Fifty-four days before their marquee game of this regular season, when the state of Minnesota finally gets to host an outdoor NHL game, the Wild practiced outside in their annual open-to-the-public event.
They wore toques Tuesday as freshly-fallen snow whipped across the ice, and laughed like school children playing on a pond for the first time each winter.
But this year's outdoor practice also served as an early glimpse of what awaits the Wild when they play host the Chicago Blackhawks Feb. 21 at TCF Bank Stadium in one of three NHL outdoor games this season.