ST. PAUL-Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin's broken finger sustained in Tuesday's game against the New Jersey Devils will keep him out at least a month.
"We are going to miss a lot," said fellow defenseman Christian Folin, who usually plays alongside Brodin. "I'm going to miss him a lot. He is such an easy guy to play with out there."
It's a tough break for the 23-year-old Brodin, who is in the midst of the best season of his career. He has 16 points (3 goals, 13 assists) this season, already surpassing his point total from last season, and ranks second on the team in blocked shots (68) and third on the team in minutes per game (19 minutes, 46 seconds).
"It's a big loss," Boudreau said.
Folin said he talked to Brodin for about a half an hour after the game on Tuesday night and he appeared to be in good spirits.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We had some good laughs," Folin said. "It's obviously tough for him. It's tough whenever injuries come. ... He has been through it before, though, so I think he's going to handle it really well."
It comes at an inopportune time for Brodin personally as his family is in town with the Wild in the midst of a four-game homestand.
"I know he's bummed about that," Folin said. "I guess it's also good for him to have his family here so he can kind of get away from the rink a little bit."
Brodin's injury is the latest installment in injuries to the team's blue line, as Marco Scandella (knee) and Folin (knee) have missed time this season.
Folin said Brodin helped him through his injury so he plans to return the favor this time around.
"I'll be talking to him on a day to day basis," Folin said. "He is such a good friend of mine. We are going to talk about it every day and I'll try to keep him in good spirits. That is the biggest thing."
While the Wild have had good luck with injuries this season, Boudreau knows injuries are part of the game.
"You know every team is getting hurt," Boudreau said. "We don't want it to happen anymore. You have to live with it and persevere. You can't be a woe-is-me group. ... We won't fold like an accordion," Boudreau added. "Somebody else gets into the lineup and he has to do just as good."
ADVERTISEMENT
That appears to be veteran defenseman Nate Prosser, who has been the fill-in guy on the blue line this entire season.
Prosser has flourished in that role stepping up when Scandella and Folin went down earlier this season. He said it's about making sure he's prepared even when he's not playing.
"I'm doing a lot of things away from the ice," he said. "I'm staying extra before and after practices. It's about making sure when my number is called I'm ready to get in and play my game."
Boudreau hinted that Prosser will most likely get the nod on Thursday night against the Arizona Coyotes, though he wouldn't rule up the team also calling up a player from the minors, especially since Brodin's injury leaves the team without a healthy scratch on the roster.
"It would be prudent of us to call somebody else just in case someone gets sick during the day," Boudreau said.
That means Prosser, who usually plays on the right side, might have to play out of position. Not that he's worried about that.
"It's one of those things where I get in and don't even think about it," he said. "It's about making hard plays and getting it to the forwards as quick as possible. It doesn't matter what side I'm on."
Boudreau said he is also confident in what he has in Prosser, even though he might not be in the same class as Brodin.
ADVERTISEMENT
"You really can't compare them," Boudreau said. " Pross is a hardworking guy that has been doing the same job for two or three years. Brods is a power-play guy, a penalty-kill guy, and everything else else. ... Pross is going to get in there and whether it's the left side or right side he's going to do a good job."
