Wild captain Jared Spurgeon kept glancing over his shoulder at the scene behind him on Friday afternoon as he stood in the seats behind home plate at Target Field.
Tarps covered most of the outfield, cones were posted up by the pitching mound and other supplies sat in the infield.
The process of transforming the ballpark into a hockey haven had begun.
"You see all the pictures beforehand and what it's supposed to look like and just seeing it in person is exciting," Spurgeon said.
Puck drop for the Winter Classic between the Wild and St. Louis Blues isn't until New Year's Day, but the vision for the return of the NHL's marquee event has already been devised.
Now it's time to execute it.
On Thursday, the NHL's ice-making crew arrived in the Twin Cities and began unloading the equipment that'll install not one but nine rinks at Target Field.
Aside from where the Wild and Blues will face off on a sheet that will anchor the middle of the field, eight pond-hockey rinks will dot the outfield — the most ever at an NHL outdoor game.