The NHL season didn’t start out very well for former Austin Bruin Christian Folin. But things are looking better as of late.

Folin, who played two seasons with the Austin Bruins, started the season on the Wild’s roster, but he contracted the mumps early in the season, which has now hit a total of 14 NHL players — including two-time MVP Sydney Crosby. Folin had to sit for five games, and when he came back he wasn’t quite himself, which led to him being demoted to the Iowa Wild, the team’s minor league affiliate in Des Moines, Iowa.

Folin had four points in eight games in Iowa, but mostly he found his confidence. Folin could’ve held his head down or sulked when he was demoted, but he looked at it as a chance to get comfortable on the ice again.

“I really got my game back in the minors,” said Folin, a 6-3, 214 pound defenseman from Gothenburg, Sweden. “I decided it was an opportunity for me to play a lot of minutes and get back into game shape. I got to touch the puck a lot, and my confidence came back.”

Folin has been more effective since returning to the lineup, and he scored his first NHL goal in a 2-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Dec. 14.

Folin’s first goal came on slap shot.

“It felt great,” Folin said. “It’s not something that I’d been thinking about a lot [before it happened], but I think I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.”

Folin has a total of one goal, one assist with 14 shots and he is a plus one in 12 games for the Wild this season.

However, Folin has still had some up and down moments. Last Tuesday, Folin lost to puck to the Chicago Blackhawk’s Jonathan Toews and was then beaten by Toews for a Chicago goal. On Wednesday, Folin was scratched when Jared Spurgeon returned to the lineup.

However, Wild coach Mike Yeo said Folin was scratched to keep lefty Justin falk in the game.

“In some ways we could say it’s not fair for him to come out,” Yeo recently told the Pioneer Press regarding. “It was one game and I’m certainly not putting that on him. And I think that game aside, I like what he has brought lately.”

Folin said it’s been a learning experience in the NHL. With the sickness slowing him down early, Folin has had to adjust on the fly to playing at the faster pace the NHL offers. He said he’s learned that every player is a threat to score and you can’t leave any gaps open.

“It’s a huge step. The thing that sticks out the most is how good all of the guys are,” Folin said. “You have to be on your toes at all times.”

Folin has gotten used to the big crowds the NHL attracts, as he said he played in some pretty big crowds at UMass-Lowell. He has also continued to stay in touch with Austin Bruins head coach Chris Tok as the two continue to talk almost every week.

The Wild (16-12-2) were scheduled to host the Nashville Predators (20-8-2) at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

—The St. Paul Pioneer Press/Tribune Content Agency contributed to this report.