I’m excited,” Jiricek said. “I heard it’s a hockey state, so that’s the first thing I know. And the second is it’s frickin’ cold out here."

After a middling start in the NHL with Columbus, the 21-year-old former first-round pick is getting a fresh look from the Wild.

Jiricek, picked sixth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2022, was traded to the Wild last week for future picks and defense prospect Daemon Hunt. The 21-year-old met with Minnesota reporters for the first time on Tuesday and he admitted that Minnesota being cold is one of two things he knows about the Land of 10,000 Lakes.