Beating The Odds: Pens' Wild is Ready

Photo courtesy of Amy's WBS Picture Page.

With the fallout of the Morrow for Morrow trade, defenseman Cody Wild now enters the regular lineup as the team's 6th defenseman. Here's what the new pairings looked like at practice today:

Reese - Dumoulin

Mormina - Samuelsson

Grant - Wild

"It's been a five year grind for me so far," said Cody Wild on his journey to the AHL. "I just have to stay patient."

Wild is no stranger to the Penguins. The North Providence native appeared in 51 games for the AHL Pens last season, posting a goal and five assists with 34 penalty minutes and a plus 8 rating.

Wild began this season with the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers and played well, first earning a call up to the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs, appearing in two games with Montreal's top minor league affiliate back in December.

Two games after being sent back to Wheeling from Hamilton, Wild recorded a four point night (1G, 3A) in a Wheeling win over Greenville. All in all, Wild finished with 26 points (6G, 20A) in 35 games with the Nailers (ECHL) before being added by the Penguins in mid January.

With the Penguins this season, ice time has been hard to come by for Wild with all the blue line depth the Pens have built up. Wild has appeared in eight games and has gone scoreless with a plus two rating and two penalty minutes. With Joe Morrow traded to Dallas, Wild will return to the lineup tomorrow for the first time since March 1st.

"I just have to take it one game at a time. It's been awhile since I've played, but I'm ready to go tomorrow night," Wild said.