We are just days away from the Minnesota Wild opening their 2024-25 season on Thursday night hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets. And since we are just days away, the Wild finalized their opening roster over the weekend after making some tough decisions.
Announced by the team, they sent defenseman Daemon Hunt down to AHL Iowa and placed forward Ben Jones on waivers to then, also, be assigned to Iowa. While that technically makes the Wild's training camp roster still at 27, four above the 23-player limit, there are exactly four injured players still on the roster on paper alone.
Forwards Graeme Clarke, Luke Toporowski, and Mikey Milne, and goaltender Troy Grosenick are still listed on the Wild's training camp roster. All four players will not open the season in the NHL, and in Grosenick's case, he will remain on the Injured Reserve list for the entire 2024-25 season, as he had to have season-ending surgery.
Now, to the fun part. The Wild's 23-man roster has been set and some exciting players are on it. Namely, forward Liam Ohgren and goaltender Jesper Wallstedt. Ohgren will provide some energy to the lineup in a very Minnesota way, and Wallstedt will be part of the triumvirate in the crease, along with Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury.
It is going to be an interesting start for the Wild as they have loads of young talent, but also need opportunity for them to play while carrying some older veterans in the lineup, as well.
That's Wild
- Jakub Lauko has been a welcome addition to the Wild, on and off the ice. [Pioneer Press]
- Takeaways from the Wild's preseason finale against the Chicago Blackhawks. [The Athletic]
- Matt Boldy is uber talented, but, to take a term from baseball, can he be a 50/50 player? Fifty goals and fifty assists? [Hockey Wilderness]
Off the trail...
- This will surely not apply to those reading this website, but a lapsed hockey fan's guide to the 2024-25 NHL season. [ESPN]
- A whole slew of talent was on the waiver wire yesterday and could be claimed by 1:00 p.m. Monday. Pierre Engvall is a solid two-way forward with a heavy contract, Erik Brannstrom is a mobile offensive defenseman, Jakob Pelletier is small but gifted, and loads others. [The Hockey News]
- What the expectations are for each NHL team. [Sportsnet]
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