The Wild's Kirill Kaprizov is expected to play Thursday after a longer-than-expected break for injury. (Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

David’s come in and I think he’s really shown some of his very good attributes,” John Hynes said, with a nod to Jiricek’s imposing 6-foot-3 frame. “You can’t teach size.”

Minnesota Wild head coach John Hynes said he is "cautiously optimistic" that star forward Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon will return to the lineup against the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday.

The Minnesota Wild have been without two of the most important pieces in their lineup for multiple weeks, but that could soon be on the verge of changing. Forward Kirill Kaprizov, who has missed the last 12 games with a lower-body injury,

ST PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Wild coach John Hynes is "cautiously optimistic" that star forward Kirill Kaprizov and defenseman Jared Spurgeon will be in the lineup on Thursday.

And the clearest signal that Kaprizov and Spurgeon would be back is that the Wild reassigned defenseman David Jiricek two hours after practice. If you did the salary cap math, it really was the only option to get below the cap ceiling once Kaprizov is activated from LTIR.

The Minnesota Wild are trying to stay atop the West, a mission that will be easier if Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon return Thursday.

As per Michael Russo, the Minnesota Wild are set to activate Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon from the injured reserve and long-term injured reserve.

The move was necessary to make the call-ups needed to have a full roster. It's retroactive, so Kaprizov can return whenever he's ready.

The Minnesota Wild host the Utah Hockey Club Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center, and could be getting two of their best players back from injury. Forward Kirill Kaprizov and defenseman Jared Spurgeon were on the ice with the team at practice on Wednesday at TRIA Rink.