Parise to play AHL game on way back to Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. --Minnesota Wild forward Zach Parise is expected to take the next step in his return when he plays his first game this season, a conditioning assignment with Iowa of the American Hockey League against Rockford in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday.
Parise, 33, has not played since having microdiscectomy surgery Oct. 24. The surgery was designed to repair a herniated disk and alleviate the corresponding pain and weakness in nearby parts of his body. He began skating Nov. 29 and has been practicing with the Wild since Dec. 15. Parise was expected to miss 8-10 weeks to recover from the surgery.

Parise remains day to day and will return to practice with Minnesota after the game with Iowa. Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said he hopes to have Parise back in the lineup by "very early in the new year."
Parise has 661 points (318 goals, 343 assists) in 830 NHL games with the New Jersey Devils and Wild.
"There's pros and cons [to playing in the minors]," Parise said. "It takes a while to catch back up to again the conditioning level, the endurance level that these guys are at. It doesn't happen overnight, and you can skate by yourself as much as you want, but you have to get in those games and get those reps in. And so it just made the most sense that it would be a good starting point.
"[I'm] really excited. … When you're not on a line, these guys have to get ready to play games, and when you're not on a line, it's tough to get reps, so I think this would probably be the best thing to move forward to go [to Iowa], practice with them, play a game, and go from there."