The Minnesota Wild has assigned forward Mike Rupp to the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League (AHL) on a conditioning loan. The team also announced today it has placed defenseman Keith Ballard on Injured Reserve with an upper-body injury suffered Nov. 5 against Calgary.

Rupp was designated Injured, Non-Roster on Sept. 30 with a lower-body injury and has not appeared in a game this season. The 6-foot-5, 235-pound native of Cleveland, Ohio, collected four points (1-3=4), a plus-1 rating and 67 penalty minutes (PIM) in 32 games with the Wild last season. He also skated in four playoff games with Minnesota. Rupp owns 98 points (54-44=98) and 832 PIM in 597 career NHL games with New Jersey, Phoenix, Columbus, Pittsburgh, the New York Rangers and Minnesota. The 33-year-old was acquired by Minnesota from the Rangers on Feb. 4, 2013 in exchange for Darroll Powe and Nick Palmieri.

Iowa begins a six-game homestand by hosting Chicago on Wednesday, San Antonio on Saturday and Milwaukee on Sunday this week.

Ballard, 30 (11/26/82), has recorded four assists and ranks tied for third on the team with a plus-6 rating in nine games with Minnesota this season.