Matt Dumba, who has what assistant coach Darryl Sydor describes as a "swagger" and almost endearing cockiness to him, is trying to keep levelheaded with both feet firmly on the ground.
But the Wild knows — and more importantly Dumba knows — that the 20-year-old rookie defenseman is starting to get it.
Since being recalled Jan. 15 to play in Buffalo — the infamous contest that began the Wild's 18-4-2 run heading into Tuesday's game against the New Jersey Devils — Dumba's game has dramatically improved. In the past 11 games, Dumba, in averaging 19 minutes a contest, is plus-13 with four goals.
"I wake up from my pregame nap, I do a little visualizing, and during that, if there's a mistake out there, I know I can get back to my game, I know what my game is right now," said Dumba, the seventh overall pick in the 2012 draft. "I feel confident within that, and hopefully I can keep building off that.
"My confidence is really good right now. Just making simple plays and trying not to force things, but when there is a chance to make a play, make it because I have the skills to do that, too."
Besides Devan Dubnyk's marvelous play starting in that same Jan. 15 game, the gradual progression to Dumba's game the past several weeks arguably has been the Wild's biggest surprise.
It wasn't even a month ago when Dumba, known as a high-risk, high-reward player, still invoked enough near-heart attacks per game that assistant coach Rick Wilson, who changes the defensemen, jumbled his defense pairs to avoid Dumba being on for defensive-zone faceoffs.
It was a seven-week span in late November to mid-January that Dumba was playing for Iowa of American Hockey League in order to develop his game, and it was almost four months ago in New Jersey that Dumba was a healthy scratch because of a costly mistake the game before in Montreal. On a night the Wild was playing a patient, textbook road game, Dumba tried to make something out of nothing in a scoreless game.