Chris Stewart's pregame sprints have Wild keeping heads up

Chris Stewart is, as Wild teammate Charlie Coyle says, "massive. Just a gigantic, gigantic man. It's scary."

So, Coyle says, if you're a teammate, you don't want to be caught in front of what has now been dubbed the "Stewie Sprint."

As pregame warmups come to a close each and every night, Stewart runs off the ice with an acceleration that is impressive for a big man. By the time he gets to the end of whatever hallway he's in and approaches the locker room, Stewart looks like a thoroughbred coming down the final stretch in full gallop.

"It might be the Red Bull I drink during warmup," Stewart said … and he wasn't kidding.

On the Wild's five-game homestand that begins with a rare back-to-back Friday and Saturday against the Calgary Flames and Los Angeles Kings, keep an eye on Stewart at the start of every warmup.

You can't miss big No. 44. He's the Wild's only helmetless player and will always head to the bench to shotgun a Red Bull.

"He gets himself fired up, that's for sure," goalie Darcy Kuemper said.

Kuemper would know. On March 10 before backing up Devan Dubnyk in the Wild's blowout win over New Jersey, he heard Stewart come running down the Wild tunnel that leads from the bench to the locker room screaming, "On your right!!!"

Somehow a dashing Stewart squeezed between the door frame and Kuemper. The young goalie looked stunned.

Before the Wild's trouncing of St. Louis on Saturday, Stewart began screaming, "Coming in hot, coming in hot!!!" Coyle, smartly, rushed through the door and darted to his right so Stewart could finish his trot.

Defenseman Marco Scandella, laughing, followed slowly. "I know now to watch out and not get in his way. Just like in games, he's got quick feet for a big guy," Scandella said.

The "Stewie Sprint" is apparently something Stewart has always done.

"It just gets the legs going before you sit down for 17 or 18 minutes before the game. I'm coming in hot," he said, laughing. "It just gets me going. It's different in every barn. Some arenas have a longer straightaway, sometimes you've got to turn corners and you never really know what's going to be in the way.

"It catches guys by surprise, and they seem to get a kick out of it."

Stewart, 6 feet 2 and 235 pounds, claims he has never accidentally bulled over a teammate, although there have been some close calls like the one with Kuemper.

"I gave Kuemps the one warning he's going to get: Get out of the way because next time the train's not getting off the tracks," Stewart said.

Stewart, 27, a Colorado Avalanche first-round pick in 2006, is quite the character. The power forward doesn't wear a "bucket" in warmups because "it's the National Hockey League. Let the fans see the flow."

And right from his March 3 Wild debut against Ottawa, Stewart has been embraced by teammates who appreciate how much he keeps the room loose with a good, easygoing personality.

"He just came and fit in right away. He's a very likable guy, but I'd like to think we're likable people, too, so it works," teammate Zach Parise said, snickering.

Coach Mike Yeo loves how Stewart immediately felt confident enough to talk on the bench and keep his new teammates upbeat. Yeo often says that with Matt Cooke injured, the Wild has a quieter group.

"I'm just real impressed with how [Stewart's] bought into our program, the way we want to play the game, getting engaged with his teammates," Yeo said. "He's all in. He just wants to win right now, and he's playing the game that way. Our players recognize he's putting everything he's got into this group. It's not all about him."

That's not a shock. Three weeks ago, the poor guy was on the 30th-place Buffalo Sabres. Now he's walked into the heart of a playoff battle on a Wild team that continues to find ways to win, particularly on the road.

Tuesday against the Islanders, the Wild became the first NHL team since the San Jose Sharks in 2007 to win 10 consecutive road games.

"I love playing meaningful hockey this time of year," Stewart said. "It's something I'm not taking for granted. This is a good team here. We've got great depth, great goaltending, and even in games we're down, we have the ability to come back.

"I feel good where we are right now. I mean, this is great."