Nick Bonino doesn't feel like a newcomer.
He's been in Minnesota since mid-November, skating with Wild players at Tria Rink in St. Paul as he prepares for his first season with the team after being added in an offseason trade from Nashville.
"Everyone's been very welcoming," Bonino said last week by phone. "It's been easy to acclimate, for sure."
Still, Bonino has more to learn to completely integrate with the group, and less time to do so than he normally would.
After months of uncertainty about how the NHL would return following its bubble-wrapped playoffs, the league finalized a 56-game, division-based season last month that will start on the heels of an expedited training camp.
Wild players report for fitness and medical testing Sunday before their first on-ice practice Monday, and the next week, on Jan. 14, the team will begin its 20th anniversary season in Los Angeles.
"We'll have about 10 days to work on stuff and get a quick refresher — or I guess an introduction for me to the systems we'll play," said Bonino, who was acquired in a deal that sent Luke Kunin to the Predators. "But I'm really excited. I don't mind the quick turnaround. I'm excited to get going."
The Wild's first real action will be its season opener against the Kings.