Mason Shaw's perseverance pays off as Wild plan to keep him in Minnesota for rest of season

Mason Shaw and the Wild had wrapped up a tidy 1-0 win at Seattle last Friday when General Manager Bill Guerin summoned Shaw to his office.

A frequent flyer between the NHL and minors, Shaw felt nervous.

"I've been sent down enough," he said. "I know what it's like when the GM calls me into his office."

Their chat appeared to be headed in that direction, with Guerin telling Shaw, "We're going to send you to Iowa."

Shaw paused, said "All right," and then Guerin added, "To get the rest of your stuff and find a place up here for the rest of the season," to give the conversation a completely different meaning.

"I tried not to smile too big," Shaw said, "but I was definitely very excited."

After being one of the last cuts at training camp, spending the bulk of his pro career with Iowa in the American Hockey League and recovering from three ACL surgeries, Shaw has become a regular with the Wild, fitting in with his trademark tenacity that's helped him persevere over the years.

"Every day I fought like it was my last, and I'll do the same moving forward," said Shaw, whose first call after receiving the news was to his parents, Aaron and Lindsay. "That's the only way I know how to be. Just the competitive nature in me to stick around every day has gotten me to this point."

A fourth-round pick in 2017, Shaw was one of nine players drafted by the Wild skating for them on Thursday when they started a seven-game homestand against the Penguins at Xcel Energy Center.

The 24-year-old was also one of six on the ice to make the transition from Iowa to the Wild since last season, and Shaw plans to become roommates with another Iowa graduate in Connor Dewar. The two are going to rent a place from teammate Alex Goligoski.

"You reflect back on the journey to get here, and it's pretty cool to think about all the people that helped," said Shaw, who scored his first NHL goal Oct. 30 at Chicago and has already swapped his number from 58 to the 15 he wore growing up. "Just hope they can enjoy this moment, too.

"From Day One of training camp, I wanted to be a part of this team and make a difference. I've worked towards it. Now I'm in a position where I can help the team win games. Just really excited."

After sitting for three in a row, Tyson Jost was back in action Thursday and Adam Beckman was idle.

What was coach Dean Evason looking to see out of Jost in his return from being scratched?

Energy.

"We expect him to be hungry, give us a boost," Evason said.

Before Jost was bumped out of the lineup, he had zero goals and three assists in 11 games.

He also was a scratch twice earlier in the season, and Jost said he was tense when he suited up after that timeout. He wants to play "free" on the ice.

"I'm always going to work hard," Jost said. "That's the player I am. I want to be in the lineup, and I'm pretty hard on myself and I care a lot."

Brandon Duhaime returned to the lineup on Tuesday after he missed five games with injury, an upper-body issue he suffered on an awkward hit Nov. 1 vs. Montreal.

"When it first happened, I thought maybe it would be a little something more serious," he said. "Once the docs took a look at it, assessed it, it wasn't too bad."

Duhaime scored in the second period Thursday, the Wild's first goal in a 6-4 loss to Pittsburgh.