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Wild Recall Liam Ohgren

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The Wild have recalled left-wing prospect Liam Öhgren from AHL Iowa, per a team announcement. The 2022 first-round pick is now in line to make his NHL debut in the final few games of the regular season.

Öhgren, 20, spent the season on loan to Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League but was assigned to Iowa early this month after Färjestad was upset by Rögle BK in a 4-0 sweep in the SHL quarterfinals. Injuries kept him out for most of the first half of the campaign, but that didn’t stop him from fitting well into a top-six role with Färjestad upon his return. The speedy, sharp-shooting winger notched 12 goals and 19 points in 26 games with a +12 rating, although he was held without a point in their abbreviated playoff run.

His early adjustment to a weak Iowa squad hasn’t been terribly promising, but a small sample shouldn’t count for much. He’s yet to record a point in three games with the Wild’s top farm team with a -4 rating, but he did log five shots on goal in his last outing, a 4-3 loss to Rockford yesterday.

The 19th overall pick in 2022 is a top-three prospect in Minnesota’s system, checking in behind Swedish netminder Jesper Wallstedt and Russian winger Danila Yurov in The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler’s 2024 ranking of NHL prospect pools. He was bar none the best player in the Swedish junior circuit during his draft year, potting 33 goals in just 30 games with Djurgårdens IF’s U-20 club in the J20 Nationell. His 1.93 points per game led the league among qualified skaters, as did his +41 rating, 11 points higher than the second-best, teammate and Sabres prospect Noah Östlund.

That performance rightfully earned him Best Forward honors in the Nationell, and he also cracked the top Swedish national junior team roster at 17 and won a bronze medal at the 2022 World Juniors. He returned for both the 2023 and 2024 tournaments, serving as captain for this year’s squad and taking home the silver medal, although he was limited to two assists in seven games.

The Stockholm native isn’t quite ready for full-time NHL work and is likely a long shot to make next season’s opening night roster, although it shouldn’t be ruled out. His entry-level contract will slide to next season as he’s guaranteed to have played less than 10 NHL games in 2023-24, meaning he’ll remain signed through 2027.

Goligoski To Consider Future After The Season, Stramel To Michigan State

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  • Michael Russo of The Athletic has confirmed that Minnesota Wild prospect Charlie Stramel will indeed be transferring from Wisconsin to Michigan State next season after entering the transfer portal last week. The Wild selected Stamel with the 21st pick in last June’s NHL entry draft, and he will now be leaving the University of Wisconsin after two seasons with the team. The 19-year-old sophomore struggled this season with Wisconsin scoring just three goals and adding five assists in 35 games.

Zach Bogosian Returns Sunday From Undisclosed Injury

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  • The Wild have depth defenseman Zach Bogosian back in the fold against the Blackhawks today, notes The Athletic’s Joe Smith. The 33-year-old has recently logged top-four minutes alongside Jonas Brodin but missed Minnesota’s last two games, both losses, with an undisclosed injury. The Wild are teetering on the edge of playoff contention and realistically need to win out to sniff a chance at making the postseason. Bogosian has actually been quite good for Minnesota since being picked up from the Lightning in an early-season trade, scoring three goals and adding 10 assists for 13 points in 55 games while averaging 18:06 per game, his highest usage and offensive production since 2018-19 with the Sabres. He’s done so with positive possession metrics, too, logging a 50.7 CF% and +3.3 expected rating.

Nate Benoit Enters Transfer Portal

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  • Wild blueliner Nate Benoit is looking for a new school as he has entered the transfer portal. Drafted in the sixth round in 2021 (182nd overall), Benoit only made his college debut this season with the University of North Dakota but was limited to just 19 games and just 8:31 per night.  The 21-year-old will undoubtedly be looking to find a program where he can play a more prominent role.

Wild Recall Jesper Wallstedt

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It appears the availability of one of Minnesota’s netminders is in question for this afternoon as, according to the AHL’s transactions log, the Wild have recalled goaltender Jesper Wallstedt from AHL Iowa.  In a corresponding move, Iowa signed netminder Peyton Jones to a tryout agreement to replace Wallstedt on their roster.

The 21-year-old is widely considered as one of the stronger goalie prospects league-wide although his NHL debut back in January didn’t go too well as he allowed seven goals on 34 shots in a loss to Dallas.  However, Wallstedt has fared well in the minors, posting a 2.76 GAA and a .908 SV% in 43 starts at that level this season.  He has one year left after this one on his entry-level deal, one that carries an AAV of $925K.

Assuming that one of Marc-Andre Fleury or Filip Gustavsson is unavailable against Winnipeg, Wallstedt’s recall can be classified as an emergency promotion and thus not count against Minnesota’s four recall limit.  However, Wallstedt would have to be returned to the minors as soon as the emergency conditions end.

Wild Sign Goaltender Samuel Hlavaj To Two-Year Deal

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The Minnesota Wild have signed goaltender Samuel Hlavaj to a two-year, entry-level contract (Twitter link). Hlavaj served as the starting netminder for HC Plzeň of the Czechia Extraliga last season, after spending 2021 and 2022 with HC Slovan organization in Slovakia. With this deal, Hlavaj will return to America for the second time – after spending three years in the USHL and QMJHL between 2018 and 2021.

Hlavaj manned the net behind a HC Plzeň team that ranked third-to-last in the league this season with just 14 wins on the year. That meant tall orders for Hlavaj, who posted a measly 8-20-0 record and lost both playoff appearances. He wasn’t supported much by the skaters in front of him, with the HC Plzeň roster scoring the fifth-fewest goals in the league and allowing the fourth-most. Nonetheless, this season marked Hlavaj’s fourth-straight losing season, with his 2019-20 QMJHL season marking his last time on the positive side of the win column. He only lost five times that season, posting a 33-3-2 record and .915 save percentage in 39 games.

Minnesota bolsters the Iowa Wild’s goaltending room with this move, giving the team some certainty behind top prospect Jesper Wallstedt. Zane McIntyre has served as Wallstedt’s de facto backup this season, but he’s managed a meager .879 save percentage and 3-13-3 record. His missteps aren’t being made up for by Hunter Jones or Peyton Jones, with neither goalie recording a win in their spot starts. Hlavaj will add competition, and push for an AHL starting role when Wallstedt inevitably moves to the NHL.

Wild Still In The Mix For Collin Graf

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Winger Collin Graf is widely expected to sign his first professional contract in the coming days.  Regarded as one of the top college free agents available, most of the league had made inquiries and he’s in the process of whittling down his list.  To that end, Mollie Walker of the New York Post reports (Twitter link) that the Rangers are no longer in the mix for the 21-year-old.  Meanwhile, The Athletic’s Michael Russo adds (Twitter link) that the Wild are believed to still have a chance at signing him.  Graf is coming off another strong season at Quinnipiac where he recorded 22 goals and 27 assists in 34 games.  Wherever he signs, it’s quite likely he burns the first season of his entry-level deal this year; he’d be eligible to play down the stretch in the regular season but not in the playoffs.

Wild Prospect Charlie Stramel Enters NCAA Transfer Portal

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Transfer season has arrived in the NCAA with several players applying for transfers daily.  Among the list of players who entered today is Wild prospect Charlie Stramel, per Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald.

The 19-year-old was a first-round pick by Minnesota back in June, going 21st overall.  Stramel had a successful run in the U.S. National Team Development Program and then went to college for the 2022-23 campaign.  He had a quiet year offensively in 2022-23 but that is often the case for freshmen.  With a sound defensive game, the hope was that the offense would come along, making him a viable two-way threat and someone the Wild hope will be part of their long-term core.

However, things didn’t go quite according to plan this past season.  After putting up a dozen points in 33 games in 2022-23, they actually went down in his sophomore year as Stramel had just three goals and five assists in 34 contests and he wound up spending a good chunk of the year on the fourth line.  That’s not the type of progression Stramel or the Wild were hoping to see.

Now, Stramel will seek out a new place to play and a program where he will have a better opportunity to develop as a prospect.  Oddly enough, Max Olson and Michael Russo of The Athletic relay (subscription link) that Stramel has made it known that he doesn’t want to be contacted by schools.  Whether that means that he has a place to play in mind or if he wants to do his own research and then reach out to other programs remains to be seen.  Either way, wherever Stramel lands, expectations will be considerably higher for a player already halfway through his college career.

Charlie Stramel Considering Entering The Transfer Portal

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Mike McIntyre of The Winnipeg Free Press is reporting that Winnipeg Jets forward Tyler Toffoli won’t dress tonight when the Jets take on the Los Angeles Kings. Toffoli missed practice this morning and was dealing with an illness according to Jets head coach Rick Bowness. Another game-time decision, Cole Perfetti will dress and could slide in alongside Sean Monahan and Kyle Connor. Since joining the Jets at the trade deadline, the 31-year-old Toffoli has posted four goals and two assists in 11 games. Perfetti on the other hand has 15 goals and 17 assists in 66 games this season.

In other Central Division notes:

  • Colorado Avalanche defenseman Sean Walker is in the lineup tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets after he was deemed questionable on Saturday. The 29-year-old played just 11:15 two nights ago against the Nashville Predators because of an upper-body injury but doesn’t appear to be feeling any ill effects tonight. Walker was also a trade deadline acquisition and has three goals and one assist in ten games since joining the Avalanche.
  • Joe Smith and Michael Russo of The Athletic are reporting that Minnesota Wild prospect Charlie Stramel is considering entering the transfer portal now that his season is over with the University of Wisconsin. The 2023 first-round pick has struggled with the Badgers and posted just three goals and five assists in 34 games this season. A league source has said that Stramel likely isn’t thrilled with his development, and it sure seems plausible given that he saw very little time on specialty teams and was relegated to fourth-line duty for much of the season.
  • Scott Powers of The Athletic is reporting that Chicago Blackhawks Colin Blackwell and Nikita Zaitsev are back at practice today. The 31-year-old Blackwell has missed the last five games as he’s been dealing with an upper-body injury. The center has eight goals and four assists in 39 games this year. Zaitsev will also be a game-time decision tomorrow and he too has been dealing with an upper-body injury. The veteran defenseman has just two goals and five assists in 36 games this season and hasn’t played since March 28th against the Ottawa Senators.

Ryan Hartman Suspended Three Games

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The NHL Department of Player Safety has announced that they’ve handed out a three-game suspension for unsportsmanlike conduct to Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman. The ban is the second suspension handed out to Hartman this season and the fourth of his NHL career. He has also been fined seven times.

The incident happened in overtime during a Minnesota loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. On the play, Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault scored into an empty net (meaning Minnesota received no points despite losing in overtime) and Hartman was seen screaming from the bench and throwing his stick in the direction of the officials. The video shows that Hartman nearly hit teammate Matt Boldy with the stick. For his actions in the game, Hartman was assessed a ten-minute misconduct for abusive language and the three-game suspension that was handed out today.

Hartman said that he didn’t intend to hurt anyone when he tossed his stick, and the league considered this when handing out their discipline as well as also factoring in Hartman’s lengthy record when it comes to supplemental discipline.

Hartman’s absence will certainly hurt the Wild’s very slim chances at a playoff spot, the 29-year-old has 19 goals and 23 assists in 68 games this season. Minnesota’s season is hanging on by a thread as they currently sit seven points behind the Los Angeles Kings for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference with a 35-28-10 record.

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