From the Rink: Aberg set to make Wild debut against his former team

ST. PAUL -- Pontus Aberg was laying in his bed, getting ready to FaceTime his daughter from his room at the St. Paul Hotel on Wednesday when his phone buzzed with a call from Anaheim Ducks General Manager Bob Murray.
The speedy winger had been traded.
The good news was, Aberg wouldn't have to gather his belongings, rush to the airport and catch a flight to some far flung-city. He'd simply be moving across the hall.

By the time he walked over to Xcel Energy Center on Thursday morning, his equipment bag had been moved the 100 or so steps it takes to get from the visitors dressing room to the home one.
Aberg will make his Wild debut on Thursday just over 24 hours removed from the deal that brought him to Minnesota, and he will do it against the team that traded him, a group that he practiced with as recently as yesterday.
"I must have had a good practice," Aberg said with a laugh. "It's pretty special. It will be weird, but it's part of the business. It's fun. It's always nice to be with a team that wants you."
Aberg went out to dinner Wednesday with a couple of his Swedish countrymen who play for the Ducks, a final send-off before he officially opens the next chapter of his NHL career in Minnesota.
With the Wild, Aberg has some familiar faces to help ease his transition into the room.
He's good buddies with defenseman Jonas Brodin, a teammate on several Swedish national teams over the years.

"[Joel] Eriksson Ek was a little kid when I was back home in Sweden," Aberg said. "But he was playing a couple of games with us and his dad was our coach, so I know him a little bit too."
Wild General Manager Paul Fenton drafted Aberg to the Nashville Predators with the 37th overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft, while assistant coach Dean Evason coached Aberg for three seasons with Nashville's American Hockey League affiliate in Milwaukee.
"His skill level is as high as anyone's, he just needs an opportunity to play, he's bounced around a little bit," Evason said. "He shoots very well, he skates extremely well. We're very excited to have him."
In Aberg, the Wild is getting a fast, skilled, offensive-minded forward who has the ability to present issues for defensemen.
The goal now will be to do it consistently.

Aberg, whose 11 goals this season were second on the Ducks, was healthy scratched his last four games with Anaheim. That led to the trade that brought him to Minnesota, where he will get a fresh start playing for guys like Fenton and Evason who are believers in him.
"A lot of young players that come up and have the skill level, he's scored in the American Hockey League, he just needs to find a consistent home," Evason said. "That's what we're looking for here and then to find consistency in his game. All young players like him, and with his skill set, need to have a consistent basis every single game, every single night. Hopefully this is where it's going to be."
Aberg will certainly get plenty of opportunity here. He will lineup next to Charlie Coyle and Zach Parise and is expected to get significant time on the power play as well.
The message from Wild coach Bruce Boudreau was a simple one.
"To work hard," Aberg said. "Everyone has to earn their playing time and I expect from myself to show him that I hope from the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday in exchange for forward Nino Niederreiter. Rask would seem likely to make his debut with Minnesota on Saturday against Columbus.
The addition of Aberg forced Boudreau to make some wholesale changes to how he constructs his lines.
This is how the Wild looked during Thursday's morning skate:
Jordan Greenway - Eric Staal - Luke Kunin
Zach Parise - Charlie Coyle - Pontus Aberg
Jason Zucker - Mikko Koivu - Mikael Granlund
JT Brown - Joel Eriksson Ek - Marcus Foligno
Ryan Suter - Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin - Greg Pateryn
Nick Seeler - Nate Prosser
Alex Stalock
Devan Dubnyk

In case you missed it

Here is today's
Wild Warmup
.
Former NHLer Derek Sanderson was in town as part of the Wild's "Recovery Night" on Tuesday. He
shared his inspiring story
with more than 500 Wild fans before the game against the Kings.
Becoming Wild followed around forward Jordan Greenway for a day:

I caught up with Iowa Wild forward Matt Read, the former Bemidji State Beaver, who
shared some memories
of his time in Bemidji ahead of Hockey Day Minnesota, which is just two days away.
Speaking of Hockey Day, FOX Sports North's Kevin Gorg
joined Wild Weekly
to preview this weekend's festivities.

Scouting the Ducks

The Anaheim Ducks come to town riding a 12-game winless streak, one that dates back to a 4-2 win in Pittsburgh on Dec. 17.
Since, Anaheim has posted an 0-8-4 record, but rarely have those games been out of hand.
In addition to the four overtime games, the Ducks have held a lead in several other games along the way, including a third-period lead in a 3-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.
Anaheim is playing the third game of a five-game road trip that began in Winnipeg on Sunday and went to Detroit on Tuesday before backtracking to St. Paul. It continues in New York this weekend, with games against the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders on Saturday and Sunday.
In addition to the trade that brought Aberg to Minnesota in exchange for Iowa Wild forward Justin Kloos, the Ducks also made two others trades and a host of other roster moves as Anaheim looks to break its lengthy skid.
Forward Ryan Kesler was sent back to Anaheim for evaluation of a lower-body injury, while Jakob Silfverberg will not play tonight because of a lower-body injury sustained against the Red Wings.
Here is how the Ducks could look tonight in St. Paul:
Rickard Rakell - Ryan Getzlaf - Devin Shore
Nick Ritchie - Adam Henrique - Ondrej Kase
Brian Gibbons - Carter Rowney - Daniel Sprong
Max Jones - Derek Grant - Troy Terry

Hampus Lindholm - Brandon Montour
Cam Fowler - Josh Manson
Jacob Larsson - Andy Welinski

John Gibson
Chad Johnson
Watching/listening to tonight's game:
If you're attending tonight's game, here's what's going on:
The Wild will celebrate Old Time Hockey Night. The Hanson Brothers from the movie Slap Shot will be on hand, and all fans will receive a pair of Old Time Hockey glasses made famous by the threesome. In-game, social media and Wild.com and Wild NHL App elements will also carry on old-time hockey theme.