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Jonas Brodin

Wild’s Jonas Brodin Underwent Surgery, To Miss Start Of Season

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According to Michael Russo of The Athletic, General Manager Bill Guerin has confirmed that Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin underwent upper-body surgery a few weeks ago, and he’ll likely miss the beginning of the 2025-26 season.

It’s an interesting development considering Brodin played for Team Sweden at the 2025 IIHF World Championships a few weeks ago. After scoring three goals and seven points in 10 tournament contests, Russo indicated that despite being medically cleared to play in the international competition, Brodin’s upper-body injury flared up again.

If Guerin’s assessment is correct and Brodin misses several games at the start of the 2025-26 season, it will be the seventh consecutive year that he has not played 80 or more games. The 13-year veteran has been mired by injuries for much of his career, failing to register even 70 games in three straight years.

Being limited to only 50 regular-season games during the 2024-25 campaign, it was Brodin’s lowest games played total since his rookie campaign during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. Still, he was able to avoid his worst offensive output, managing four goals and 20 points with a +10 rating when available.

Because he’s such a quality option for Minnesota when healthy, it would be inappropriate to call Brodin’s contract a sunk cost. Sure, the Wild would like more availability from their third-highest-paid defenseman, but his ability when healthy makes up for the lost time.

It’ll be interesting to see how Guerin fills the void left by Brodin. Depending on the duration of his absence, the team may shift Marco Rossi’s trade negotiations towards a readily available top-four option. Still, due to their urgent need for a second-line center, Minnesota is likely to wait for Brodin’s return and utilize internal candidates to fill the gap.

Team Sweden Announces 2025 World Championship Roster

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Team Sweden has announced their roster for the upcoming 2025 IIHF World Championships. The ’Tre Konor’ will look to finish higher than third place in the international tournament for the first time since 2018.

The team will look similar to the one Sweden brought to the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. Filip Forsberg, Lucas Raymond, and Mika Zibanejad will reprise their roles as Sweden’s top forwards, while Rasmus Andersson and Jonas Brodin will lead the defensive core.

Unfortunately, the team will be without forward William Eklund for the tournament due to offseason wrist surgery. Sweden is expected to announce Eklund’s replacement in the coming days. The rest of Team Sweden’s roster is as follows:

F Mikael Backlund (Flames)
F Anton Bengtsson (Rögle BK)
F Leo Carlsson (Ducks)
F Christoffer Ehn (Linköping HC)
F Filip Forsberg (Predators)
F Max Friberg (Frölunda HC)
F Jesper Frödén (ZSC Lions)
F Marcus Johansson (Wild)
F Elias Lindholm (Bruins)
F Isac Lundeström (Ducks)
F Lucas Raymond (Red Wings)
F Alexander Wennberg (Sharks)
F Mika Zibanejad (Rangers)

D Rasmus Andersson (Flames)
D Jonas Brodin (Wild)
D Gabriel Carlsson (EV Zug)
D Simon Edvinsson (Red Wings)
D Adam Larsson (Kraken)
D Marcus Pettersson (Canucks)

G Samuel Ersson (Flyers)
G Jacob Markström (Devils)
G Arvid Söderblom (Blackhawks)

Latest On Minnesota Wild Injuries

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March 26: The Wild returned Crotty to the minors late last night after he didn’t enter the lineup, per a team announcement.

March 25: Throughout each season, a handful of teams fall into the well of persistent injury bugs. For yet another year, the Minnesota Wild have found themselves firmly in that rut – with persistent injuries holding stars like Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Jonas Brodin to fewer than 45 games each. All three options remain sidelined as April rolls around, though recent updates could see them back in the fold soon.

Minnesota recalled depth defenseman Cameron Crotty under emergency conditions on Tuesday morning. The move was made in case Brodin – who sat out of Monday night’s 3-0 loss to Dallas for rest – was unable to go once again, per Michael Russo of The Athletic. But with Tuesday’s matchup against Vegas drawing close, Russo has updated that Brodin will in fact play per head coach John Hynes. Crotty could still get a chance to go, though – as Russo has shared that Declan Chisholm is day-to-day with a lower-body injury after blocking a shot from Matt Dumba on Monday.

Assuming he’s in, Crotty will be playing in just the second NHL game of his career on Tuesday, after debuting with the Arizona Coyotes last year. The right-shot 25-year-old has managed eight assists, 47 penalty minutes, and a minus-nine in 56 AHL games this season. Those totals are a slight downtick from the 13 points he potted in 64 games of the 2022-23 season, then repeated in 55 games of the 2023-24 season.

Crotty landed as the Wild’s emergency recall after top prospect and routine middle-man David Jiricek was himself injured in the Iowa Wild’s Monday night contest. Jiricek had seven assists in 27 AHL games. No specifics have been revealed about his injury or timeline, but Russo shares that he’s expected to be out for a while. None of Minnesota’s other AHL defensemen – including Carson Lambos, David Spacek, Joseph Cecconi, and Ryan O’Rourke – have yet made their NHL debuts.

Despite the mess of news surrounding the Wild’s blue-line, they’ll enter Tuesday’s game with positive momentum. Brodin is a major addition to the lineup, and showed flashes of bouncing back to form when he recorded an assist on Saturday, playing in his first game after a month-long absence due to injury. He skated in 21 minutes of action, just shy of the 22:38 in ice time that Brodin has averaged through 39 games this season. In those minutes, he’s recorded 19 points, 14 penalty minutes, and a plus-11. Those are strong numbers that, mixed with the rookie Crotty, should help make up for the hold Chisholm leaves on Minnesota’s bottom pair. Chisholm has 12 points, 10 penalty minutes, and a minus-five in 61 games this season. He’s playing through his first full year in the NHL after marking his rookie season last year.

The Wild have more good news waiting in their wings. Russo went on to share that stars Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek are both expected to begin skating this weekend. The pair have been in-and-out of the lineup, with Kaprizov missing 21 games and Eriksson Ek missing 14 with their current injuries. It’s an understatement to say the two are crucial to the Wild lineup. They operate as clear top-line and special teams options for the club, and each average near or north of 20 minutes of ice time each game. Kaprizov led the team in scoring at the time of his injury with 23 goals and 52 points in just 37 games. That mark put him on pace for an amazing 115 points, which would have upended his career-high, and the Wild single-season scoring record, of 108 points set in the 2021-22 season. Eriksson Ek has been far more modest, with just 24 points in 42 games – though his all-three-zones impact has made his absences noticeable.

Minnesota has seen a surge from their 23-year-olds in the absence of their stars. Winger Matt Boldy now leads the team in scoring with 23 goals and 60 points on the season. Center Marco Rossi isn’t too far behind him, with 22 goals and 54 points in as many games. The pair will likely both take a hit to their ice time and special teams usage when Minnesota is back to full health, though their breakout performances are a clear indication of what’s soon to come for the Wild.

Central Notes: Brodin, Bolduc, Predators

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The Minnesota Wild have opted to pull defenseman Jonas Brodin back out of the lineup with three games over the next four days, per Joe Smith of The Athletic. Brodin returned from a month-long absence on Friday, after recovering from missing 12 games with a lower-body injury. Head coach John Hynes told Smith that Brodin’s absence was precautionary, and that the defender hadn’t re-aggravated his previous injury.

The news that Brodin’s health hasn’t gotten worse will be a silver lining for Wild fans. But missing the top defender is still a tough pill to swallow. Brodin has played in just 39 games this season, but he’s looked strong when he’s on the ice – marked by 19 points and a plus-11 on the season. Brodin seemed to jump right back into play in Friday’s game, playing through 20 minutes of ice time and recording one assist and one penalty. But Minnesota will opt to be cautious with their top-pair guy – opting to not tempt fait with each of Marcus Foligno, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Kirill Kaprizov still out of the lineup. Jon Merrill and Declan Chisholm will man the minutes opened up by Brodin’s absence.

Other notes from the Central Division:

  • Top St. Louis Blues youngster Zachary Bolduc is continuing to reach new milestones in his young NHL career. The Department of Player Safety has penalized Bolduc with the first fine of his career, after he cross-checked Nashville Predators defenseman Nick Blankenburg in Saturday night’s game. Bolduc will forfeit $2,248.26 for the incident – the max allowable under the CBA. The young winger has been a focal point of the Blues’ league-best 12-2-2 record since the 4-Nations Face-Off break. He has four points in his last five games, and 11 points in 16 games since the league returned. Bolduc has managed those totals despite averaging just 13 minutes of ice time each night. With that in mind, St. Louis will breathe a sigh of relief that Bolduc was fined rather than suspended. He’ll continue to contribute on a nightly basis, as the Blues look to continue blazing their path to the playoffs.
  • The Nashville Predators have announced a four-year extension with AHL affiliate the Milwaukee Admirals per Predators beat reporter Brooks Bratten. The deal will run through the 2028-29 season and will mark 30 years of partnership between the two sides when it next expires. Nashville announced Milwaukee as an IHL affiliate immediately upon joining the NHL in 1998. The Admirals moved to the AHL three years later and have made the playoffs in 19 of 21 seasons since then. That includes winning the Calder Cup in 2oo4 and making the Finals in 2006. Milwaukee currently ranks second in the AHL’s Central Division and is one of just three minor league clubs to already clinch a postseason berth. Their success comes in part thanks to top Predators prospects such as Ozzy Wiesblatt, Joakim Kemell, and Ryan Ufko.

Wild Recall Liam Öhgren And Cameron Crotty

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Minnesota Wild President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin announced today the team has recalled forward Liam Öhgren and defender Cameron Crotty from Iowa on an emergency basis, per a team announcement. The Wild will face-off against the Dallas Stars on Monday, and forward Marcus Foligno (who has missed three straight contests) remains day-to-day as he works his way back from an upper-body injury.

Öhgren was just reassigned to the AHL yesterday after being recalled by the Wild under an emergency loan to fill in for a sick Marcus Johansson who couldn’t suit up in a recent game against the Seattle Kraken. Öhgren has played in 35 games for the Wild this season, recording five points (including a goal in the game against the Kraken). The 20-year-old was Minnesota’s first round selection in the 2022 draft. While he’s struggled to make an offensive impact with the Wild in limited action this season, he has posted 28 points in 29 games in the AHL on the year.

Crotty has spent the entire year in Iowa, where he has registered zero goals and eight assists in 56 games. Originally a third-round selection by the Arizona Coyotes, Crotty has laced up in 275 career AHL games but has only skated in one NHL contest – a cup of coffee with the Coyotes during the 2023-24 season. Crotty, 25, also played three years at Boston University.

The Wild did receive good news with the return of defender Jonas Brodin, who played Saturday after being out of the lineup since Feb. 28 with a lower-body injury. Brodin has struggled with injuries throughout the season, suiting up in just 39 games. But when healthy, the 31-year-old has recorded 19 points and a plus-11 rating. And in addition to Brodin’s return, the Wild are expecting superstar Kirill Kaprizov to start skating as soon as this upcoming week, per The Athletic’s Michael Russo. The goal, according to Russo, would be to get Kaprizov a few regular season games to knock some rust off ahead of the playoffs. The return of Kaprizov would no doubt spark Minnesota’s sputtering offensive. Despite currently finding themselves in the top wild card position in the west, the Wild have only scored 195 goals on the season and are the only Western Conference team currently in playoff position with a negative goal differential on the year.

 

Wild Reassign David Jiříček, Jonas Brodin Likely To Return

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The Wild announced they’ve reassigned top right-shot defense prospect David Jiříček to AHL Iowa. That bodes well for the likelihood of top shutdown rearguard Jonas Brodin returning to the lineup tomorrow against the Sabres, something head coach John Hynes called a “strong possibility” today (via Michael Russo of The Athletic).

Jiříček’s latest stint on the Minnesota roster was nothing to write home about. After being recalled on March 1 following Brodin’s injury, he sat as a healthy scratch for nine straight games while depth veteran Jonathon Merrill got an extended run in the lineup instead. Jiříček told Joe Smith of The Athletic this week that while he was disappointed with the lack of playing time, he preferred the development work with the NHL staff instead of spending time in Iowa amid a light schedule for the minor-league club over the past few weeks.

Since the Wild acquired the 2022 No. 6 overall pick from the Blue Jackets in November, he’s suited up just six times for them while posting a goal and an assist with a plus-two rating. That’s much better than what he’s shown in Iowa, where he’s failed to score and has just six assists with a minus-two rating in 26 appearances for the struggling affiliate. Before spending most of last year in the NHL with Columbus, Jiříček was an AHL All-Star in 2022-23 amid a 38-point showing in 55 games with Cleveland.

He’ll now return to the farm for the stretch run. Iowa likely won’t be making the Calder Cup Playoffs, sitting 10 points back of a spot with 14 games remaining, so he should be on Minnesota’s playoff roster. Despite their recent struggles, the team still has a 93.8% chance of clinching a playoff berth, per MoneyPuck.

Getting Brodin back is a tremendous defensive boost to a team needing to keep pucks out of their net, with Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov’s absences limiting their offensive upside. He missed nine games with a lower-body issue, another in a string of ailments for the 31-year-old Swede this season. He’s only appeared in 38 of 69 contests for the Wild, clinching his third straight season without hitting the 70-game mark.

When healthy, he’s been his usual self – if not even better, tossing in a bit more offensively than normal – with 4-14–18 with a +10 rating while averaging 22:42 per game. He continues to have positive possession impacts in difficult shutdown deployment.

Evening Notes: Svechnikov, Brodin, Capobianco

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A new week rolling around has brought updates on injured and absent players to teams around the league. The most impactful news lands in Carolina, where the Hurricanes welcomed top-line winger Andrei Svechnikov back to the practice sheet after he missed the last three games with an upper-body injury. It was Svechnikov’s first multi-game absence of the season.

Svechnikov has built a tendency for long-term injuries. He’s only played more than 70 games in a single season twice in his seven-year NHL career – first in his rookie season, when he played in all 82 games, and then in the 2021-22 campaign, when he appeared in 78 games. The other five years of his career have been marred by injury, including a torn ACL that required an extended absence. Those missed games have held Svehcnikov back from reach top scoring totals, despite the fact that he tallied 72 goals and 176 points in 201 games between 2022 and 2024. That scoring pace would equate to 71 points across an 82-game season – a pace Svechnikov falls just shy of with his 43 points in 63 games this year. Still, his ability to stick in the lineup this year has been encouraging. Now back to full health once again, he’ll look to jump back up the scoring charts with 15 games left in Carolina’s season.

More notes from around the league:

  • Top-pair Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin also returned to practice on Monday per Joe Smith of The Athletic. Smith adds that head coach John Hynes dubbed Brodin as day-to-day and out for Monday night’s game. The top shutdown defender has missed Minnesota’s last seven games with a lower-body injury, pulling him deeper into the well of absences this year. He’s now played in just 38 of the Wild’s 67 games on the year. Those routine absences have held Brodin to just 18 points on the season. That mark stands as the highest points-per-game average of Brodin’s career (.474), just narrowly beating out his previous career high set when he scored 27 points in 62 games last season (.435). But without a clean bill of health, Brodin hasn’t had a chance to relish in a newfound scoring gear. For yet another time this season, he’ll now be tasked with getting back to full speed so he can support Minnesota’s top defense pair with a tough streak coming up.
  • The Dallas Stars have reassigned depth defenseman Kyle Capobianco after recalling him on Saturday to fill in for the ill Lian Bichsel. Capobianco served as Dallas’ seventh man in their Saturday night matchup against the Colorado Avalanche, while Brendan Smith filled Bichsel’s role. This was only Capobianco’s second call-up since joining the Dallas Stars organization this summer. He appeared in his only NHL game of the season on January 31st – and set no scoring, four penalty minutes, and a minus-two in 11:23 of ice time. He’s otherwise been a fixture of the AHL lineup, where he’s managed an impressive 35 points in 49 games. That mark leads the AHL Texas Stars’ blue-line in scoring, though it is slightly below the scoring pace that led Capobianco to 54 points in 69 games with the Manitoba Moose last season.

Central Notes: O’Brien, Brodin, Hintz, Bichsel

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Utah Hockey Club forward Liam O’Brien was injured in the third period of Friday night’s game against the Kraken. After a quick 17-second shift to test the injury, O’Brien left for the locker room and did not return. Following the game, Utah Head Coach André Tourigny didn’t provide an update on O’Brien and the extent of the injury isn’t known, per Brogan Houston of the Deseret News. The rough and tumble O’Brien was hit awkwardly into the boards by Seattle’s Tye Kartye, and the injury appears to be of the upper-body variety. O’Brien isn’t unfamiliar with laying hits of his own, as he the 30-year-old has registered 98 hits in 27 games this season and is coming off of back-to-back 200-plus hit seasons. He has been a fixture on Utah’s fourth line during the team’s recent jump up the standings. If O’Brien is to miss time, veteran Nick Bjugstad could slide back into the lineup after recently being activated from the IR.

More from the Central Division:

  • In other injury news, Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin has skated three straight days as he seeks to return from a lower-body injury, per Michael Russo of The Athletic. The veteran of 841 career games, Brodin had been a key contributor for the Wild, aided by his plus-10 rating and 22:42 of ice time per game. Brodin, 31, left the Wild’s game against the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 28 and GM Bill Guerin announced soon after that Brodin would be sidelined on a week-to-week basis. The injury was believed to be caused by a shot block. Regardless of the cause, Brodin’s return to the lineup will no doubt support Minnesota’s efforts in solidifying their position in the playoff seedings. The team currently finds themselves in the first wildcard spot in the west, but has sputtered to a 4-5-1 record over their last 10 contests.
  • The Stars are also getting a few key players back in the fold, as left winger Roope Hintz (face) and defender Lian Bichsel (illness) skated with the team today, per Stars reporter Mike Heika. The return of Hintz is an obvious boost to the lineup, as the 28-year-old is on his way to his fourth-straight 30-plus goal season. Hintz was injured when he took a puck to the face during a contest against the Oilers on March 8. In 59 contests this season, Hintz has 25 goals, 26 assists, and 51 points. Bichsel missed the Stars’ Friday night matchup against the Wild due to illness and was replaced in the lineup by veteran Brendan Smith. The 20-year-old Bichsel has looked the part of an NHL-ready player, posting five points and a plus-6 rating in his first 22 career contests. Bichsel was the organization’s first-round selection in the 2021 draft (18th overall). It remains to be seen if Hintz and/or Bichsel will be available for tomorrow’s matchup against the Ducks.

Wild Notes: Brodin, Bogosian, Deadline Plans

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Another day, another longer-term injury for the Minnesota Wild. NHL.com writer Jessi Pierce shared that defenseman Jonas Brodin is expected to miss the next few weeks with a lower-body injury. One can reasonably assume that Brodin will be placed on the injured reserve relatively soon, but Minnesota didn’t announce any such roster move, despite confirming the news.

The 13-year veteran for the Wild exited the team’s recent game against the Colorado Avalanche after playing in only 15:47 of action. He earned a -2 rating while blocking four shots and putting one on the net. As one of the better defensive-minded players on the roster, Brodin’s exit from Minnesota’s lineup won’t help the team improve upon the 3.75 GA/G average they sustained throughout February.

Brodin, who’s dealt with multiple injuries the last few years, joins forwards Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov as Wild players out with longer-term injuries. Thankfully, there is some positive news on the injury front. Pierce also mentioned defenseman Zach Bogosian will return today from his minor lower-body injury. The former third-overall pick of the 2008 NHL Draft missed Minnesota’s intra-divisional matchup on Friday against the Avalanche.

Although this is a perfect time to replace injured players in the NHL calendar, the Wild aren’t expected to do much else. Pierce later shared that Minnesota is expecting back Brodin, Eriksson Ek, and Kaprizov before the regular season’s conclusion, which will have some financial limitations.

The Wild made one addition yesterday by acquiring Gustav Nyquist (50% retained) from the Nashville Predators for a 2026 second-round pick. Still, they later had to reassign forwards Marat Khusnutdinov and Liam Ohgren to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, to make the money work.

Because of the salary cap burden, general manager Bill Guerin shared with The Athletic’s Michael Russo that any further trade before Friday’s deadline must be “penny in, penny out.” Normally, Bogosian’s, Jonathon Merrill’s, or Declan Chisholm’s contracts would be reasonable trade fodder in a money-in, money-out deal. Unfortunately, the numerous injuries on Minnesota’s blue line should preclude them from moving out additional depth. The quote from Guerin likely means the Wild are done making moves for the deadline season.

Wild Activate Jonas Brodin, Marcus Johansson

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As expected, the Wild announced they’ve activated defenseman Jonas Brodin from long-term injured reserve and winger Marcus Johansson from standard IR ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Bruins. Minnesota assigned forward Ben Jones to AHL Iowa in a corresponding transaction to open a required space on the active roster.

Brodin and Johansson were full participants in practice Monday, leading most to assume they’d be in tonight’s lineup. The former has missed 12 games with a lower-body injury sustained against the Hurricanes on Jan. 7, while Johansson sat out the last eight with a concussion he suffered on an elbow from Oilers star Connor McDavid on Jan. 15.

Their returns are key reinforcements for the Wild amid Kirill Kaprizov’s LTIR stint following lower-body surgery last week and a 10-game suspension to winger Ryan Hartman handed down yesterday by the Department of Player Safety. In the interim, Minnesota will have plenty of cap flexibility, with Kaprizov fueling a $9.02MM LTIR pool. However, roster management will be an issue, as Hartman still takes up a spot during his suspension.

Brodin likely returns to a top-four role besides captain Jared Spurgeon following his third multi-game absence of the season. He missed a pair of contests in November with an upper-body injury before sitting out another eight with a similar injury weeks later.

The Wild went 5-7-0 without Brodin in their last 12 games and have a 12-10-0 without his services on the season. When healthy, the 31-year-old has the best offensive campaign of his 13-year career. He has 16 points through 31 appearances for a career-high 0.51 points per game, averaging north of 23 minutes per game for the second straight season and anchoring the team’s top penalty-kill unit.

He aims to stabilize a Minnesota defense that has faltered since the calendar flipped to 2025. Since New Year’s, they have allowed 3.20 goals against per game, ranking 26th out of 32 teams. Similarly, their 31.3 shots against per game rank 28th.

It’s not time to hit the panic button in the State of Hockey yet. They still have a two-point cushion on the Avalanche for third place in the Central Division with a game in hand, and Hockey Reference still gives them a 97.1% chance of making the playoffs. But it’s been ugly when they’ve lost – four of their seven Ls since the beginning of January have been by at least four goals.

While Johansson hasn’t had the offensive impact they hoped for this year, he’s still an upgrade over most of their depth options and will take pressure off other overtaxed wingers in Kaprizov’s and Hartman’s absence. The 15-year veteran is averaging 16 minutes per game this season and has five goals and 11 assists in 44 games. He’s shooting at a career-low 7.4% rate but posts decent possession metrics, with a 48.5 CF% and +2.1 expected rating at even strength.

Johansson will skate at left wing on a line with Marcus Foligno and Marco Rossi, Joe Smith of The Athletic reports. He’s also likely to continue seeing second powerplay unit duties as he has for most of the year.

Jones, 25, returns to Iowa after being recalled last week following the news of Kaprizov’s surgery. He was only rostered as an extra forward and did not play in any of the Wild’s three games since being added to the roster.

He’s still looking for his first NHL point, failing to produce any offense across 26 appearances throughout the year. While he’s been a non-factor in the NHL, he’s been a top-six contributor for Iowa with 14 points in 20 games. He’s in the first season of a two-year, two-way commitment he signed as a free agent last summer.

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