'I'm Pretty Excited': Declan Chisholm set to make his Wild debut against Buffalo

Declan Chisholm is pretty pumped to make his Wild debut against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.

ST. PAUL - The Wild claimed defenseman Declan Chisholm off waivers over two weeks ago but have yet to play him. Part of it was to make sure Chisholm got to skate with the team before jumping right into action since his last game played was against Carolina on December 4th with Winnipeg. 

But as head coach John Hynes confirmed to the media after practice, the newly acquired defenseman will make his Wild debut against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. 

"I'm excited, yeah. Why is it confirmed I'm playing," Chisholm asked the media after he was asked if he is excited to play in his first game with Minnesota. "You guys know before? Awesome. Yeah, it kind of hinting that I practiced with the PP [Power Play] today so I figured maybe there's a shot so yeah, I'm pretty excited."

Chisholm, 24, was claimed by the Wild back on the 29th of January but hasn't played in a game in almost two months so the Wild let him watch a few more games, get a feel for their systems, and get some practices under his belt before jumping into the lineup. 

"Yeah, you're eager to get out there but I think it's necessary," Chisholm said on waiting before getting in the lineup. "I didn't know any of the systems, they're a little different than Winnipeg's. So it's nice to watch from up top and it's way slower up there so you can learn quickly. So yeah, I think it was necessary."

The 6-foot-1 defenseman is an offensive defenseman by heart but has learned quickly that he needs to become a complete two-way defender if he wants to play in this league so he's been working hard at developing his defensive game. 

"Unless you're throwing up like 80 points or 90 points, you can't just be offensive," Chisholm said on his game. "You got to be relied on in the defensive zone too. So my game has transitioned into a nice solid two-way defenseman."

Jonas Brodin has run the Wild's second power-play unit recently but Chisholm got the chance to run the second unit in practice to see how he would look. There is a chance he will run the second unit come game-time but nonetheless, Chisholm is excited to finally prove what he's got. 

"Smooth skating two-way defenseman," Chisholm said on describing his style of play. "I think I'm pretty quick out there in transition and jumping up into the play. I love to create offense and I think my Hockey IQ is one of my strongest attributes. So breaking out the puck and making clean passes I think are my strongest attributes here too."

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