ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Waiting for his chance to be a professional hockey player, Matt Dumba would watch the NHL playoffs and wonder to himself what it would be like to play for the chance to win the Stanley Cup.
Now, fresh off his first NHL playoff experience with the Minnesota Wild, Dumba didn't have any interest in watch the remainder of the postseason after Minnesota was swept by the Chicago Blackhawks.
"It's tough to watch," Dumba said. "You want to be there. You wanted to be at your best, and we didn't get there . . . it's kind of haunting you. But life goes on and you've got to get ready for next season and preparing yourself for that and letting your body heal a little bit and enjoy the summertime with family and friends and everyone who's supported you through this long season."
Dumba, 20, plans to use the experience to focus his offseason attention as he looks to build on a strong rookie season (he also played 13 games with the Wild in 2013-14). A former No. 7 overall draft pick by Minnesota, Dumba scored two of the team's 24 goals in the playoffs, both coming on the power play.
After getting a taste of the NHL, and a midseason stint in the American Hockey League, Dumba became a vital piece to the Wild's playoff run, playing on the team's third defensive pairing with Jordan Leopold and factoring in on the power play while spending time on the first and second units.
"It's kind of crazy, kind of a little bit of a roller coaster," said Dumba of his season. "I'm sure I'll aim for just that gradual climb and just keep getting better every day. Other than that I'm going to do everything in my power to be at my best and just continue to be a sponge and learn as much as I can."
Dumba scored eight goals -- third among all rookie NHL defensemen -- in just 58 regular-season games. He added eight assists and was a plus-13, best among rookie defensemen.
"What I like is the kid wants to make a difference every shift," head coach Mike Yeo said. "Some games are going to be better for a player like that than others, but he's started to learn how to play the game as opposed to forcing it in certain situations. Let it unfold, let it develop and then use his skills in certain situations to take advantage of it.
"He's a competitive kid. He's a kid that fits our culture very well. He's not satisfied. He's going to want to come back and he's going to want a little bit more next year, and we like that attitude."
After being drafted in 2012, Dumba opened the season with Minnesota before he was sent back to his junior team without playing a game. A year later, he appeared in 13 games before heading back to juniors.
Now a foundation piece for Minnesota going forward, Dumba doesn't want to be complacent now that he's found a home with the Wild, a childhood dream of being in the NHL finally coming true.
"I still don't want to take anything for granted, for sure," Dumba said. "I know the last couple months have been good for me, but I still got to work hard this summer. Try to get better and better and come into next season to be even better, and just grow and all of that."
Dumba started the year with Minnesota, demonstrating the explosive traits which has the Wild high on the offensively-gifted defenseman. But he also showed the inexperience of a defenseman who would get caught out of position at times because of his aggressiveness. He was sent back to the AHL in November.
With the Iowa Wild, Dumba scored five goals and nine assists in 20 games and got the call back to Minnesota and flourished.
"I was really impressed with his progression from the start of the year to the end of the year," Yeo said. "I think that his game in the Chicago series was a little bit similar to our team's game, and that's quite often the case with a younger player, where I didn't feel he played with as much control in his game."
Control will be a key for Dumba and Yeo has seen the subtle changes along the way.
Yeo said more responsibility and ice time will come with Dumba's maturation. The Wild will give the young defenseman, who turns 21 in July, more to handle, but he also has to earn the time.
"We've seen many players who have a really good first year come in and their second year things are really difficult, Yeo said. "We haven't had a chance to meet with him but the message will be pretty simple for him, he's got to come in and he's going to have to earn it again next year."
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