from Kent Youngblood at Russo's Rants,

Parise said he’s confident the foot has healed, that there is no risk of re-injuring it simply by playing. He also said he feels worlds better than the first time he returned and tried to play through the injury. “It’s night and day how much better I feel,” he said. “That’s a good sign. It still hurts a little bit at times. It gets sore after {skating]. But it feels better than it did before when I was playing. The biggest test will be playing in a game.’’

Wild coach Mike Yeo said he and his staff will monitor Parise closely. Parise is not necessarily on a minutes limit, but Yeo will keep track of how he’s playing and where his conditioning is.

“No. 1, we want him on the ice,” Yeo said. “We have to get him back in there, and we wouldn’t be putting him in the lineup if he wasn’t ready. … We’ll monitor it as far as how he’s doing conditioning-wise and how he looks out there. But we have to get him out there and back to playing his best hockey.’’...

“He’s going to help us with puck possession, which will help us get more pucks to the net,” Yeo said. “The way he hounds pucks, his work ethic, his skill level, executing, his skill level? We’re talking about a guy who consistently puts five-plus shots on the board. For a team that’s been having a tough time getting shots, that’s enormous.’’

more including a picture of Parise wearing the official Team USA apparel. As Younblood notes, the hockey team will miss both the opening and closing ceremonies at Sochi.