Wild's Reilly left to skate by himself prior to home debut
Members of the Minnesota Wild played a prank on defenseman Mike Reilly as they sent the 22-year-old on the ice by himself during pre-game warmups on Sunday.
Recalled from Iowa of the American Hockey League on Friday, Reilly made his NHL debut the following night in the Wild's 2-1 win over the Central Division-rival Dallas Stars. On Sunday, the former Minnesota Golden Gophers star was set to make his home debut before veteran Thomas Vanek and others played a trick on him.
"They actually tried to take my helmet away from me to go on the ice for a quick twirl without the bucket on, but I ended up getting it."
Reilly skated for several seconds before finally being joined by his mates on the ice. The blue-liner played 13 shifts in Sunday's 2-1 setback to the New Jersey Devils.
Reilly: "I was more nervous for tonight's game than yesterday's. I thought I made some progress" (2 close calls on goals) #mnwild
— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) January 11, 2016
Reilly had been summoned to the team on two previous occasions this season (Dec. 2 and Dec. 17), but remained a bystander in both stints. He is seeing ice time in place of injured defenseman Nate Prosser (hand), who is reportedly close to returning to the team.
