Wild defenseman Brodin out indefinitely

Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin is out indefinitely after sustaining a broken cheekbone Tuesday against the Nashville Predators.

Brodin was hit by a dump-in on his second shift of the Wild's 2-0 victory.

"Obviously it was pretty gruesome to watch, taking a puck in the face like that. It's disappointing," Wild coach Mike Yeo said following practice Wednesday. "We'll have a better idea of the timeframe tomorrow."

Brodin's indefinite absence will force some of Minnesota's other young defensemen to assume a larger role, particularly Nate Prosser and Mathew Dumba, each of whom have been used sporadically this season. With Brodin out Tuesday night, Prosser was pressed into duty, playing 20:29 as the team was forced to use five defensemen the rest of the way. That ice time was his highest total since the 2011-12 season.

"We knew there was going to come a time where he was going to see significant minutes and play a significant role for us," Yeo said of Prosser. "It's come rather quickly. So it's a great opportunity for him. He proved he could do it last night."

Prior to his injury, Brodin's 23:14 of ice time per game ranked second on the team behind top defenseman Ryan Suter. Despite the sizeable loss, Yeo remained confident his team had the defensive depth needed to overcome Brodin's injury.

"Let's put it this way, I'm not sitting here thinking, 'Oh no, we lost Jonas and now we're in trouble.' I still have confidence going into every game that we have a team that is capable of winning every night against every team," Yeo said. "Obviously he's a big loss for us, an important part of our team. But without question we have guys who are capable of raising us to another level."

The 20-year-old has three goals and six points in 10 games this season.