Who Are the Wild’s Most Underrated Under-24 Players?

Last week, we touched base on who the Minnesota Wild’s top 15 players were under 24 years old after the team traded Daemon Hunt for David Jiricek. The Wild have promising young talent on the rise, like Zeev Buium, Liam Ohgren, Hunter Haight, Charlie Stramel, and Danila Yurov. 

Those who didn't make the list still have a chance to break into the NHL but face many more challenges and obstacles. 

Here are the rest of the Wild's under-24 group. 

Forwards 

Ryder Ritchie (18), Caedan Bankier (21), and Jimmy Clark (20) 

Defensemen 

Carson Lambos (21), Ryan O’Rourke (22), David Spacek (21), Stevie Leskovar (20), Sebastian Soini (18), Jack Peart (21), Aron Kiviharju (18), Kyle Masters (21), Aaron Pionk (21), Kalem Parker (20), Ryan Healey (20), and Nate Benoit (22) 

Goalie

Chase Wutzke (18) 

Tier 6: First call-up roster 

16. Bankier

Role: Versatile bottom-six and all-situations forward 

Bankier could be someone who will play any situation for the Wild when called upon, but he'll likely play a checking role and get penalty-killing minutes. Bankier has the size to be an effective defensive player in the bottom-six. 

In August, Corey Pronman ranked Bankier No. 6 on a list of Wild players to become a middle-of-the-lineup player. Could Bankier become a late bloomer? 

17. Spacek 

Role: Third-pairing shutdown defenseman and penalty killer 

Spacek looks like the Wild’s next Hunt. Spacek has improved his scoring in his second season in Iowa and shows signs of being a top-four defenseman with 40-point potential.

Still, we must temper expectations. Spacek is already scoring 12 points in 28 games, a 0.43 scoring rate. Last year, he scored 12 points in 61 games. Spacek looks like he’ll replace Hunt in the system and be their first call-up defenseman. Could he be the Wild’s king of stability? 

18. Ritchie 

Role: Middle-six winger and power-play producer 

Ritchie is going to have a lot of time to develop. If Hunter Haight or Riley Heidt don't become NHL contributors, there's a chance Ritchie can fill in and become a middle-six scoring winger. 

He can do a combination of everything, including crashing the net, but his well-rounded game leaves coaches wanting more. He'll need to develop his game-to-game consistency. 

19. Lambos 

 Role: Third-pairing defenseman and penalty killer

Lambos has dropped to 19, but that doesn't mean he still can’t develop into a depth defenseman who can play in all situations. Lambos may not be Jonas Brodin's successor, but even a lesser Brodin is good enough for an NHL role. He can still become their new Hunt and make the call-up list. 

20. Kiviharju 

Role: Third-pairing defenseman and power-play producer 

Experts projected Kiviharju to be a top prospect for the 2024 Draft. However, he dropped in the draft due to injury concerns, and the Wild took him in the 4th round (122nd overall). Kiviharju told Bill Guerin that he got the best steal of the draft, which Guerin loved. 

He’s adjusting to playing against men in Finland. You hope that he becomes more durable and plays like a left-handed version of Jared Spurgeon once he figures his game out. Until then, he has boom-or-bust potential, but could he become a third-pairing defender to take over for Declan Chisholm? 

21. Soini 

Role: Third-pairing defenseman and penalty killer 

The Wild may have found a gem who can play on their third pairing and provide physicality with size. Soini plays a two-way style but is at his best as a physical shutdown defenseman. He can clear the front of the net and keep opponents on the perimeter. 

Soini needs to continue to build more muscle and gain more consistency. 

Tier 7: Second call-up roster 

22. Wutzke 

Role: Backup goaltender

Wutzke is a sleeper pick, and the Wild hope he develops into Jesper Wallstedt's backup. Goaltending is the most important position in hockey, and Wutzke is a long shot from making the NHL. However, the Wild will give him a 4- to 5-year timeline to provide depth as a backup goalie. 

Can he be better than Samuel Hlavaj? 

23. Leskovar 

Role: Third-pairing defenseman and penalty killer 

The Wild need more size and snarl on their blueline, and Leskovar fits the bill. He doesn’t have much NHL upside and is an over-ager at 20. 

Leskovar is a bigger version of O'Rourke who plays with more snarl and nastiness. He may sign an AHL deal sooner than later just so the Wild can have a big, physical defenseman for call-ups. 

24. Clark 

Role: Versatile bottom-six and penalty-killer 

Clark is a sophomore at the University of Minnesota who is having a better year than he did as a freshman. 

In his freshman season, he scored 11 points in 39 games. In his second season, he had 13 points in 20 games. Clark is a versatile forward with excellent speed and two-way ability. It's safe to project Clark as another version of Connor Dewar. 

25. Parker 

Role: Third-pairing defenseman and all-situations defender 

I still don’t know Parker’s upside, but it's safe to project him as a solid bottom-pairing defenseman who can be a two-way player. His WHL production of 0.51 points is worse than Lambos’ 0.73 points, and Lambos is still trying to find his rhythm in the AHL. 

You hope Parker will reach 200 lbs. in the next few years. He's already 6-foot-0, 187 lbs. 

26. Pionk

Role: Third-pairing defenseman and penalty killer 

Pionk's putting up solid production at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, scoring at a 0.62-point rate. Looks like Pionk could become another version of Hunt. He won't be as good as his older brother Neal Pionk, but he can still manage to make the league as a bottom-pairing defenseman. 

Tier 8: Professional AHL playing career and alternative leagues (i.e. KHL, SHL, etc.) 

27. Peart

Role: Top-four defensive defenseman and penalty killer 

If things don't work in Iowa, Peart will likely become a top-four defenseman elsewhere as a professional hockey player. He doesn’t produce or drive offense. However, he brings shutdown ability. Peart doesn’t have the size to be an effective physical player or good foot speed. He's a long-term project. 

28. Masters

Role: Top-four offensive defenseman and power-play producer 

The Wild appeared to lose faith in Masters when they traded for Jiricek. Jiricek has a better NHL frame, not to mention offensive upside. Masters is one of those players who you hope figures out his game to become a first call-up when the Wild need injury depth.

However, he's a better player in a lower-level league this season. 

29. Healey 

Role: Top-four offensive defenseman and power-play producer 

Much like Masters, Healey fell on the organizational depth chart once the Wild traded for Jiricek. While Healey's the better skater than Jiricek, Jiricek has more NHL upside. 

Healey has struggled to repeat his production from his sophomore season at Harvard. He's in a junior slump. Healey appears to be an inconsistent player, like Calen Addison with less draft status. 

30. O'Rourke 

Role: Third-pairing defenseman and penalty killer 

The Wild have replaced O'Rourke in the system with Leskovar. Even if Leskovar doesn't produce offense, O'Rourke isn't 6-foot-3, 216 lbs. O'Rourke was supposed to be the guy who brings non-stop chaos. Can O'Rourke become the Wild’s Nate Prosser, or will they release him? 

31. Benoit 

Role: Third-pairing defenseman and penalty killer 

Benoit doesn't have much NHL upside. Even if he figures out his game, the Wild have many left-handed defensemen in their system. It's not difficult to develop a penalty-killing defenseman in the NHL. 

The Wild are showing how much depth they have in their system because, at the very least, they have many players who can be first and second call-up prospects serving a bottom-of-the-lineup role. 

In an ideal world, two to four of Minnesota’s prospects need to break into the NHL and become better players than people projected them to be. If anything, we must monitor how Bankier, Spacek, Kiviharju, Lambos, and Ritchie progress over the next few years. 

U-24 23-man roster 

Forwards

Matt Boldy - Marco Rossi - Ohgren 

Riley Heidt - Yurov - Haight 

Marat Khusnutdinov - Stramel - Ritchie 

Mikey Milne - Rasmus Kumpulainen - Rieger Lorenz 

Bankier 

Defensemen 

Buium - Brock Faber 

Lambos - Jiricek 

Kiviharju - Spacek 

Leskovar - Soini

Goalies 

Wallstedt 

Wutzke