from Sarah McLellan of the StarTribune,

Kaprizov's status remained unclear until he arrived back in the Twin Cities on Aug. 2. Kaprizov needed a work visa, and Guerin said the Wild had "some very, very special people" helping secure that.

"It was more difficult than we thought it was gonna be," Guerin said. "We just had some issues getting him back in the U.S. We did get help from some friends in Washington D.C., and we're extremely grateful for that.

"Kirill was really patient. Did exactly what he had to do. It was just a really tough time for him."

With his linemate Mats Zuccarello by his side, Kaprizov was asked after practice Thursday about the situation, but Zuccarello was first to respond, "We're not going to talk about that. We'd only like hockey questions."

Kaprizov, however, did mention through an interpreter that he wasn't worried about making it back for the season before eventually saying, "If we could just keep the questions to hockey-related topics at this time, I think that'd be best."

While Guerin said he didn't believe Kaprizov was in a position that was "life-threatening or anything like that," he did acknowledge the Wild didn't know about Kaprizov's safety initially. Guerin said he wasn't sure if this would remain an issue for Kaprizov.

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