Matt Dumba walked into the warmish Recreation Outdoor Center in St. Louis Park on Sunday afternoon, his visor still a little foggy after spending about 30 minutes practicing in below-freezing temperatures.

Dumba came prepared for the outdoor practice with a light gray hoodie pulled up over his helmet and the zipper portion covering his mouth. He jokingly mumbled his way through a few questions, refusing to expose his mouth, before letting out a toothy grin as he unzipped his hoodie to chat with reporters.

“It was fun,” Dumba said of the outdoor practice that featured more than 1,000 fans braving the elements to get a glimpse of the Wild in action. “You see the smiles on the kids’ faces at the end. You’re throwing pucks and signing autographs. It’s awesome. That’s what we’re here for. That’s why we play the game.”

As for his attire, Dumba took some flack from his teammates, who called him out for his extra layers.

“I heard them saying I’m from Canada so I should be used to this,” Dumba said. “I think I’m just used to getting dressed up warm and kind of braving the weather. I think for the guys that didn’t do it, they were probably regretting it.”

Such as assistant coach John Anderson. who dressed like he does for an indoor practice, opting against a hat to cover his ears.

“He’s an idiot,” coach Bruce Boudreau joked. “It’s so John.”

“I don’t know how he did it,” Dumba added. ” His hair was perfectly feathered. It looked like he should’ve been in ‘Youngblood.’ ” Related Articles Dane Mizutani: Wild GM Bill Guerin finally doing what needs to be done

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How cold was it? Well, Nino Niederreiter said it might’ve been the coldest he’s ever been while practicing, and Boudreau was a little afraid to use his whistle for extended periods.

“It was tough,” Boudreau said. “If I would’ve kept it in the mouth any longer, it would’ve stuck, and I don’t think the players would’ve given me any pity for that.”

As for the practice itself, the Wild accomplished as much as they could under the circumstances, laughing their way through each drill.

“It was a productive practice,” Matt Cullen said. “At this time of the season our practices don’t go really long anyway. It was about right. It was good to get the bodying going, the blood flowing a little bit to kind of sweat everything from the game last night.”

Cullen, a 20-year veteran who spent the past two seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins, was impressed with how many fans showed up.

“It’s pretty cool,” Cullen said. “It speaks volumes about the fan base that we have and the passion there is here.”

As the outdoor practice concluded, fans lined the pathway that led to the entrance of the building, with players stopping to sign autographs and snap selfies.

Charlie Coyle hung around for more than 20 minutes after, signing as many autographs as he could before he had to leave.

Shoutout to Charlie Coyle. He’s still signing autographs about 20 minutes after practice. #MNWild pic.twitter.com/XDhjgYX5eb — Dane Mizutani (@DaneMizutani) February 11, 2018

It was a perfect way to break up the monotony of the regular season while also taking players and coaches back to their childhood days.

“When we were 6 years old and 7 years old, there was no indoor rinks,” Boudreau said. “You used to have to play outdoors all the time, and when you get off, your dad would be rubbing your feet until the blood came back in them, and you’d be over the heat ventilator, and sitting out there for half an hour. That was cold. This is a piece of cake.”