Zach Bogosian Found A Unique Fit With the Wild

None of the players that the Minnesota Wild brought in for the start of NHL training camp on September 19 were bigger than 6’3”, 231 lbs. That body belongs to veteran defenseman Zach Bogosian, entering his 17th NHL season on a new contract after a rejuvenating season with the Minnesota Wild last year. 

The Wild acquired Bogosian, 34, last November for a seventh-round pick in next year’s NHL draft and rewarded Bill Guerin with production in a big role on a battered-up Minnesota blueline last season.

Bogosian dressed in four games for the Tampa Bay Lightning last season, who thrust him into an undersized role for the grizzly defenseman. He was only playing 12 minutes a night, at most.

“It’s tough when you’re not playing a lot,” Bogosian said after re-signing with the Wild for two years, $2.5 million. “The more you play the better you feel.”

Once settled in St. Paul, Bogosian scored 14 points in 61 games. He tied Kirill Kaprizov for third on the team with a +11 plus/minus and third in penalty minutes with 63. Those are productive numbers for an NHL defenseman. However, they are a breath of fresh air for “Bogo” and the Wild, who would be happy to get two more years of the same in the twilight of his career.

Bogosian’s 61 games in 2023-24 and 19 points last season were his most since 2018-19, when he finished with 65 and 19 with the Buffalo Sabres. His 14 assists last season was also his highest total since 2018-19. 

Alex Goligoski retired in the offseason, so Bogosian will likely become the eldest Wild blueliner, where he will likely have the most positive influence on some of the young Wild defensemen in the locker room. For context, Brock Faber was six years old when Bogosian debuted in the NHL.

Sixteen years in this league is a lot of hockey, so much that many people forget Bogo was the third-overall pick in 2008. He began his career in the NHL immediately after the Atlanta Thrashers drafted him. Bogosian relocated with the Thrashers when they became the Winnipeg Jets 2014 before spending six years in Buffalo. 

His journey brought him to Tampa Bay, Toronto, and back to Tampa before landing with the Wild, his fifth organization. Bogosian won his first and only Stanley Cup during Tampa’s run to the Finals in 2019-20, making him one of three players on the Wild roster to do so, along with Marc-Andre Fleury and Travis Boyd.

Five years later, he’s a third-pairing defenseman with a lot of talent in front and also behind him as the Wild’s bullpen of ever-developing defensive prospects in Iowa continue inch closer to their final call-up.

“I'm confident in what I can do on and off the ice,” he said, passing the attention from himself to the team, “but I think as a group, we’ve got a lot of guys here who want to do well.”

The Wild may need Bogo to play some big minutes again if Jared Spurgeon and Brodin go down. Spurgeon and Brodin missed 86 games combined last season. 

Injuries are inevitable, and the Wild will expect players to step up when a teammate goes down. Last season, Minnesota's injury woes to its defensive core left it relying heavily on young players like Brock Faber and Declan Chisholm. They also gave Jon Merril and Dakota Mermis more minutes than they had planned.

Bogo could also take a lesser role, like watching a number of games from the press box while remaining a leader in the locker room. Prospects Carson Lambos, Ryan O’Rourke, David Spacek, and Daemon Hunt are itching for their shot to travel north to St. Paul from Des Moines, and that could lead to reduced minutes for the Wild’s biggest body.

The Athletic’s Michael Russo predicts that Bogo will be on the third pairing with Declan Chisholm, 24, leaving Merril as the odd one out.

Bogosian will have to stay healthy, which can’t be easy at age 34 on an NHL blueline. However, whatever capacity Bogosian contributes is valuable to Minnesota. Eighty-two hockey games is a long season and the Wild will be hoping for the postseason at the tail end of it, which will require contributions from everyone within the organization.

At this stage in his career, he’s willing to do what it takes to win another Stanley Cup, and he’s hoping to do it within the next two years here in Minnesota.

“I’m happy to be here,” said Bogosian. “It’s been an easy fit, it’s been smooth and I’m happy.”