"That was kind of rare for me to not have a healthy year and play in every game," Coyle said. "But it's hockey. It's a grind and it happens from time to time. It's all about how you bounce back from it."
Back in the Twin Cities since the beginning of the month, Coyle has been participating in captain's practices and is back to 100 percent with training camp on the horizon. He joined his teammates for the annual media day festivities at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday, a sure sign that hockey season is here.
Camp begins Friday with the first series of on-ice skates and coach Bruce Boudreau's vaunted conditioning test. A workout fiend, the conditioning test isn't typically a problem for Coyle, and it's not expected to be again this year.
"I feel good. I had a good summer to sort of refresh, get stronger, work some kinks out. So I feel really good right now," Coyle said. "I just take [last year] as a positive. You learn from those experiences and going through rough times or injuries or whatever it is.
"It was nice to have the summer to hit reset, come back stronger and come in in a good place physically and mentally and just start fresh."
Still just 26, Coyle was a player on the ascent until last season's injury marred campaign.
The Boston native had played in all 82 games three straight seasons, raising his points total from 35 in 2014-15, to 42 the following year, to 56 in 2016-17, Boudreau's first season behind the bench.
Coyle missed 16 games in all last season and finished a plus-8, but saw his goals and points totals take a dip. Along with forwards Nino Niederreiter and Marcus Foligno -- each injured in the same game as Coyle in Chicago early in the season -- Boudreau said he's looking forward to all three coming to training camp healthy and ready to go.
"There's a lot of things ... that I'm really anxious to see from last year to this year," Boudreau said. "Going over lineups from last year at training camp, to this year, our depth is a lot better."
Boudreau has used Coyle's versatility in each of his first two years as Wild coach, keeping him predominantly at right wing, but also shuffling him to center on an as-needed basis.
But with Eric Staal, Mikko Koivu and Joel Eriksson Ek all returning and Eric Fehr added over the summer, the Wild appears strong down the middle.
That puts Coyle on the wing, likely with either Koivu and Zach Parise or with Eriksson Ek and potentially rookie Jordan Greenway, fresh off a fantastic performance at the Traverse City Prospects Tournament.
Coyle says he is ready to prove the doubters wrong and prove that he is still a player on the rise, and that it was injuries last season that slowed his momentum towards a first 60-point season.
"You always want to tae a step up, whether you're fighting through injuries, there's always going to be something that happens throughout the year," Coyle said. "You gotta be ready for it. But I feel really confident in my game right now and to prove the player I am and the one I can be.
"There's no time to waste. I need to be the best player I can be for this team and that's my mindset right now."
