Jakub Lauko has made his presence felt early in Wild training camp, scoring goals in his two preseason games and bringing kinetic enthusiasm to practices at TRIA Rink and, on Friday, Xcel Energy Center. It’s not just his play, either. The young forward — acquired in an offseason trade that sent Vinni Lettieri to Boston — has been a presence on the bench and in the dressing room, as well. Lauko, 24, already is known as the guy with the grapes. “I always bring grapes for the games,” said Lauko, who eats the grapes — green, of course — between periods. “I’ll usually go through one bag of grapes for the game. In Boston, Charlie Coyle, who played in Minnesota, I was always giving him some. Hampus Lindholm took some. Pavel Zacha took some. So, I was kind of like a grape dealer a little bit.” So far, he said, Freddy Gaudreau has taken some during breaks. “He was telling me, ‘Hey I’ll take some. I’ll take some,’” Lauko said. “So, I might become a grape dealer again.” It’s the play that has endeared Lauko to his coaches. In his first preseason game, he had a goal, hit, takeaway, two blocked shots and three shots on goal in a 5-2 victory. At Dallas on Wednesday, he had a goal and three hits. “He’s vocal on the bench, he’s a high-energy player, and he talks,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “Those are all the little things that we felt we needed a little more of. A little more personality at those times in the games and things like that. He certainly seems to bring that.” Face/Off Another veteran depth forward the Wild brought in this season, center Brendan Gaunce, brought with him something the team needed last season: faceoff wins. Gaunce, who signed a two-year, two-way free agent deal this summer, is 51.3% on faceoffs in 177 career NHL games. Gaudreau (49.9) and Joel Eriksson Ek (49.7) just about drew even to lead the Wild last season. Faceoff wins are something the Wild are looking for this season, particularly on the penalty kill, third worst in the NHL last season with a 74.5 percent success rate. “Every team needs depth, every team needs players that can play on the penalty kill, players that can win faceoffs, give a rest to guys that are trying to score,” Gaunce said Friday. “They can’t take every offensive zone, defensive zone (faceoff) — it wears on you. You need players to do that, players to keep the emotion high, in good spots. I think I’m good at that, and I’m excited to help this team do that, for sure.” Wild 8, Jets 5 Neither Lauko nor Gaunce were in the lineup for Friday night’s exhibition against Winnipeg at the X. Hynes played several high-end veterans, including Eriksson Ek, Kirill Kaprizov, Mats Zuccarello, Jake Middleton, and new forward Yakov Trenin, and Minnesota drilled a Jets team with few NHL regulars, 8-5. The Wild led 8-2 after two periods. Making his first preseason start, Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 35 of 40 shots, and Eriksson Ek had two goals and three assists. Kaprizov scored two goals, and Mats Zuccarello and Marat Khusnutdinov each had a goal and assist. Fleury was the third goaltender to start a preseason game for the Wild, and it’s expected that he, Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt will each get another exhibition start before the regular season begins Oct. 10. Briefly Center Reese Johnson, a free-agent acquisition from Chicago this summer, returned to practice Friday after being sidelined by a lower body injury. … Eighteen NHL players were placed on waivers Friday as teams prepare to pare camps down and send players to their AHL affiliates. The Wild likely will make their next cuts on Sunday. Related Articles Minnesota Wild | Wild get to work on fixing beleaguered penalty kill Minnesota Wild | For Travis Boyd, Wild provide a fit and an opportunity Minnesota Wild | Some of Wild’s top prospects will play Wednesday at Dallas Minnesota Wild | Matt Boldy injury is a setback for Wild special teams, an opening for prospects Minnesota Wild | Wild make first cuts of camp, reduce roster to 50