From the Rink: Prosser makes first return to St. Louis since homecoming

ST. LOUIS --Defenseman Nate Prosser will play in his 311th NHL game on Tuesday night. All but one of those games has come in a Minnesota Wild uniform.
His lone game not in forest green and Iron Range Red came Oct. 25 of this season, when Prosser suited up for the St. Louis Blues against the Calgary Flames.
Tuesday, Prosser returns to his former haunt for the first time since being claimed by the Wild on waivers from the Blues on Nov. 30.

Prosser's NHL journey has been anything but routine.
The Elk River native signed with his hometown team as an undrafted free agent after a stellar four-year career at Colorado College in 2010.
After playing in just five NHL games over his first two NHL seasons, Prosser skated in 51 games during Mike Yeo's first season as Wild head coach in 2011-12.
Yeo trusted Prosser's game after he played in 73 games the year prior for the Houston Aeros, at the time Minnesota's American Hockey League affiliate. It was Prosser's first full season of pro hockey and Yeo's first season with the organization -- and his lone season as head coach in Houston.
"There's so many intangibles that don't just show up on a scoresheet or are hard to measure with analytics," Yeo said. "Certain players have the ability to make their teammates better and drag people into the fight, and he's one of those guys."
Prosser signed a one-year contract with the Blues prior to the 2014-15 season, but was placed on waivers at the conclusion of training camp. Yeo and the Wild scooped Prosser up again, and he played in a career-high 63 games that season, all without complaint and usually with a smile on his face.
That's why Yeo didn't hesitate last summer in bringing Prosser to St. Louis. With injuries piling up and in need of stable depth, the Blues signed Prosser to a two-year, two-way contract to help shore up their blueline.
"I had the inside knowledge of knowing his personality and what he'd do for our group," Yeo said. "A lot of the intangibles that we loved about him."
But once Jay Bouwmeester returned from an injury around Thanksgiving, the writing on the wall became clear. Prosser was St. Louis' No. 8 defenseman, so the club put him on waivers.
Minnesota, desperately in need of a steady, right-handed defenseman, placed a claim, bringing him home for a third stint with the club.
After playing in one game for the Blues in two months, Prosser has been a staple on the Wild's blueline, skating in all 27 games since his arrival.
"I just talked to a lot of the St. Louis guys about that, how bizarre this NHL can be. I can be a No. 8 in St. Louis and come here and be an every day guy," Prosser said. "It's a very bizarre situation, but a good opportunity. Being that I am in the lineup every night here, I just want to be consistent, making sure I'm playing my game every night, bringing my intensity and my attitude and making sure I'm helping to rub off on teammates and just try to do what I can to help us get W's."
Prosser even admitted he wasn't sure he'd be able to be an every-night guy in the NHL. He played in 39 games last season and 54 the year before that, typically scratching into the lineup for a few games here and a few there.
Rarely has he put together the kind of "iron-man streak" he's been on lately.
"Honestly, I didn't even know," Prosser said. "I hadn't done it in so long. I was pretty sore and tired, but I was making sure I was taking care of my body off the ice.
"You just gotta make sure that when your number is called, you gotta be ready and that's been the name of my game for a long time. Being able to play every game now is kind of a breath of fresh air for me, I feel good and you gain confidence, you feel more comfortable and your game can have a lot of positives as you play more."
While he's likely never to be a flashy point scorer, Prosser rarely makes a glaring mistake. He makes the simple plays look simple.
"He's been a real calming presence back there," said Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk. "We were a little bit hectic with pairings, trying to figure out what worked at the start of the season]. You look at how we've really settled down defensively since he came back and he's been a big part of it."
None of that takes into account the smiles on teammates faces back in November when they found out Prosser was claimed.
His presence in the dressing room far exceeds his statistical contributions and he has nearly universal respect from both teammates and coaches.
"I'm sure every team quite frankly has one of those guys, and he's it for us," said Wild coach Bruce Boudreau. "He's not overly fast, doesn't have a great shot, there's so many [areas] where he doesn't. But you add it all together, he's a good team guy that will do what it takes to win games. And that's why we liked him."
Here are the projected lineups, as the Blues look to play 11 forwards and seven defensemen:
**WILD**
Jason Zucker - Mikko Koivu - Mikael Granlund
Nino Niederreiter - Eric Staal - Tyler Ennis
Zach Parise - Matt Cullen - Charlie Coyle
Marcus Foligno - Joel Eriksson Ek - Daniel Winnik
Ryan Suter - Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin - Matt Dumba
Gustav Olofsson - Nate Prosser
Devan Dubnyk
Alex Stalock
BLUES
Jaden Schwartz - Brayden Schenn - Vladimir Tarasenko
Vladimir Sobotka - Paul Stastny - Alex Steen
Ivan Barbashev - Patrik Berglund - Dmitrij Jaskin
Scottie Upshall - Kyle Brodziak
Carl Gunnarsson - Alex Pietrangelo
Jay Bouwmeester - Colton Parayko
Joel Edmundson - Vince Dunn
Robert Bortuzzo
Carter Hutton
Jake Allen
Related:
- [Wild Warmup: Minnesota at St. Louis - Photo blog: Smiles all around at morning skate in St. Louis