Adam Beckman, part of Wild's capable prospect pool, joins team on West Coast trip

LOS ANGELES — The Wild's prospect pool keeps spilling over into the NHL.

Matt Boldy is in Year 2, and Marco Rossi made the team out of training camp. So did Calen Addison, while Connor Dewar and Brandon Duhaime resumed the roles they had last season; Mason Shaw was a call-up.

Adam Beckman could be the next to showcase his development, with the winger accompanying the team on its West Coast road trip that kicked off Tuesday against the Kings after recently getting promoted from the minors.

"It's about trying to make the most of it," Beckman said. "Anytime you get a chance to come up here, it's awesome. The guys are awesome here, and it's been a ton of fun so far. Just hoping I can continue to have fun."

Beckman, 21, didn't suit up for the first test on this three-game swing, but he could draw in Wednesday at Anaheim and/or Friday in Seattle.

Whenever he plays next, the game will be Beckman's fourth in the NHL after he made his debut last season. That call-up from the minors came after Beckman had an impressive tryout at training camp in which he flashed the offensive skill that made him a 100-point scorer as a junior player after the team drafted him in the third round (75th overall) in 2019.

After three games total with the Wild, Beckman finished the season with 11 goals and 23 assists for 34 points in 68 games with Iowa in the American Hockey League.

"It's a different game than juniors," said Beckman, who is one of the top producers for Iowa this season with six points in eight games. "You've got to try to be hard on pucks and strong and win your battles. Obviously, I think that comes with strength, but you can do it a lot with different little skill work and working on those things after practice and consciously having that mindset going into a battle that you're going to come out with it."

Beckman was drafted the same year as Boldy and a year ahead of Rossi, but how long it takes to reach the NHL isn't set in stone; the Wild are proof of that, with all their recent graduates on different timelines.

"It's easy to get caught up in that," Beckman said. "You try not to because it doesn't get you anywhere. Just worry about yourself and continue to try and get better each day. Just continuing to work and make strides has kind of been my focus. Not worry too much about the outside stuff."

Jordan Greenway returned Tuesday after missing seven games with a shoulder injury, but the Wild still aren't close to being at full strength.

Forwards Marcus Foligno, Ryan Hartman and Duhaime remain sidelined with upper-body injuries, although Foligno is on the road trip.

These latest injuries came after offseason surgeries to Greenway and defenseman Jon Merrill delayed their respective debuts, meaning the Wild have yet to have all their regulars in action at the same time.

"It's not frustrating," coach Dean Evason said. "We just deal with it and move forward. But we've had people step up. You can look up and down our lineup: We've had guys come in that aren't regular players on our roster and have conducted themselves very well and give us minutes and opportunities to win hockey games.

"So, whoever's in our lineup we expect them to play the same way."

Mats Zuccarello appeared in his 700th NHL game Tuesday; 189 of those have been with the Wild. He is the third active undrafted player to reach the mark, joining the Maple Leafs' Mark Giordano and the Capitals' Brendon Dillon.