Wild welcome new defenseman Jake Middleton

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Among their flurry of pre-trade deadline deals, the Wild acquired physical defenseman Jake Middleton.

He made his first appearance at the Wild’s practice at their TRIA Rink headquarters in St. Paul on Wednesday morning and met with the media following the skate.

Click the video box on this page to watch head coach Dean Evason’s comments Wednesday morning as well as Jake Middleton’s introductory press conference which included topics such as his playing-style, the sense the Wild roster is a tight-knit group, and the history of both Middleton’s mustache and toothless grin

Middleton was the last player selected in the 2014 NHL Draft. The Kings drafted him 201th overall.

From there, he’s made appearances in the last four NHL seasons with San Jose. His 45 games played this season, 3 goals and 6 assists are all career highs.

He was part of the Wild’s trade that sent goalie Kaapo Kahkonen to San Jose.