Wild's Declan Chisholm is happy to get rid of the Winnipeg D logjam, ready to shake off the rust

CHICAGO — Declan Chisholm took the Minnesota Wild rink for the first time Wednesday morning, but when he did, it must have looked like he was still wearing a Winnipeg Jets jersey. The 24-year-old got the same treatment for his new bum: bags from Coach's assistants.

At least he's used to it.

“Yeah, yeah,” Chisholm said with a laugh. “Many experiences. To be honest, it's really hard work. You skate every day with a bag. You're in the gym every day, and yes, you're just struggling and hoping to get in line. Because when you're in the game, there's not much you can do except play as hard as you can. When I played, I thought I played really well, so I'll use that as confidence in the future.”

Unfortunately for Chisholm, but fortunately for the playoff-bound Jets, Winnipeg has been very healthy on the blue line this season.

“I think they're the only team in the NHL that hasn't had an injury (on defense) … so kudos to them,” Chisholm said to laughter. “It was also a great group to watch play, so I learned a lot by practicing with those guys.”

Chisholm has played two games for the Jets this season and four in his NHL career. He was assigned to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL for seven games in November. He played in six of those games (missing one due to illness), adding five assists.

The delay in getting his U.S. work visa approved means he'll be late to join the Wild, and he'll need some conditioning before playing because, like his Minnesota teammates, Chisholm was off during the Jets' bye week and the All-Star break. He spent that time in Miami, so he was off the ice for 11 days from January 27th to Wednesday.

“I'm not even out of breath here yet,” Chisholm said five minutes after the Wild assistants skated an extra skate with healthy winger Adam Beckman expected Wednesday night. “So I think I'm going to get some conditioning and then I don't know, hopefully we'll see what happens. I hope to play soon.”

With Jonas Brodin also not scheduled to play against the Blackhawks because of an illness that kept him in the Wild locker room for weeks, the team's three defensive pairings are expected to be Jake Middleton-Brock Faber, Alex Goligoski-Zach on Wednesday night. Boghosian and John Merrill – Dakota Mermis.

Coach John Hines didn't want to put a timetable on how much practice Chisholm would need before being thrown into the fire. He just explained that it wouldn't be two weeks or something like that. He said that Chisholm was looking very good and that the savage would do his best to help him.

“We'll see how it goes,” Hines said. “I talked to him. He hasn't skated for a while, and then obviously a new team. He enters. We will dress it up to warm it up. We want to see him come in, take team meetings, come back around the team and see how things go, then practice and then we'll see.

“Some of it may be performance-based. If guys are playing really well, we don't just send a guy out for the sake of sending him out. But some of it will get a chance (when) based on performance. We've got to let him play a little bit here.”

After three defensemen — Kalen Addison, Goligoski and Merrill — entered this season, the Wildcat's blue line was shaky, struggling mightily in 2022-23, and they were regular healthy scratches. Mermis was the career minor leaguer to see regular minutes for his 34th appearance on Wednesday. Couple all of this with the fact that Jared Spurgeon played just 16 games and was done for the year, and you can see why the Wild ended up flying for Chisholm, who was an elite defenseman at the AHL level (91 points in 146 games). ), even though he barely played this season.

He's a young puck-handling, offensive defenseman, so this is a chance for the Wild to see what he has in him for the rest of the season and next. The Jets thought they would lose him on waivers, but chose to take the risk because they needed to clear cap space to add a center. Then it was before the Jets traded Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames to the Vancouver Canucks, and then they acquired Sean Monahan from the Montreal Canadiens.

Chisholm said he's grateful for everything the Jets have done for him since they drafted him in the fifth round in 2018. But they've been playing so well and staying healthy that he and fellow quarterback Logan Stanley haven't made the lineup.

He doesn't think it will be difficult to shake off the rust once he makes his debut with the Wild, whether it's Friday against the Penguins or Monday in Vegas or away.

“My first game (in Winnipeg in December) people were asking for it because I hadn't played in a month and a half,” he said. “When I walked in, I felt very comfortable. Nothing has changed. You're looking at all kinds of situations in practice, so I think it only prepares you there. Then I shoot a ton of videos and I think you have to be confident in your ability to jump right in. After the first few games the nerves fade away and you just play the game. So I don't think it's as difficult as you think.”

Chisholm said he likes fast-paced hockey, likes to hustle and uses his legs to carry the puck. He feels like he can be a reliable two-way defender for the Wild. While the Wild may not be hoping to make the playoffs, Chisholm knows he can use this as a test for next season.

He is a restricted free agent.

“I didn't expect to be denied,” he said. “I was just hoping to play, and if it required a waiver, I was happy to get the waiver. It did, so I'm very happy to be here. Very pleased and couldn't be more thankful.

“I think I have to prove myself as much as I can. You always play for work, right? So that's it for next year. Hopefully I can prove I'm here for the rest of the season and get a place in the team full-time next year.”

(Minnesota Wild photo by Declan Chisholm)