More consistent, confident Dumba: 'I'm just having fun'

ST. PAUL --Matt Dumba has some advice for the 20-year-old rookie version of himself.
The one who paid too much attention to social media and the negative talk about his inconsistent play. The one who let one mistake become five by dwelling on the original gaffe too long. The one with a rocket shot who couldn't get the puck within 24 inches of the net at times.

"I'd probably tell him to, 'Relax bro,'" Dumba says, leaning back in his locker on the basement level of TRIA Rink at Treasure Island Center. "He was pretty intense. He beat himself up a little too much or would hold on to plays a little too long. Now I'm confident in my abilities, and I know that if I do make a mistake it's not going to happen again and/or I can still go back to that play and have the confidence that I'm going to make it the next time.
"'Just chill out.'"
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Anyone looking to vindicate the notion that your greatest strength can be your greatest weakness need look no further than the Wild's 24-year-old, opportunistic defenseman. After new General Manager Paul Fenton
rewarded
Dumba with a five-year, $30 million contract in the offseason, Dumba has avoided cracking under pressure -- or taking it easy -- in the aftermath.
He calls himself his own harshest critic -- with his dad a close second. That helped him put in the work to become a professional prospect. But it also used to eat at him to the point of excess.
Fast forward to his fifth full NHL season, and Dumba isn't perfect. But he's avoided letting errors snowball.
Instead, he's halfway to equalling his career-high 14 goals recorded last season. It's November 16.
He's
changing games
with the defensive plays he makes, too. Playing alongside star Ryan Suter helps. So does skating with a team that's fourth in the NHL in points and has won 11 of its past 14 contests.
"I'm just having fun with it, really," Dumba told Wild.com after practice Friday. "It's a blast when we're winning like this. It's a blast when pucks are going in the net."

Since taking over two-plus seasons ago, coach Bruce Boudreau has maintained Dumba can be a prolific scorer while also serving as a lockdown blueliner.
"His shot's getting on net," Boudreau said Thursday after Dumba scored again in Minnesota's
6-2 route
of Vancouver. "He's got confidence to use it. I don't think playing with Ryan full time hurts. It's a good thing. ... In the past two years when I've been here, his shot was always going two feet wide or two feet high. Now it's starting to become way more accurate, and when it becomes more accurate, I think he's well on his way to scoring 20 [goals] in this league."
Among NHL defensemen, Dumba ranks second in goals, tied for third in power-play goals (two), seventh in shots on goal (56) and 21st in time on ice per game (24:08). He's the leading goal scorer in a defensive group that, as of Friday, is tied for first in the NHL with 17 markers.

Frequent calls with his father, Charles, and brother, Kyle, back in Canada keep Dumba grounded. So does his frequent charity work with Athletes Committed to Educating Students (ACES), United Heroes League and Boys and Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities. And working, every day, alongside Suter, captain Mikko Koivu and a group of younger players -- i.e. Nino Niederreiter, Jonas Brodin, Charlie Coyle and Mikael Granlund -- who entered the league together and are starting to come of age.
"Honestly, I still kind of pinch myself," Dumba said. "You see the paychecks coming, they're nice, but it doesn't feel all that different for me. Same group of guys here. When you're with friends that you've been with since the start, it kind of grounds you. It's nice seeing everyone come up together and be able to have the success together.
"This is awesome. This is what you want it to be."
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