Matt Dumba looks up to speed in Wild's first practice

The injury and initial surgery happened last December.

He ditched the sling that cradled his right arm six or seven weeks later.

And a follow-up procedure to clear out an infection occurred in April.

But it wasn't until last month that Wild defenseman Matt Dumba finally felt back to normal after tearing his pectoral muscle in a fight.

"Dealing with the injury that I had wasn't easy," he said. "There's a lot that goes into it, just a lot of physio time, a lot of hard training."

Dumba debuted the dividends of such a lengthy and intense recovery Friday during the first practices of training camp at TRIA Rink, especially during coach Bruce Boudreau's infamous skate test. The 25-year-old finished first in each of the three heats he skated, an encouraging sign that he'll make an impactful return to the lineup.

"I'm pretty much good to go," Dumba said. "That's really exciting for me. That's what I was looking forward to."

On the ice, he appeared to be assembling his most successful season; Dumba racked up an impressive 12 goals in 32 games while working on the top pair with Ryan Suter. In the dressing room, his upbeat personality energized the team.

"Last year, when we lost him, it was a hole," winger Marcus Foligno said. "Everyone saw it."

That gap is filled now, and that pleases the Wild. Not only did Dumba resume his post next to Suter during Friday's session, but he was also cracking a smile in between drills.

"You could see the excitement in his play," Boudreau said. "We had one drill there that was a 3-on-1, and he was in front of the forwards jumping into the play. So you know he's itching to get back at it."

New General Manager Bill Guerin addressed the team Thursday, sharing a stirring and inspiring message that resonated with players.

The talk emphasized winning — "Doesn't matter if it's on the bike, workout room, playing cards," Dumba said — but Guerin also stressed a team-first approach.

"He didn't speak for very long," winger Zach Parise. "The gist of it was let's all set our personal agendas aside and let's figure this out as a group. Everybody is taking that personal, and I think we all want to be a part of that and we all are buying into it."

This mentality already was on display Friday when Parise, newcomer Mats Zuccarello and defenseman Greg Pateryn joined center Victor Rask for an additional leg of the skate test that Rask had to do after not passing the previous one.

"We all were thinking the same thing," Parise said. "You don't want to leave a guy out there struggling with it. Through everything, we just want to stick together."

Captain Mikko Koivu, who's still working his way back a torn ACL and meniscus, was excused from Boudreau's skate test.

"There's a lot of guys that are in really good shape," he said, "but there's a lot of guys that have to still work on it."

Boudreau liked the pace of practice, thought linemates Parise and Zuccarello moved the puck well and said Suter skated much better than he did a year ago when he was still on the mend from a severe ankle injury.

"He looks like he's in tremendous shape," said Boudreau, who also praised center Joel Eriksson Ek and defensive partners Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin.

Kevin Fiala is still sorting out a work visa, a process that could stall during the weekend.