LOS ANGELES — The Wild's prospect pool keeps spilling over into the NHL.
Matt Boldy is in Year 2, and Marco Rossi made the team out of training camp. So did Calen Addison, while Connor Dewar and Brandon Duhaime resumed the roles they had last season; Mason Shaw was a call-up.
Adam Beckman could be the next to showcase his development, with the winger accompanying the team on its West Coast road trip that kicked off Tuesday against the Kings after recently getting promoted from the minors.
"It's about trying to make the most of it," Beckman said. "Anytime you get a chance to come up here, it's awesome. The guys are awesome here, and it's been a ton of fun so far. Just hoping I can continue to have fun."
Beckman, 21, didn't suit up for the first test on this three-game swing, but he could draw in Wednesday at Anaheim and/or Friday in Seattle.
Whenever he plays next, the game will be Beckman's fourth in the NHL after he made his debut last season. That call-up from the minors came after Beckman had an impressive tryout at training camp in which he flashed the offensive skill that made him a 100-point scorer as a junior player after the team drafted him in the third round (75th overall) in 2019.
After three games total with the Wild, Beckman finished the season with 11 goals and 23 assists for 34 points in 68 games with Iowa in the American Hockey League.
"It's a different game than juniors," said Beckman, who is one of the top producers for Iowa this season with six points in eight games. "You've got to try to be hard on pucks and strong and win your battles. Obviously, I think that comes with strength, but you can do it a lot with different little skill work and working on those things after practice and consciously having that mindset going into a battle that you're going to come out with it."
