After six seasons as the Connecticut Sun point guard, Lindsay Whalen will be returning to Mohegan Sun Arena on Thursday for the first time as a member of the visiting squad when Minnesota and Connecticut tip things off at 7:30 p.m.

Whalen, the cornerstone in an offseason trade with Minnesota which allowed the Sun to get the No. 1 overall draft pick to select Tina Charles as well as bring Renee Montgomery back to the state where she and Charles helped UConn win the 2009 national title.

"I am looking forward to it, I am going to see a lot of familiar faces," Whalen said in a teleconference following practice on Tuesday. "There are so many great relationships and friendships that I still have and have build in my time in Connecticut. There were some great teams and so many great memories. I am looking forward to it.

"You are trying to win the game, it is a business trip first. It will be great to see the people and hang out a little bit but of course we are going to play the game and that is first and foremost on our mind. It's the only way to go about it as a professional."

Whalen, a star at the University of Minnesota, has been welcomed back home. Tonight she will be throwing out the first pitch at the Minnesota Twins' game against the New York Yankees.