Guillaume Latendresse News

We'll see what this means for Thursday's game against Anaheim. This is his first time on the ice since last Thursday's game at Edmonton and coach Mike Yeo indicated yesterday that the Wild wants to be cautious with Latendresse and his groin injury.

Doesn't sound like coach Yeo will rush Latendresse back into the lineup. Expect the forward lines to look similar to their current formation.

I hope to have updates on them later, but as I mentioned on yesterday's blog, this Latendresse thing is obviously worth watching. I'm not positive of the injury, but I do know he's been walking gingerly on that left hip again.

Latendresse has a hip injury just seven games into his return. Look for Cal Clutterbuck to draw back into the lineup, helping out on the right side. Stay tuned for a further update on Latendresse as this could be longterm.

Defenseman Greg Zanon (groin) and left winger Guillaume Latendresse (lower body) missed Friday's practice and are questionable for Saturday. Yeo indicated that if the injuries linger, the team may opt to hold them out and let them rest, with no game until Thursday at home against Anaheim.

The team could play it safe with Latendresse after played only 11 games last season. Through his first seven games back, the Ste. Catherine, Quebec native has a goal and five points. Look for him to need a few maintenance days over the course of the season.

"Guillaume Latendresse, I give him a lot of credit. He's much lighter, his body comp test is much better, he did a lot more skating this summer than he did the previous summer.

After missing all but 11 games last year, Latendresse is out to prove he can return to 25-goal form. He will certainly miss Martin Havlat but could benefit from a fully healthy Pierre-Marc Bouchard on his line.

The Wild power forward won't say how much weight he's lost, but Latendresse was noticeably thinner Friday when he skated with teammates and other NHLers in St. Louis Park.

Latendresse recovered by the end of the 2011 regular season and used the entire summer to prepare. He will start the year on the second line in an attempt to regain his scoring touch.

“Well, first of all, he came to camp out of shape. Let’s just call it like it is. He will not come into camp this year out of shape. That’s just the way it’s going to be. And he has a trainer that is working with him, I’ve been told, everyday. And I ask this question a lot because Latendresse is a very important part of our team. And the statement that he will make when he walks in the locker room when camp opens up in August, the statement that he makes when he walks in that room and he’s in shape is going to be a powerful statement of who he is, how hard he wants to win, how hard he wants to play. I know for a fact that our people are there, our people being from St. Paul are going to visit him almost every other week to make sure he is staying in his routine and staying in shape, eating right, everything else like that. So I feel good about Gui Latendresse next year.”