Barring something unforeseen, the Wild's opening night roster for Thursday in Denver may be set.
The Wild assigned defenseman Mike Reilly to AHL Iowa on Tuesday, placed right wing Jordan Schroeder on waivers and placed right wing Justin Fontaine (oblique) on injured reserve.
Reilly was initially going to be outside the Wild's top-6, so the Wild decided to send the first-year pro to the minors to play games. Schroeder technically doesn't have to be assigned to Iowa if he clears waivers tomorrow, but the move gives the Wild flexibility if there's potential roster moves like waivers or trades on the horizon or when Fontaine is ready to play.
In other words, if Schroeder were to stay on the roster after clearing waivers, he could immediately be sent to Iowa without waivers once Fontaine is ready to return. Fontaine can come off IR at any time and be eligible to play because he got hurt Sept. 24.
Last year, Fontaine missed the first two games with a glute injury and was ready to return in Game 3.
The biggest news of the day: Tyler Graovac made the team out of camp and even subtracted nine digits off his sweater number. He now will wear No. 44, which is apropos because I told somebody the other day he reminds me of Rob Niedermayer. The hope is he'll score more though.
We now interrupt this blog for a post-practice update from Rachel.
Graovac said he was sent to coach Mike Yeo's office as soon as he arrived at Xcel Energy Center for Tuesday's practice. "You never want to go there, but it was all positive," he said. "I worked really hard to get here. But the hard work is just beginning."