MARCH.2016 26 I 'm often asked by hockey fans who my favorite players have been to deal with. The list is honestly endless. I can probably count on two hands how many players or coaches over the years I didn't get along with. There's just something about hockey folks. As for the good guys, these are names that immediately come to mind when people ask. Brian Rolston If I had to pick an NHL team I knew the least about back in 2005 when I moved to the Twin Cities, it would have been the Wild. I scoured the roster and had interviewed Rolston many times in the past. So I decided since he was new and I was new, it made sense to develop a relationship. Sensational guy and go-to quote. Mark Parrish I got to cover his first two years in the NHL (50 goals) when he was just a young pup in Florida. The coolest part of that was seeing Dino Ciccarelli, the guy Parrish idol- ized growing up, take Parrish under his wing. Hilarious guy and golden quote. My favorite article was still his parents letting me into their home for a profile after their son signed with the Wild. Matt Cullen "Nicest person ever" is overused in today's vernac- ular, but Cullen might be that guy. My favorite Cullen stories are the ones I did in Florida where Cullen and Parrish discussed their high school rivalry (Cullen went to Moorhead) and in Minnesota where Cullen let me tag along with him in Fargo/Moorhead for a feature. He gave me a tour of his childhood home and rink. Brent Burns By far the craziest player I've ever covered, and I mean that with endearment. I love writing personal- ity profiles, and he's one giant character. It's still an honor that he let me into his home—twice—to write about what I dubbed the Burnzie Zoo. He had snakes, birds, fish (a shark!) and huskies. Impossible not to like him. Nick Schultz In January 2012, coincidentally after Cullen's party to celebrate his 1,000th game at the Downtowner in St. Paul, I had gone to Tom Reid's Hockey City Pub after a game. An hour later, backing out of my parking space, I smacked into the front of a car. It was a black Porsche. I'm inspect- ing the scratched hood, I look up and see Jared Spurgeon. I sheep- ishly go, "Whose car did I just hit?" He goes, "I think … Schultzy. I'll go get him." As Spurgeon ran across West 7th, I yelled, "Spurge, … uh, uh, don't make a scene." About a minute later, I could hear Schultz laughing as he crossed the street once he realized Spurgeon wasn't playing a joke on him. Before he even looked at his car, Schultz told me to go home. As I profusely apologized, he just laughed and said not to worry. For the next three weeks, I offered to pay for the damages. For the next three weeks, he told me, "Stop worrying about it. It's no big deal." I'm not just saying this because he let me off scot-free, Schultz is one of the most decent human beings I have covered. RUSSO'S RANTS PRESENTED BY "Honestly, the quality of the people in hockey is one of the biggest joys for me, and it keeps me coming back to the rink every day." The GreaTesT PeoPle I've ever Covered By MICHAEL RUSSO PHOTOS: MINNESOTA WILD. GETTY IMAGES