SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN – Jordan Schroeder is taking nothing for granted as he competes to make an NHL opening-night roster out of training camp for the first time.
But, with a massive round of cuts expected Sunday, the lightning-fast winger feels like a member of the Wild.
The Burnsville-born, Lakeville-raised winger was certainly treated like one this summer. He'll be featured in a "Becoming Wild" episode on Fox Sports North next month. He represented the team at the Stadium Series news conference in August at TCF Bank Stadium. He was invited to the team's corporate golf outing a few days before camp. And he didn't spend another day in Iowa after a Feb. 3 recall to Minnesota last season.
"Playing in Minnesota and wearing this uniform, I almost feel more comfortable. I don't know how to explain it," said Schroeder, a former Gopher drafted in the first round by the Vancouver Canucks in 2009. "I love being here. My family's here. And being around all these guys last year and under this same coaching staff, I know what to expect.
"I think any guy that can play in their hometown would. It's an honor to be able to do that because not that many people can."
Schroeder, who turns 25 Tuesday, is a frontrunner to make the team. Before Schroeder playing an exhibition game against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday in the same arena where he won a gold medal with the United States at the 2010 world junior championships, coach Mike Yeo had praised Schroeder for a high-quality camp.
"I think he understands there's an opportunity there for him, but he also understands there's nothing laid out in front of him," Yeo said. "He's going to have to earn it, and I think that's what's led to him having a good camp, and him continuing to have a good camp will lend itself to him having a good season."
Schroeder is one of the Wild's fastest players and has impressive skill. But with so many players ahead of him on the depth chart, Schroeder found a way to be effective last season despite playing a bottom-six role with no power-play time. He scored three goals and had eight points in 25 regular-season games and got into three playoff games.