Pierre-Marc Bouchard practiced with the Wild's top line Monday at Xcel Energy Center, and though coach Todd Richards warned against reading much into that, there are plenty of other signs that Bouchard is close to resuming his NHL career.
"Just maybe a couple of more practices," the left winger said today.
Bouchard is hesitant to put a date on his return, and who can blame him? He hasn't played in a game since Oct. 3, 2009, the result of a concussion suffered the previous March.
"I don't want to put a date out there," he said. "Then if I don't reach it, I'll be frustrated. But it's coming."
Bouchard, 26, has been with the team all season, and was cleared by doctors for full contact on Oct. 24. Since then, he said, there have been no setbacks.
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"When I get tired at night, sometimes there's just a little pressure, but it's nothing much," he said. "Then when I get a good night of sleep, the next day I'm OK to practice."
The Wild's top pick in the 2002 entry draft, eighth overall, Bouchard has been a consistently productive player, scoring 20 goals in 2006-07 and registering 50 assists among a career-high 63 points in 2007-08.
That season earned Bouchard a five-year extension that will pay him $4.25 million this season, and the Wild could certainly use him. They'll play against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night without forwards Guillaume Latendresse (groin) and Antti Miettinen (concussion), and maybe Chuck Kobasew, who sat out practice today to
rest a bothersome groin.
"Physically (Bouchard) looks fine. He looks good on the ice," Richards said. "He looks quick; his speed isn't an issue. As far as conditioning and endurance, I don't think that's an issue. It's confidence, and that's how he feels.
"Once we get to that point, then it's the next step."
The next step appears to be a rehab stint at the Wild's American Hockey League affiliate in Houston. Because Bouchard is on injured reserve, he can play up to two weeks with the Aeros without being activated.
Considering Bouchard hasn't played a game at full speed in more than a year, this seems a likely course of action, though the Wild have not made a decision.
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"I'm open about going to Houston," Bouchard said, "but we'll sit down when it's time to make a decision, and I'll just do whatever they think is best for me."
Richards is already thinking about what to do with Bouchard when he gets back, calling him a top six forward who could be part of a second scoring line with right wing Martin Havlat and bolster the power-play unit.
"He can be a difference-maker in a game, a guy that can make a play that sets somebody up for a breakaway or an open chance at the net," the coach said.
"He makes the other guys on the ice better, and he will make them better. It will give us another dimension as far as how other teams try to shut us down. If Mikko (Koivu)'s group isn't going, maybe it's Marty and Pierre-Marc; and now you have to worry about them."
It appears the Wild are waiting for Bouchard to declare himself ready, and Bouchard isn't quite there yet. He said he needs more "battles on the boards, battles in front of the net, three-on-threes down low -- just playing through traffic a little bit."
That will help him get his timing back, and help convince him that he's finally -- after more than a year -- ready to play again.
"You want to make sure your head is 100 percent before you get that first big hit," he said. "But when I get into that first game, I'll just play my game and try not to think about it and be confident, because if I'm on my heels or something, then something worse is going to happen. So I have to be ready physically and mentally."
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
