Wild Reassign David Spacek
The Wild have reassigned defenseman David Spacek to AHL Iowa, the team announced. There is no corresponding move yet, although it could be an indication that Zach Bogosian will be ready to come off injured reserve for Tuesday’s game against the Blackhawks.
Taken in the fifth round of the 2022 draft, Spacek is in his third season with the organization and has earned his first set of recalls – three of them, to be exact – this season. The 6’0″ righty has been mostly used as press box fodder but finally made his NHL debut this month, suiting up twice against the Jets on Jan. 15 and against the Canadiens on Jan. 20.
The son of longtime NHL defender Jaroslav Spacek had his ice time capped at just 10:45 per game, recording a -1 rating with two blocks and one hit. He was otherwise held off the scoresheet and controlled just 19.6% of shot attempts at even strength, the worst figure among any Wild skater to step on the ice for them this season.
The Czech puck-mover has put together some good seasons in a disastrous minor-league environment in Iowa, though. He led the team’s blue line in scoring last season with 31 points in 72 games and is now second on the team in scoring overall this season with a 3-16–19 line in 35 showings. He’s also suited up for the Czech men’s national team at the last two World Championships and will be joining the club at next month’s Olympics as NHLers return to the event.
It’s a contract year for Spacek, who’s a pending restricted free agent in the final season of his entry-level agreement. He’s due a two-way qualifying offer of $813,750, something the Wild are likely to offer him if they haven’t reached an agreement by the end of June, given his promising AHL performances.
Minnesota Wild Recall David Spacek
The Minnesota Wild announced today that defenseman David Spacek has been recalled from their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild.
The move gives the Wild seven healthy defensemen on their active roster. Veteran Zach Bogosian, who is normally a regular fixture on their blueline, is on IR with an undisclosed injury.
This isn’t Spacek’s first recall to the Wild’s NHL roster this season. His last recall came in December, but lasted just a day. He was also recalled in November, but didn’t dress there either, serving as a healthy scratch for two games. In total, Spacek has served as a healthy scratch for three NHL games this season, and is still awaiting the chance to make his NHL debut.
Perhaps the chance for Spacek to debut for the Wild will come on this recall. 23-year-old Daemon Hunt is currently playing on the right side of Minnesota’s third pairing, but is averaging just 12:25 time on ice per game. It’s possible head coach John Hynes might give Spacek a look in that role, seeing as Spacek is a right-shot defenseman and has been a steady two-way top-four contributor at the AHL level. In 35 AHL games this season, Spacek ranks second in scoring in Iowa with 19 points. He led Iowa blueliners in scoring last season as well, managing 31 points in 72 games.
In any case, even if Spacek once again remains a healthy scratch for this recall, he won’t leave empty-handed whenever he is reassigned back to Iowa. His entry-level deal, which is set to expire this upcoming summer, carries a $775K base salary compared to a $80K AHL salary, meaning he receives a sizable pay bump for whatever time he can spend in the NHL with the Wild.
Wild Reassign Nicolas Aube-Kubel, David Spacek
The Wild announced Friday that they’ve reassigned winger Nicolas Aubé-Kubel and defenseman David Spacek to AHL Iowa ahead of tomorrow’s roster freeze. They’re now left with two open roster spots, which could be used for at least one injured reserve activation before Saturday afternoon’s tilt with the Oilers.
Minnesota is coming off a 5-2 win over the Blue Jackets last night despite having an injury list with seven names on it, five of which are on IR. Most of those names are also carrying day-to-day designations and haven’t yet been ruled out for tomorrow’s game.
The two non-IR-bound players are winger Marcus Johansson and defenseman Zach Bogosian, both of whom sustained lower-body injuries against the Bruins on Dec. 14. They’re the likeliest to return to action, but Jonas Brodin and Vinnie Hinostroza are also listed as day-to-day and are eligible to come off IR as they’ve missed more than a week.
Aubé-Kubel had played in Minnesota’s last four games, his first appearances for the Wild, after sitting as a scratch once following his recall last week. The eight-year vet recorded an assist, a +1 rating, and four hits while averaging 12:08 per game, usually slotting in place of Hinostroza as the third line right wing alongside Marcus Foligno and Ryan Hartman. That line had good results in limited minutes, controlling 60% of expected goals and shot attempts.
Signed to a two-way deal over the summer, the 29-year-old has also made 23 appearances for Iowa. He’s third on the Baby Wild in goals (five), assists (eight), and second in points (13) with a -4 rating.
Spacek’s second recall of the season ends the way his first one did – without making an appearance. The 22-year-old righty is still looking to make his NHL debut after sitting in the press box Thursday in Columbus.
A fifth-round pick in 2022, Spacek is still looking for his first goal of the season with Iowa but is tied for the team lead with 11 assists. He’s coming off a 31-point breakout in 72 games last year and might still profile as a long-term depth option if he stays on his current trajectory.
Minnesota Wild Recall David Spacek
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.
Wild Recall Liam Ohgren And Tyler Pitlick, Assign David Spacek To AHL
With the Wild placing center Marco Rossi on injured reserve yesterday due to a lower-body injury, they had an open roster spot. They’ve made a trio of moves to ultimately fill that spot, announcing the recalls of wingers Liam Ohgren and Tyler Pitlick while assigning defenseman David Spacek to AHL Iowa.
The 21-year-old made Minnesota’s roster out of training camp but playing time was hard to come by. In five games, the 2022 first-round pick played more than ten minutes just once as he was a fixture on the fourth line. Ohgren didn’t have any points in those outings while picking up four shots on goal. Including last year’s action, he has three goals and four assists in 33 career NHL contests.
In an effort to get him more playing time, the Wild sent Ohgren down to Iowa in mid-October. He has suited in nine games with them, picking up three goals and two assists. While that’s decent production, it’s worth noting that he was much more productive in the minors last season, coming up just shy of a point per game with 19 goals and 18 assists in 41 appearances.
Pitlick is in his first season with Minnesota after signing a two-year, two-way deal with them in free agency over the summer. While he cleared waivers last month after not making the opening roster, he has spent the bulk of this season in the NHL following a recall two weeks into the season. He has played in nine games so far and hasn’t recorded a point but has 24 hits and 22 penalty minutes. Notably, if he plays in one more NHL contest, he will need to pass through waivers again before he can be assigned to Iowa.
The 34-year-old has three goals and an assist in five games so far in the minors. Over his career, Pitlick has played in 429 career NHL contests over parts of ten seasons for nine different franchises.
As for Spacek, he was recalled back on Monday with fellow blueliner Jake Middleton dealing with an illness but is still waiting to make his NHL debut. The 22-year-old is in his second professional campaign and has six assists in a dozen games so far with Iowa.
Minnesota Wild Recall David Spacek
The Minnesota Wild have announced that defenseman David Spacek has been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild. After Minnesota’s move to send Tyler Pitlick down to Iowa yesterday, the Wild cleared a spot open on their roster, and that spot has now gone to Spacek.
The Wild currently have two defensemen whose status is either questionable or confirmed to be out in advance of the Wild’s next game, which is tomorrow night. Veteran Zach Bogosian is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, while Jacob Middleton was a late scratch before the team’s most recent game on Sunday.
With that level of uncertainty on defense heading into tomorrow’s game, it’s understandable that the Wild would want to recall an additional blueliner to give head coach John Hynes an additional healthy option to work with when constructing his lineup.
The move presents a significant opportunity for Spacek: he has a chance to make his NHL debut tomorrow as a result of this recall. The 22-year-old was a 2022 fifth-round pick out of the QMJHL, in a year when he scored an impressive 63 points in 68 combined regular season and playoff games. Spacek struggled in his first season in the AHL with Iowa, scoring just 12 points in 61 games in 2023-24. He even had to play three contests in the ECHL.
But Spacek appears to have made significant improvements, and his 2024-25 campaign was a major developmental step forward. He scored 31 points in 72 games, good for the team lead in defensive scoring. Last season, Spacek became Iowa’s No. 2 defenseman, playing a role on both special teams units. He has maintained that role this season, which has earned him a chance to make his NHL debut.
David Jiricek drew into the lineup on Sunday after Middleton’s late scratch, but only received 9:01 time-on-ice during the Wild’s shutout win. If the Wild don’t yet trust Jiricek to handle regular minutes, it’s possible they give Spacek a chance, given his solid performance in the AHL.
Minnesota Wild Sign David Spacek
According to The Athletic’s Michael Russo, the Minnesota Wild have signed defenseman David Spacek to an entry-level contract. The length and financials of the contract are unknown, but it will start in 2023-24.
Spacek, the son of longtime NHL defender Jaroslav Spacek, was a Minnesota fifth-round pick in the 2022 draft. The 20-year-old has 46 points in 49 games (and a staggering +43 rating) with the Sherbrooke Phoenix of the QMJHL this season. He also had a standout performance at this year’s World Junior Championship, guiding Czechia to a silver medal with eight points in seven games.
Spacek went undrafted in 2021 after playing just 10 games between the second-tier Czech professional league and the top junior league, but it’s been a quick ascension up the ranks since. He adds to an already incredibly formidable group of Wild prospects on defense and is already outperforming expectations based on his draft spot.
Given his age, it’s almost certain that Spacek will turn pro next season and join the AHL’s Iowa Wild. He’ll join a team ripe with young talent on defense, including Ryan O’Rourke, Daemon Hunt, and potentially University of Minnesota captain Brock Faber.