The Minnesota Wild announced today that David Spacek has been recalled their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild. In a corresponding move, Daemon Hunt has been placed on IR.
The move comes just a day after the Wild recalled another young blueliner: 2021 first-round pick Carson Lambos. Minnesota is dealing with some injuries on its defense, namely to veterans Jonas Brodin, Jacob Middleton, and Zach Bogosian, as well as the aforementioned Hunt.
Adding Spacek alongside Lambos, who shoots left, gives Wild head coach John Hynes an additional right-shot defenseman to work with. The 22-year-old, who is the son of former NHLer Jaroslav Spacek, is a draft-and-develop success story for the Wild. He was selected in the fifth round, No. 153 overall, at the 2022 Entry Draft.
While he’s yet to make his NHL debut, this isn’t his first call-up. Spacek was recalled in early November, but was sent down five days later after serving as a healthy scratch for the team’s Nov. 11 game against the San Jose Sharks.
Now in his third campaign playing pro hockey, Spacek has emerged as a call-up option for the Wild. He’s climbed the team’s organizational depth chart in that period. The former QMJHL star had an up-and-down rookie professional campaign, scoring only 12 points and spending a little bit of time in the ECHL. But Spacek took a major step forward in 2024-25, scoring 31 points and establishing himself as a two-way, top-four AHL force.
Entering the season, both The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler and the team at Elite Prospects ranked Spacek as the No. 11 prospect in the Wild’s system, with Wheeler saying specifically that Spacek is “on a path to becoming a No. 5-7 D.” David St-Louis, lead scout at Elite Prospects, wrote at the time that “Spacek could give the Wild some good games as a call-up.”
Spacek has now earned another call-up to the Wild’s roster, so it’s possible that St-Louis’ prediction could come true in short order. Should Spacek get the chance to make his NHL debut, he’ll do so in relatively favorable circumstances. The Wild are on a roll, winning five consecutive games and going 7-2-1 in their last ten.
Minnesota lined up with a third pairing of Matt Kiersted and David Jiricek on Tuesday. Kiersted has played in just two NHL games this season and is a candidate to be replaced in the lineup by Lambos.
The Wild have a significantly higher level of organizational investment in Jiricek compared to Kiersted, which may help him stay in the lineup. Minnesota dealt a slate of draft picks, including a 2025 first-rounder, 2027 second-rounder, and 2026 third-rounder, to acquire Jiricek last November. But seeing as he hasn’t registered a point through 15 games and is averaging 12:28 time on ice per game, he could be the right-shot defenseman to exit the lineup in the event the club wants Spacek to make his NHL debut.