Ryan Donato has lined up at center most of his life, but when he broke into the NHL with the Bruins, he did so at left wing because that's the position Boston needed filled.
Since then, Donato has been regarded as a winger. It's where the Wild put him after the team acquired him in the Charlie Coyle trade with the Bruins.
But Donato could be getting back to his roots this season.
After debuting up the middle between veteran wingers Zach Parise and Mats Zuccarello on Friday during the first practice of training camp, Donato was still in that spot Sunday at TRIA Rink. It continued an audition that — if successful — could ease one of the logjams currently headlining the Wild's roster.
"When you're doing these lines in the summer, it sure looked like it might work," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Doing it on the ice and on paper are two different things. But we'll see how it works out."
The idea to try out Donato at center came to Boudreau after Donato's dad, Ted, who played for Boudreau in the American Hockey League, mentioned to Boudreau his son's history at the position.
With Parise, Jason Zucker, Jordan Greenway and Marcus Foligno all looking like fits on their natural left side and since lefty Kevin Fiala is poised to slot on the right like he did at times last season, center and right wing seem to be the only options for Donato.
By putting Donato at center, that frees up one of the few right shots (Luke Kunin) to play on the right.