Riley M. Hirsch, Minnesota Wild Former Head Scout Dies at 75

St. Cloud Times

January 20, 2066

By Matt Ellinghuysen

Riley Hirsch, a hard-working scout for the Minnesota Wild, and an avid hockey fan since the day he first laced up his skates, died late Friday night in an automobile accident in Phoenix, Ariz. on the way back to his house from a Coyotes v. Wild game.

The cause of death was a car accident on his way home from the hockey game. 

Hirsch was born on September 19, 1990 in Little Falls, Minn., where he graduated from Little Falls Community High School.  He is a family and friends guy, so every time he could spend with them he did.  If anyone ever needed help he would drop everything and help them out.  Most of his friends he made were through sports.  “He was a great athlete, going all conference in all three sports and wanted to pursue playing at the college level” said his sister Alexis.  After high school he went to Bemidji State University and played baseball there.  “He played all four years and had a great time” said by his former teammate Cody Bergquist.  Graduating with a sport management degree, it took him a while to catch his break. 

After graduating BSU he did a bunch of odd jobs for his sport management career.  He spent two more years at BSU being a grad assistant.  Then he worked for the Fargo Force recruiting young talent.  After working for Fargo, he felt that this was just a step for him to recruit for the NHL.

The Minnesota Wild was in need of a scout who understood the sport.  Hirsch got the job.  After being hired he moved closer to the cities and ended up in Eden Prairie, Minn.  He was always on the road looking for new talent and the next big star.  Growing up he was a winner so he wanted nothing but great talent, his favorite quote was “winning isn’t everything . . . it’s the only thing.”He brought many star players to the Wild which won three Stanley cups in six years.  On the road, he met the woman of his dreams, Lola Shanahan.  They married on March 7, 2020 and spent the rest of his life together. 

After he retired he resorted in Phoenix Ariz., with his wife and three children.  After working hard for many of years, he wanted to go somewhere warm.  His three boys Rhett, Jordan, and Colton all played hockey and baseball.  Since he grew up an athlete, he thought it would be right if his children were too.  That was how he met so many good people in his life and wanted his kids to live a good life.  Growing up his parents never missed any of their children’s sporting events.  He never missed a single sporting event of theirs.  No matter where the game was, he was their biggest fan and wanted them to that; he felt the need that he should go to all of the sporting events, it was very important to him.

He survived by his wife Lola three children Rhett, Colton, Jordan, Sister Alexis Adams, and Brother Gabriel Hirsch.