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Liam Ohgren

Minnesota Wild Recall Eight Players As Black Aces

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According to a team announcement, the Minnesota Wild have recalled eight players to serve as Black Aces for the team’s playoff run. The players are forwards Travis Boyd, Brendan Gaunce, Hunter Haight, Ben Jones, and Liam Ohgren, defensemen Cameron Crotty and Carson Lambos, and goaltender Samuel Hlavaj.

Minnesota’s AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, didn’t qualify for the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs, giving them plenty of flexibility to recall so many players. It is unlikely that any of the eight will appear in a playoff game this postseason. The Wild will want to prioritize experience in their opening round matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights, and Haight, Lambos, and Hlavaj have yet to debut in the NHL, let alone in the playoffs.

Boyd is the only member of the group with postseason experience. From 2017 to 2020, he appeared in six playoff games with the Washington Capitals, scoring one goal and averaging 10:46 of ice time per game. Unfortunately, since Boyd didn’t feature in at least 41 games that season, and didn’t play in the Stanley Cup Final, he doesn’t have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup with the Capitals.

Meanwhile, the quartet of Gaunce, Jones, Ohgren, and Crotty combined for two goals and six points in 63 games for Minnesota this season, with Ohgren scoring both goals and tallying three of the assists. Given the lack of usage throughout the regular season, an unexpected injury during their series against the Golden Knights would be the only feasible reason for any of them to get inserted into the lineup.

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.

 

West Notes: Norris, Girard, Ohgren, Dach

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While Ottawa ultimately moved center Josh Norris within the division when they traded him to the Sabres on trade deadline day this month, that wasn’t the only team they had serious talks with.  Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reported earlier this week that the Sens held trade talks with the Canucks and Predators before the deadline but obviously, neither move materialized.  Nashville certainly had ample salary cap space to absorb his $7.95MM cap charge along with three first-round picks but didn’t have the young impact center to send that Buffalo did in Dylan Cozens.  Vancouver, meanwhile, would have been able to cover Norris’ cap charge as well (though longer term, it would have been a challenge) but also lacked the core center to go the other way with Elias Pettersson pulled out of trade talks before the deadline.

More from out West:

  • Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard won’t play tonight against Montreal due to a lower-body injury, notes Corey Masisak of The Denver Post (Bluesky link). The 26-year-old suffered the injury late in Wednesday’s game against Toronto and was out the following night in Ottawa.  Already missing Josh Manson, Colorado’s recently strengthened defensive depth is certainly getting tested.  Girard has 22 points and 94 blocked shots in 66 games this season while averaging just under 21 minutes a night.
  • After being recalled on Tuesday on an emergency basis, the Wild announced (Twitter link) that winger Liam Ohgren has been returned to AHL Iowa. The 21-year-old got into the lineup on Wednesday but with Marcus Johansson returning today against Buffalo, the emergency conditions no longer existed, necessitating his demotion or conversion to a regular recall which would have counted against their post-deadline limit of four.  Ohgren is in his first full season in North America and has five points in 24 games with Minnesota but has been quite productive on the farm, tallying 14 goals and 14 assists in 28 outings with Iowa.
  • Blackhawks winger Colton Dach won’t play tonight against St. Louis due to an elbow injury, relays NHL.com’s Tracey Myers (Twitter link). The 22-year-old has been a regular for Chicago since being recalled in early January, getting into 25 games.  In those outings, he has two goals and five assists along with 86 assists while averaging a little over 12 minutes a night in his first taste of NHL action.

Wild Recall Liam Ohgren Under Emergency Conditions

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The Minnesota Wild have recalled top wing prospect Liam Ohgren under emergency conditions. The move comes after an unnamed member of the Wild fell sick, per Michael Russo of The Athletic. Forward Marcus Foligno is also facing a day-to-day absence and sat out of Monday’s game. Ohgren will be eligible to play should both Foligno and the ill Wild player both need to sit out. The Wild’s next game comes against Seattle on Wednesday.

This move returns Ohgren to the NHL roster after 11 days, and four games, in the minor leagues. He didn’t manage any scoring in his first two games back in the minors, but amassed two goals and five points in a pair of games this weekend. That scoring brought Ohgren up to 28 points, split evenly, in 29 AHL games this season. He is the only Iowa Wild skater still rivaling point-per-game scoring, and ranks sixth on the team in total points despite playing fewer games than Iowa forward with more than 10 points.

Despite hot scoring in the minors, Ohgren still hasn’t found his groove at the NHL level. He has just four points in 23 games with Minnesota this season, adding to his two points in four NHL games last year. The Wild have moved Ohgren around the bottom-six to try and spark his scoring, though he’s averaged just 11:06 in ice time through the full season.

This call-up will give Ohgren another chance to spark his NHL scoring after a hot weekend in the minor leagues. He’ll need specific circumstances to prompt a return to the Minnesota lineup, including another absence for lineup fixture Foligno – who’s scored 22 points in 67 games from a third-line role this season. Ohgren will likely absorb most of Foligno’s minutes, should he get to play.

Wild Recall David Jiricek, Reassign Two

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The Minnesota Wild have recalled defenseman David Jiricek and reassigned forwards Marat Khusnutdinov and Liam Ohgren. The moves clear space for winger Gustav Nyquist, who Minnesota acquired from the Nashville Predators for a second-round pick on Saturday morning.

Jiricek’s recall comes after news that both Zach Bogosian and Jonas Brodin are banged up. Bogosian sat out of Minnesota’s Friday game with a lower-body injury, per NHL.com’s Joe Smith. Brodin played just 15:47 of the outing, and his availability remains up in the air per Michael Russo of The Athletic.

Jiricek will be the beneficiary of any open minutes, after he recorded his first point in seven AHL games on Friday. He’s struggled to find a consistent rut in the Wild organization, with two points in six NHL games and six points in 26 AHL games. The Wild acquired Jiricek from the Columbus Blue Jackets on November 30th, sending Daemon Hunt and three draft picks the other way. Jiricek is in his third season in North America, and his cold scoring has dragged through every year. He has 66 points in 114 career AHL games, and 13 points in 59 NHL games.

The Wild’s swap of forwards in this mix might not sway their scoring a ton. Ohgren and Khusnutdinov have combined for just four points across their last 10 games. Ohgren has often served as Minnesota’s extra forward, with just four points in 23 games this season. Khusnutdinov has served a hardier role as the fourth-line center, but has just seven points in 57 games. Nyquist has confidently outscored both youngster in his time with Nashville – netting 21 points in 57 games – but he’s managed just one assist in his last 10 NHL games.

Nyquist had a stint with the Wild during the 2022-23 season as well. He scored five points in three games on that stint, but an upper-body injury kept him from stepping into the lineup more before hitting unrestricted free agency. With these moves, Minnesota has carved out the lineup spot needed to give Nyquist a truer look this time around.

Minnesota Wild Recall Liam Öhgren, Devin Shore, Dylan Ferguson

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10:42 a.m.: The Wild confirmed the recalls in a team announcement and also said they’ve summoned goaltender Dylan Ferguson to serve as a practice exception until Filip Gustavsson returns to the club following his performance for Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Ferguson won’t count against the 23-player limit, which is good since they have a full complement with Öhgren and Shore back up. He’ll return to the minors before the weekend.

8:00 a.m.: With many players returning to practice today for their respective teams, a few previously reassigned before the 4 Nations Face-Off break will be recalled. The Minnesota Wild are starting early, as the AHL transactions page confirms they’ve recalled forwards Liam Öhgren and Devin Shore from their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild.

There was no question the Wild would need to recall a pair of forwards. Aside from the few players on the roster still participating in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, injuries to Kirill Kaprizov and Jakub Lauko will likely prohibit them from skating while Ryan Hartman is dealing with the ramifications of a 10-game suspension.

Neither Öhgren nor Shore has been a game-changing talent for Minnesota this year but they’ve each played more than a handful of games. Öhgren has scored one goal and four points in 19 games for the Wild this season averaging 11:02 of ice time per game. The former 19th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft is only six games away from officially registering his rookie campaign.

While Öhgren has typically played on the team’s third line when on the roster, Shore has been limited to a fourth-line role. He’s scored one goal and three points in 34 games this year averaging 8:28 of ice time per night. Minnesota sent Shore through waivers shortly before the 4 Nations Face-Off started giving them a fair amount of flexibility with him for the foreseeable future.

Minor Transactions: 2/9/25

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The league will continue to see many AHL demotions today after all but four teams wrapped up their pre-4 Nations Face-Off break schedule on Saturday. We’ve already seen a few this morning, namely in Pittsburgh and Boston, and we will continue to track the rest in this article as fringe players head to the minors to get playing time over the next few weeks.

  • The Predators announced they’ve reassigned wingers Joakim Kemell, Ozzy Wiesblatt, and defenseman Kevin Gravel to AHL Milwaukee. They now have three open roster spots, two of which could go to IR-bound Mark Jankowski and Jeremy Lauzon in the likely event they’re ready to return from injury when their schedule resumes on Feb. 22. The most notable of the trio is Kemell, who made his NHL debut across Nashville’s Friday-Saturday back-to-back and managed eight shots on goal across the pair of games. However, he’s still looking for his first NHL point. The 2022 first-rounder has 9-16–25 in 38 AHL contests this season.
  • Wild winger Liam Ohgren will return to AHL Iowa over the break, per a team announcement. The fellow 2022 first-rounder has bounced between Minnesota and Iowa this year but spent the past couple of weeks filling in the Wild’s top six with Marcus Johansson and Kirill Kaprizov missing time. It hasn’t been an overly productive first look in the NHL for the Swedish winger, who’s managed 2-4–6 in 23 appearances since debuting late last season. He’ll likely be back up after the break, with Kaprizov still set to miss another couple of weeks following lower-body surgery.
  • The Sharks reassigned forwards Collin Graf and Andrew Poturalski and defenseman Jack Thompson to AHL San Jose, the club said. Their post-break returns likely depend on the health of Nikolai Kovalenko, Jan Rutta, and Nico Sturm, all of whom enter the break on injured reserve with day-to-day designations. If all three are ready to return, the Sharks will need those roster spots to activate them, as they were carrying a full roster before this morning’s moves.
  • The Blues sent forward Zachary Bolduc down to AHL Springfield this morning. It’s just the second time this season he’s been assigned to Springfield, and the first was a one-day demotion before opening night to help St. Louis optimize their LTIR capture. The 21-year-old has 6-12–18 through 46 games and will return to the NHL following the break. In the meantime, the 2021 first-round pick will continue to get reps in Springfield amid a promising sophomore campaign in the majors with good possession numbers.
  • Blackhawks rookie defenseman Ethan Del Mastro is back down with AHL Rockford, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The 22-year-old lefty has one assist and 13 hits in six games since being recalled on Jan. 23. His 52.0 CF% at even strength is far above team average and is a promising sign for the 2021 fourth-rounder’s prospects at making the opening night roster next year. The 6’4″, 210-lb active defender has eight assists in 38 showings with Rockford this year, along with a plus-four rating.
  • The Rangers returned goaltender Dylan Garand to AHL Hartford after his services were needed to backup Jonathan Quick in last night’s 4-3 win over the Blue Jackets. The 22-year-old will only be back up after the break if Igor Shesterkin, who missed the game due to an upper-body injury, isn’t cleared to return. The 2020 fourth-rounder is coming off an appearance in the AHL All-Star Classic and has a 2.68 GAA, .913 SV%, three shutouts, and a 12-7-4 record in 23 showings for Hartford.
  • The Utah Hockey Club has assigned Josh Doan to the minor-leagues per Cole Bagley of KSL Sports. This move is likely intended to keep Doan on the ice while the club prepares for their two-week break. Doan has been in the NHL roster routinely since January 10th. He has five points in 15 games in that span, including two in his last two games. He’s been highly impactful even despite modest scoring totals, and should get a chance to continue carving out a role when Utah returns on February 22nd.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Latest On The Wild’s Injuries

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The Wild have not had a pleasant past few weeks. They haven’t had a fully healthy lineup since Nov. 10, and injuries have really come to the forefront recently. Cap restrictions forced them to transfer star winger Kirill Kaprizov to long-term injured reserve yesterday.

Things are beginning to turn around, albeit slowly. Top defenseman Brock Faber is expected to return to the lineup tomorrow in Nashville after missing four games with an upper-body injury, head coach John Hynes told NHL.com’s Jessi Pierce. He also confirmed that winger Jakub Lauko will play after being previously activated from LTIR on Thursday.

They’ll still remain without Kaprizov for their next two games, though, as neither he nor captain Jared Spurgeon will make their brief Central Division road trip, Hynes added. Kaprizov is eligible to come back off LTIR at any time after already missing the required time with his lower-body injury, while Spurgeon remains sidelined due to the lower-body injury he sustained on a slew foot from Predators forward Zachary L’Heureux on New Year’s Eve.

Stalwart defender Jonas Brodin is also staying home while he continues to nurse a lower-body injury and Marcus Johansson is unavailable after his recent concussion landed him on IR yesterday, so that makes four roster regulars, and impactful ones at that, sidelined for at least Minnesota’s next two games. All of their roster maneuvering allowed the club to recall forwards Brendan Gaunce, Liam Ohgren, and Devin Shore from AHL Iowa over the past 24 hours, per PuckPedia, who detailed how the order in which those transactions were executed affected their delicate salary cap situation. After the moves, they’re back to having ample breathing room with $7.45MM in their LTIR pool, although they’ll need to figure out how to reinstate Kaprizov when he’s ready to come back in the next week or so.

While the Wild have understandably dropped three of their last four games, they’re still in a battle for second in the Central Division with a 27-14-4 record. They’re a virtual playoff lock at a 96.5% chance and still have a 9.7% chance of winning their second division title in franchise history, per Hockey Reference.

While Gaunce, Ohgren and Shore bring a decent mix of veteran professional experience and, in Ohgren’s case, long-term top-six upside, they’ve combined for just one assist in 38 appearances this season. Each has averaged under 10 minutes per game and posted ghastly possession numbers, particularly in Gaunce’s case with a 29.2 CF% at even strength in five showings.

Wild Reassign Liam Ohgren, Jesper Wallstedt

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Dec. 4: The Wild announced Wednesday that they reassigned Ohgren and Wallstedt to Iowa. Ohgren did not suit up against Vancouver – evidently, the recalls were for salary cap management purposes to optimize Zuccarello’s LTIR capture.

Dec. 3: The Wild have recalled top prospects Liam Ohgren and Jesper Wallstedt from AHL Iowa ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Canucks, per a team release. The team placed defenseman Jonas Brodin and left-winger Jakub Lauko on injured reserve to open spots on the active roster and also moved right-winger Mats Zuccarello from IR to LTIR to open up the necessary cap space.

Ohgren, 20, made Minnesota’s opening night roster but struggled out of the gate, posting no points and a -2 rating in seven appearances while averaging under 10 minutes a night before being assigned to Iowa at the end of October. He was recalled under emergency conditions for a game against the Stars last month but has otherwise spent all his time in the minors since.

The 2022 first-round pick has fared much better in the AHL, quickly proving himself as one of the club’s most efficient goal-scorers with five in eight contests. It’s unclear if he’ll unseat recent AHL call-ups Ben Jones or Devin Shore for a spot in the lineup tonight with Lauko and Zuccarello still out, but it seems likely.

In Wallstedt’s case, it’s similarly uncertain if they plan to give the 22-year-old his first start of the season between the pipes. Michael Russo of The Athletic “has a sense” that his recall is primarily to get him working with Minnesota’s NHL goaltending staff, one that’s worked wonders to help Filip Gustavsson along to a vicious resurgence this season.

Wallstedt, the 20th overall pick in the 2021 draft, is off to a nightmarish start in Iowa in what the Wild hoped would be his last season seeing minor-league ice. After back-to-back AHL All-Star Game appearances, the 6’3″ Swede has just a .860 SV% and 4.34 GAA in 10 games with Iowa this year behind a 3-6-1 record. Minnesota inked Wallstedt to a two-year, $4.4MM extension in October that goes into effect for the 2025-26 campaign.

Brodin’s IR placement doesn’t affect the stalwart’s return timeline. The 31-year-old has already missed three games with an upper-body injury and remains day-to-day for now. He last played on Nov. 25 against the Jets, so he can come off the injured list at any time.

In 19 games this season, Brodin has two goals and six assists for eight points with a +7 rating. His 45 blocked shots are second on the team behind Jacob Middleton’s 61.

Lauko, 24, also last suited up in the Winnipeg game last week, so his situation is pretty much the same. He’s still listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury, and while he won’t play tonight, he hasn’t been ruled out for Friday’s game against the Ducks. He has two goals and two assists in 21 games for Minnesota in a fourth-line role after being acquired in an offseason swap with the Bruins.

Zuccarello underwent lower-body surgery on Nov. 14 and is expected back sometime in the next two weeks, although the move to LTIR means he won’t be back until Tuesday against Utah at the soonest.

Snapshots: Wild, Perets, Edvinsson, Rasmussen

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The Minnesota Wild have assigned forwards Liam Ohgren and Michael Milne, and defender Daemon Hunt, to the AHL as they anticipate the return of Jonas Brodin and Joel Eriksson Ek. Michael Russo of The Athletic points out that, even with the two veterans returning, the team will likely call another forward up in the coming days.

Ohgren made his return to the lineup, and Milne his NHL debut, in Saturday’s loss to the Dallas Stars. Neither had much to show for their minutes, with Ohgren recording two shots in 12:10 and Milne recording three hits in 6:34. Another scoreless night pulled Ohgren through his eighth game this season with no points. Hunt hasn’t stepped into the lineup since being recalled on November 12th, though he did play one NHL game in October. All three have been far more productive with the AHL’s Iowa Wild – where Ohgren has four goals in four games; Hunt has two assists in six games; and Milne has eight points in 10 games. Ohgren and Milne will be the top options to be quickly recalled, though Minnesota could also turn towards veteran pros like Ben Jones, Travis Boyd, or Devin Shore.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Carolina Hurricanes have sent goaltender Yaniv Perets back to the minor leagues with Pyotr Kochetkov set to return from injury per NHL.com’s Walt Ruff. Kochetkov missed Carolina’s Saturday win over Ottawa with an undisclosed injury. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour describing Kochetkov as “banged up” to postgame media including NHL.com’s Matt Komma was the closest indication of Kochetkov’s hold up. Whatever the issue was, the young netminder is set to reassume his familiar role as de facto starter with Frederik Andersen out long-term. Kochetkov has eight wins and a .897 save percentage through 10 games this season. Meanwhile, Perets has only served as backup in his NHL call-ups this season. He’s posted a .825 save percentage in three AHL games this year, and will return to a crowded Chicago Wolves goaltender room beside Spencer Martin and Ruslan Khazheyev.
  • Forward Michael Rasmussen (upper-body) and defenseman Simon Edvinsson (lower-body) are both expected to return to the lineup on Monday per the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. Both players sat out of the team’s Saturday night loss to the Los Angeles Kings. Rasmussen has found a role in Detroit’s bottom-six, recording four points through 16 games this season. Edvinsson has proven far more impactful, usually serving as the go-to partner for star Wings defender Moritz Seider. Edvinsson has six points in 16 games this season, putting him on pace for 30 points in his rookie year.

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