Already in the first summer after the NHL draft, Armands went to the camp, where Minnesota had gathered all the guys drafted that year and the previous year. Dry and ice training for three weeks was very valuable. Bērziņa’s agent said that the reviews were good, and the young Latvian striker was also praised by “Wild” head coach Žaks Lemērs. Maybe it shouldn’t have been better. Perhaps I got happy and relaxed too quickly, Armands thinks today.
However, he went to the Minnesota camp the following year as well, and this time he stayed until the official preseason tryouts. Žoltoks also did not withhold his advice during the training process. In mid-September, Bērziņš took part in the team’s first test match against Vancouver “Canucks” (0:1). “I remember that game vaguely, but there was great space, huge speeds, it was really confusing. But I was able to throw naked…“
