Wild gets Zach Parise work at the faceoff dot for power plays

Once the formal portion of practice was over Tuesday at Tria Rink in St. Paul, Zach Parise hovered by the faceoff dot to vie for the puck against new linemate Nick Bjugstad — a spot Parise could find himself in throughout the season.

The Wild revealed its power-play plans on Day 2 of training camp. With Parise paired with forwards Kirill Kaprizov and Kevin Fiala, the veteran could be the one taking faceoffs when that unit is on the ice.

"There's no question that we feel very comfortable and confident if and when Zach takes faceoffs," coach Dean Evason said.

Despite being a left winger, Parise isn't a stranger to the one-on-one spotlight.

He was a center in college for North Dakota and has taken reps in the NHL. Just last season, he won 53% of his 77 draws.

Also working out with Parise, Kaprizov and Fiala were defensemen Jared Spurgeon and Matt Dumba. The other unit included forwards Nick Bonino, Marcus Johansson and Bjugstad along with defensemen Ryan Suter, Brad Hunt and Jonas Brodin.

"Each and every day we are going to work on the power play, so we'll see some different looks as the week goes on," Evason said.

To become the Wild's newest starting goalie, Cam Talbot didn't just need to sign a contract.

He also had to move to a different country during a pandemic.

"It was definitely tough coming from Canada trying to move down to the States," said Talbot, who spent last season with Calgary and is from Ontario. "There was no way to come down here and try to find a place without having to go back and quarantine for two weeks. It was just not an ideal situation."

The Talbots used FaceTime to find a place to live, and they didn't see their Edina home until they moved into it. Talbot and his wife, Kelly, have twins Landon and Sloane.

"We didn't get down here as early as we wanted to because [the] house wasn't ready," said Talbot, whom the Wild locked up with a three-year, $11 million deal. "So, that added a different element of switching teams during a pandemic, for sure, just from a family standpoint [and] moving standpoint."

Wild prospect Matt Boldy was key in helping the United States with a gold medal at the IIHF World Junior Championship in Edmonton.

The U.S. beat Canada 2-0 in the title game Tuesday.

In the semifinals, Boldy scored a power play goal after he was high-sticked and had a late shot block as Team USA held off Finland 4-3.

"He looks, big, strong, composed," Evason said of Boldy, the Wild's 12th overall pick in 2019. "His hands through the whole tournament have been great. I think mostly what I've noticed is his willingness to compete, his willingness to get to the net, and he's scored some big goals for the United States."