After transitioning to the 5-on-5 portion of practice, Pulkkinen swapped sweaters with Jason Pominville and moved to the fourth line with left wing Jason Zucker and center Zac Dalpe. That group should form a line combination against the Blues.
Zucker, who said he has played against Pulkkinen on several different occasions during international competition, said he wanted to help teach Pulkkinen system-specific stuff that could be helpful for their line, including forecheck and neutral zone.
"For me, it was just [trying to relay] the necessities that he needs to know," Zucker said. "Everything else, he'll figure out. He's a smart player. He's been around long enough to know and be able to pick up a lot of that stuff."
For Wild coach Bruce Boudreau, it was his first opportunity to get a first-hand look at the newest player at his disposal.
"He can shoot the puck," Boudreau said. "He rifled a couple right in there. You look at his record in the American [Hockey] League when he played. It'll be interesting to see him play."
Pulkkinen's AHL resume is sparkling: 65 goals in 119 career games at that level, including a league-leading 34 in just 46 games in 2014-15. A right-handed shot, Pulkkinen has 11 goals and 20 points in 70 NHL games over three different seasons.
"I think it's hard to analyze his NHL statistics," Boudreau said. "This is three different years [in a] combined 70 games, you maybe don't play as much, you don't get into a rhythm, you're called up as an extra."
