Wild Activate, Reassign Cameron Butler
The Wild announced yesterday that they’ve activated forward Cameron Butler from season-opening injured reserve and assigned him to the AHL’s Iowa Wild. They did that in conjunction with demoting Michael Milne after he cleared waivers. Only defense prospect Stevie Leskovar remains on the non-roster list that Minnesota submitted at the beginning of the month.
Butler will now begin his first season in the Wild organization. They acquired the 6’4″, 209-lb winger from the Blue Jackets in June in exchange for depth forward Brendan Gaunce. The checking-oriented Butler signed with Columbus as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and is in the final season of his entry-level contract, so he may be one-and-done in Minnesota and Iowa if they opt not to issue him a qualifying offer at the end of the season.
Things haven’t gone well for Butler on the offensive side of the puck since turning pro. The 23-year-old has just four goals and seven assists for 11 points in 91 career AHL games, all of which came with the Blue Jackets’ affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters. He wasn’t a regular in their lineup last season, limited to 37 appearances. He’s racked up plenty of hits and penalty minutes, but his lack of offensive acumen and contribution has led to a -18 rating for his career. In fact, Butler has never been a plus player in a single season on record in his junior or minor league career.
He was still a semi-capable scorer in juniors, though, and Minnesota hopes he can regain some of that confidence in a new environment this season. Butler does have one NHL game to his name, coming in March 2024 with Columbus. He skated just one shift in a shootout win over the Penguins before being returned to the AHL the next day.
It’s not clear what injury was keeping Butler out of the lineup, but he’s now been cleared to return. Whatever it was, it kept him out of entering a preseason game for the Wild as well.
Wild Activate, Reassign Michael Milne
Oct. 30: Milne cleared waivers and will be on his way to Iowa, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Oct. 29: The Wild have activated forward Michael Milne from season-opening injured reserve and subsequently placed him on waivers with intent to assign him to the AHL’s Iowa Wild, according to a team announcement.
Assuming he clears, the 23-year-old Milne will be kicked off his fourth professional season, all in the Minnesota organization. He was a third-round pick in 2022 as an overager out of WHL Winnipeg and immediately turned pro. Last year marked his NHL debut, although it was a brief one. The 5’11” winger only got into one game, an early-season loss to the Stars, and posted three hits in 6:34 of ice time before heading back to Iowa.
The British Columbia native has been out since the beginning of the month with an undisclosed injury, but today’s news indicates he’s been medically cleared to resume practicing and will do so in the minors. He may still have some upside down the line, but he’s yet to have an offensive breakthrough with Iowa. He made 60 appearances for the club last season, scoring 15 goals and 11 assists for a career-high 26 points.
Milne was a restricted free agent this past offseason but received a qualifying offer from the Wild, who promptly inked him to a two-way deal worth $775,000 in the NHL and $100,000 in the AHL in July. He’ll be arbitration-eligible next summer, which could dissuade Minnesota from giving him a qualifying offer this time around if they’re not sold on his future.
Injury Notes: Wood, Bogosian, Nylander
Blue Jackets winger Miles Wood will be in the lineup versus the Sabres on Tuesday, head coach Dean Evason said. It’s Wood’s first outing in over two weeks after leaving an Oct. 13 game against the Devils because of a stick to the eye. He never landed on injured reserve, in part due to Columbus carrying a bare-bones roster to start the year, but was ruled out for at least a week by the team anyway at the time of the injury. It was a significant injury that caused Wood to experience remarkably inhibited vision for multiple days due to blood in his eye. However, he underwent testing last week after it cleared, which indicated he avoided any permanent damage.
The 30-year-old had a goal and two hits in his first three games as a Blue Jacket after he was acquired from the Avalanche over the summer. Zach Aston-Reese will be scratched to accommodate Wood re-entering the lineup alongside Isac Lundeström and Yegor Chinakhov, Evason said. It will be Aston-Reese’s first scratch of the young season; Chinakhov started the season as the extra forward before Wood’s injury created an opening for him in the lineup.
There are more injury notes from around the league:
- Wild defenseman Zach Bogosian‘s status has been downgraded from day-to-day to week-to-week, head coach John Hynes said Tuesday (via Joe Smith of The Athletic). Minnesota already placed Bogosian on injured reserve last week, so he’s eligible to return at any time, but it doesn’t appear they’re going to need to worry about activating him soon. After a decent start to the season in bottom-pairing duties, the 15-year veteran sustained a lower-body injury against the Capitals on Oct. 17 and has now missed five games. Bogosian posted a plus-three rating with nine blocks and six hits in five games before landing on IR, controlling 48.2% of shot attempts at even strength in the process.
- Maple Leafs star William Nylander remains a game-time decision ahead of tonight’s game against the Flames, per head coach Craig Berube (via Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun). Nylander was banged up with a lower-body issue last Friday against the Sabres and was a late scratch for the second half of their back-to-back with Buffalo after taking warmups. The 29-year-old, now in his 11th season, still leads the team with 11 assists, 14 points, and five takeaways through eight games.
Upper-Body Injury For Foligno
- Wild winger Marcus Foligno is dealing with an upper-body injury that caused him to miss tonight’s game against San Jose, relays Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). The veteran has already had X-rays but the results are not yet known. Foligno is off to a tough start to his season offensively as he has been held off the scoresheet in his first nine appearances although he’s averaging a little over three hits per game.
Wild Place Zach Bogosian On Injured Reserve
Oct. 23: The Wild announced that they’ve reassigned Haight back to Iowa. He did not play in the lone game of his call-up, yesterday’s 4-1 loss to the Devils. Rossi returned for that contest, so his services as a healthy extra are no longer needed.
Oct. 21: The Wild announced they’ve placed defenseman Zach Bogosian on injured reserve, retroactive to Oct. 17. His roster spot will go to forward Hunter Haight, who’s been recalled from AHL Iowa in the corresponding move.
It isn’t a meaningful update to Bogosian’s status. He remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury he sustained while blocking a shot against the Capitals last Friday. He’s already missed two games, and the IR placement means he’ll miss one more, tomorrow against the Devils, until he’s eligible for activation prior to Saturday’s game at home against the Mammoth. David Jiříček was brought up in his place over the weekend and directly replaced the fellow righty in third-pairing duties alongside Jacob Middleton. He hasn’t been particularly noticeable, recording a minus-one rating, one shot on goal, and no blocks or hits.
The 35-year-old Bogosian hopes his absence doesn’t stretch out much longer than one more game. He’s been surprisingly effective to begin the season, posting a plus-three rating in five appearances with nine blocks and six hits. The 18-year veteran has positive possession impacts at even strength, including a 56.4 xGF%, churning out a stable defensive presence in his limited minutes (13:53 per game). Jiříček, while more offensively gifted, hasn’t been able to deliver that physicality or defensive play. For a team struggling to produce offense at even strength, scoring just eight goals at 5-on-5 through seven games, getting a positive possession player like Bogosian back in the lineup will be a help, even if just a marginal one.
Haight comes up to give Minnesota some extra forward depth while fellow pivot Marco Rossi nurses a short-term injury. Rossi already missed yesterday’s win over the Rangers with an undisclosed injury, and Haight’s summons indicates he likely won’t be available tomorrow, either. Haight, 21, made the Wild’s opening roster submission and made his NHL debut in their first two games of the season, posting a minus-two rating and a 43.8 FO% while averaging 9:22 per game. The 2022 second-rounder understandably won’t get much development with that kind of usage and performance and was promptly sent to the minors. As such, his recall isn’t expected to be a lengthy one. He’s also struggled to begin the year in Iowa, going pointless with a minus-three rating through a pair of games.
Marco Rossi, Zach Bogosian Out For The Wild
The Minnesota Wild will be without forward Marco Rossi and defenseman Zach Bogosian in Monday night’s game against the New York Rangers, head coach John Hynes told Peter Baugh of The Athletic. Both players suffered lower-body injuries as the result of blocked shots – Bogosian sustaining his on Friday, and Rossi getting hurt on Saturday.
This news will bring an end to Rossi’s team-leading iron-man streak. He has played in a consecutive 173 games, dating back to April 2023. That tally is the 30th-longest streak in the NHL, and the fourth-longest among players 24 or younger. With Rossi’s streak ending, Minnesota’s new team-leader will be Matt Boldy, who has played in 161 consecutive games – 33rd-most in the league and sixth among U24 players.
More than ending a team-leading streak, Minnesota will be losing one of their top forwards with Rossi’s absence. He has served as the team’s top-line center between star wingers Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov. That trio is one of only two Wild lines to score multiple even-strength goals this season – though they’ve still been outscored by opponents two-to-three, despite winning the expected-goals race with 2.1-to-1.7. Rossi himself has scored five points in six games, putting him on pace to exceed the career-high 60 points he potted in 82 games last year.
Joel Eriksson Ek will move to the top-line in Rossi’s place, while Ben Jones steps into a fourth-line center role. This swap will also promote rookie Danila Yurov into the top-nine, providing a stronger platform for him to find his first career point after going scoreless in his first four NHL games.
Minnesota will also lose the reliable Bogosian, who has served as a stout veteran presence on the team’s bottom-pair for the last three seasons. His ice time has dwindled every year in Minnesota, falling to just 14 minutes on average through five games this season. He’s posted a plus-three in the muted role, but otherwise has yet to manage any notable stat changes this season. David Jiříček will stick in the lineup in Bogosian’s absence. Jiříček recorded one shot on goal in a relief role on Saturday. It was his second NHL game of the season.
Wild Recall David Jiricek And Tyler Pitlick, Assign Liam Ohgren To AHL
The Wild have made a trio of roster moves heading into their game tonight against the Flyers. The team announced that they’ve recalled defenseman David Jiricek and winger Tyler Pitlick from AHL Iowa while assigning winger Liam Ohgren to Iowa.
Jiricek has been up for most of the season but has played just once, resulting in his assignment to the minors yesterday. He suited up for Iowa last night, making him eligible to be recalled as he has fulfilled the one-game requirement, part of the new rules brought into play this season to try to cut down on paper transactions.
Jiricek hasn’t had a lot of success at the NHL level since Columbus drafted him sixth overall in 2022. He has played in just 60 games at the top level since then, 43 of which came in 2023-24; since then, he has been more of an AHL player, even after Minnesota dealt four draft picks and Daemon Hunt to acquire him last season.
Pitlick, meanwhile, is in his first season with Minnesota after signing a two-year, two-way deal with them on the opening day of free agency back in July. He’s off to a good start in Iowa with two goals through three games and has 420 career NHL appearances over parts of ten seasons with eight different franchises. His best showing came back in 2017-18 with Dallas when he had 14 goals and 13 assists in 80 games.
As for Ohgren, while he has played in all five games so far, playing time has been rather limited as he’s averaging just 9:10 per game while failing to record a point. Given that he’s still just 21 and waiver-exempt, it might be better for his development to play in a more prominent role with Iowa for a little while Pitlick, a 33-year-old veteran, is better suited to play a low-minute role on the fourth line. Ohgren had 37 points in 41 games with Iowa last season.
Wild Acquire Oskar Olausson
The Wild announced a trade sending defenseman Kyle Masters to the Sharks for winger Oskar Olausson. Both players were previously in the minors and will now report to their new clubs’ affiliates.
Olausson’s stay in the San Jose organization was a very brief one. The Swedish winger, who turns 23 next month, was a first-round pick by the Avalanche in 2021. After failing to land an NHL job with Colorado and taking a significant step back in the minors last year, the Avs traded Olausson to the Sharks in exchange for the signing rights to Daniil Gushchin. Olausson was waived and assigned to AHL San Jose out of camp, but had yet to play for the Barracuda this season, so he leaves the Bay Area without recording a single appearance in the organization.
It’s a swing on upside by the Wild and a prudent pickup for the cost. While Olausson only has four NHL games to his name, going without a point and averaging just 8:07 per game, there’s no long-term obligation in the pickup as they can non-tender him at the end of the season. At minimum, they’re adding some offensive depth to an Iowa club that hasn’t fared all too well in the past few years, which could, while unlikely, turn into an NHL piece down the line. Even though Olausson hasn’t developed as hoped so far, he’s still young enough to have a decent chance at a turnaround.
The 6’2″ Olausson looked like he was on the upswing as recently as the 2023-24 season. Injuries limited him to 39 appearances with AHL Colorado that year, but he managed an 11-9–20 scoring line after producing the same output in 63 games the year prior. That momentum didn’t continue into 2024-25, though. Olausson wasn’t even a top-10 scorer on the team last year and finished the campaign with an 11-15–26 scoring line in 61 appearances – not production you want to see from someone touted as a scoring winger.
While Minnesota could have had Olausson on the waiver wire for free a few weeks ago, that would have required keeping him on their NHL roster, something they’re not keen to do. They also don’t take on an additional contract by parting ways with Masters, a 2021 fourth-round pick who’s still at the ECHL level as he begins his third professional season. The 6’0″ righty has split the last two years between AHL and ECHL Iowa. He has a 1-5–6 scoring line with an even rating in 35 career AHL games and a 9-23–32 line in 59 ECHL games with a -7 rating.
For San Jose, giving Olausson up is a matter of creating more playing time in the AHL for the names they’ve drafted and continue to develop, like Ethan Cardwell, Cameron Lund, and Quentin Musty. Masters will now report to their ECHL affiliate in Wichita.
Wild Reassign David Jiricek
The Wild have reassigned David Jiricek to AHL Iowa, according to a team announcement. There’s no corresponding transaction yet for the roster spot that their No. 2 prospect is vacating.
Today marks a week since opening night for the Wild, which was Jiricek’s only appearance out of the club’s first four games. That’s despite the 21-year-old having a strong showing in what was his first outing for the club since January of last season. He only saw 14 minutes of ice time and didn’t record a point, but had a +3 rating in their 5-0 win over the Blues. He won his minutes possession-wise with a 53.3 CF% at even strength.
Then, Jonas Brodin returned to the lineup after missing the first game while recovering from offseason upper-body surgery. That pushed Jiricek out of the picture, with Minnesota opting for a more veteran lineup on the right side of their defense, with Zach Bogosian slotting in behind top-four staples Brock Faber and Jared Spurgeon. It’s hard at the moment for head coach John Hynes to justify scratching Bogosian to get Jiricek another look. The 35-year-old has also done well in his limited minutes, recording a +3 rating with seven blocks and four hits in four appearances while averaging 14:19 per game. He’s trusted on the penalty kill and has yet to be on the ice for a goal against at even strength.
Minnesota wants its promising young righty playing, and that isn’t happening on the NHL roster right now. As such, they’ll take advantage of his continued waiver-exempt status and return to Iowa, where he spent most of last season after the Wild acquired him from the Blue Jackets in November. The only player Minnesota surrendered in that deal, Daemon Hunt, is now back with the organization after being claimed off waivers from Columbus and will serve as their lone healthy extra for the time being, with Jiricek down.
It’s an inauspicious sign amid a tough couple of years for the 2022 No. 6 overall pick. After the former AHL All-Star looked like he was on the verge of capturing a regular role with Columbus after making 43 appearances for them in 2023-24, he was a frequent scratch to begin last season, leading to his trade out of town. Yet even amid mounting injuries on the Wild’s blue line last year, Jiricek, included in those troubles amid a ruptured spleen, didn’t get much of a chance and only made six NHL appearances after the swap. In 27 appearances with Iowa, he only mustered seven assists and a -1 rating.
He’ll be destined for as many minutes as he can handle now in the minors as he looks to get consistent playing time and fuel some long-awaited forward progress in his development. For now, Minnesota will be operating with an open roster spot to fill as necessary if more injuries pop up.
Wild Recall Ben Jones, Reassign Hunter Haight
The Wild announced that forward Ben Jones has been recalled from AHL Iowa. To open an active roster spot, center Hunter Haight was returned to Iowa.
Jones, 26, signed a two-year two-way deal with the Wild in the 2024 offseason. He cleared waivers at the end of last month before missing out on the opening night roster, the third time he’s passed through unscathed since signing in Minnesota. He’s presumably being recalled today to give them a more experienced option to stash in the press box. If they return him to Iowa before he plays 10 games or spends 30 days on the Wild’s roster, he won’t need waivers again.
He’s demonstrated offensive upside at the OHL and AHL levels but hasn’t converted that to NHL points. In fact, he’s yet to get on the scoresheet through 28 career appearances, 26 of them coming with the Wild in 2024-25 amid injuries to their forward group. He had a -3 rating and averaged just 8:23 per game in a fourth-line role, going 12-for-25 on draws (48.0%) and recording 11 blocks and 51 hits. While he made himself known physically, that didn’t translate into any tangible possession impacts – the Wild controlled just 39.7% of shot attempts and 46.3% of expected goals when he was on the ice at even strength.
Jones is on his third NHL organization, starting off as a seventh-round pick by the Golden Knights in their inaugural 2017 draft class. He was non-tendered in 2022 upon completing his entry-level contract and signed with the Flames, where he remained for another two years until reaching Group VI unrestricted free agency and signing with Minnesota. He’s been a legitimate top-six threat in the AHL for the past few years and is coming off one of his better offensive showings on a per-game basis, netting 13 goals and 36 points in 49 games with Iowa last season. He’s added on two assists in two AHL games to kick off 2025-26 as well.
The lack of an offensive track record in the NHL means he likely won’t see consistent deployment unless more injuries arise. Minnesota is only carrying 13 forwards, including Jones, with Nico Sturm and Mats Zuccarello on injured reserve. The Wild are understandably averse to sitting young talent in the press box for long stretches – hence Haight’s demotion – and their fourth line currently boasts two recent fourth-line picks, Liam Ohgren and Danila Yurov. That leaves right-winger Vinnie Hinostroza, who’s pointless with a -3 rating through three games, as the only spot for Jones to compete for.
As for Haight, it’s no surprise to see them move quickly to return him to Iowa after scratching him for yesterday’s win over the Kings. The 21-year-old was a late inclusion on their opening roster submission due to Sturm’s injury and drew in for Minnesota’s first two games of the year over Yurov, who was selected one round ahead of him in the 2022 draft. Haight averaged just 9:22 across his two appearances, went 7-for-16 (43.8%) on faceoffs, and recorded a -2 rating without getting on the scoresheet. He didn’t manage a single shot attempt but did record two hits. It was an unsuccessful debut for him on the whole as Minnesota was outchanced 12-4 with him on the ice at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick.
Haight has three years or 158 games played remaining until he loses his waiver exemption, so he can be ferried to Iowa without risk for a while yet. The Ontario native had 20 goals and 34 points in 67 AHL games last year, his first professional season after four years in the OHL.