Minnesota Wild Recall Dakota Mermis

The Minnesota Wild have recalled defenseman Dakota Mermis from the Iowa Wild of the AHL. Head coach Dean Evason hinted that the team would need to recall a player to serve as insurance for any injury or illness that comes up as Minnesota embarks on a two-game road trip this weekend. Bringing up a defender like Mermis makes sense, as the Wild are still grappling with captain Jared Spurgeon’s injury.

Mermis has strung together 27 NHL games since making his debut in the 2017-18 season, though he’s failed to appear in more than 10 NHL games in one single season. The bulk of his career has instead been played in the AHL, where he’s amassed 426 career games. This includes 63 games with the Iowa Wild last season, where Mermis recorded a career-high 26 points. He also tallied 73 penalty minutes – an exciting succession to the 86 penalty minutes he recorded in 59 games during the 2021-22 season. Mermis currently has the cheapest cap hit of any defender in the Wild organization, signed to a league-minimum $775K salary through the end of this season. He’s also one of the older blue-liners in the system, with only five defenders

While Mermis has been recalled for the road trip, it doesn’t seem there is currently a plan for him to start. He’ll instead serve as the team’s seventh defender, as young players like Calen Addison and Brock Faber slot into the lineup ahead of him. If Mermis finds his way into the lineup on this road trip and how Minnesota utilizes the price-controlled defender throughout the season will be worth monitoring, as Mermis looks to fight his way into a consistent NHL role.