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Nic Petan

Wild Send Nic Petan, Daemon Hunt, Jesper Wallstedt To AHL

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The Minnesota Wild have announced a trio of roster moves, sending Nic Petan, Daemon Hunt, and Jesper Wallstedt to the Iowa Wild of the AHL. Wallstedt served as an emergency backup for the team during their trip to Sweden and wasn’t an official call-up, while Petan and Hunt were recalled prior to the trip. Dakota Mermis has also cleared waivers but remains assigned to the NHL club.

Petan was the only one of the group to slot into the lineup during his recall, appearing in the team’s Saturday loss against the Ottawa Senators. He failed to record a point, penalty, or change in his +/- in the matchup while playing just over eight-and-a-half minutes. He did record two shots and one faceoff win in the game, though.

While Hunt didn’t make an appearance on this recall, he has slotted into five NHL games earlier this season. The 21-year-old defenseman has gone without a point through those contests, a stat line that he’s matched in the AHL, going without a score in five games there as well. It’s Hunt’s second full season of professional hockey after he played in 59 AHL games last season, recording 11 points and 14 penalty minutes.

The duo return to Iowa alongside the AHL club’s starting goalie in Wallstedt. The top goalie prospect has played in eight AHL games so far this season, earning a .932 save percentage and a 6-2-0 record. Now 21 years old, Wallstedt was drafted in the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft and has yet to play in his first NHL game.

Afternoon Notes: Kaprizov, Kelemen, Timmins

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Michael Russo of The Athletic tweeted this morning that Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov was absent from practice and was replaced in the line rushes by Nic Petan. The Wild are calling it a maintenance day for the 26-year-old as he is banged up at the moment. Kaprizov had an assist in the Wild’s 8-3 drubbing at the hands of the Dallas Stars on Saturday night but played just 16:49, which is a dramatic decrease from the 21:21 in ice time he has been averaging this season.

Kaprizov does have five goals and 10 assists in 15 games this season, but his play has seemed off despite the offensive success. He is -11, and while that number can be misleading, his turnover numbers are not. Kaprizov has turned the puck over in almost every game this season, far outpacing his previous career numbers. He also appears to be struggling when he is deployed against other team’s top star players.

In other afternoon notes:

  • The Arizona Coyotes have announced today that they’ve placed forward Jack McBain on injured reserve and in a corresponding move they’ve recalled forward Milos Kelemen from their AHL affiliate the Tucson Roadrunners. The 24-year-old is looking to get into the Coyotes lineup for the first time this season after dressing in 14 games last year. The native of Svolen, Slovakia registered a single goal in the NHL last season but was much more productive in his first AHL season posting 14 goals and 16 assists in 59 games with the Roadrunners. This year, Kelemen is posting offense at about the same pace with two goals and four assists through his first 11 games. Kelemen struggled under poor possession numbers and defensive zone starts in his first run with the Coyotes and will be looking to show he belongs in the NHL if he gets back into the Coyotes lineup.
  • TSN’s Mark Masters is reporting that Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Conor Timmins practiced this morning in a normal jersey for the first time since September. The 25-year-old has yet to dress for the Maple Leafs this season after being sidelined with a lower-body injury during what was an impressive preseason as he collected six points in three preseason games and made a case for himself to be in Toronto’s top six. Last season the St. Catherines, Ontario native posted two goals and 12 assists in 27 NHL games.

Minnesota Wild Recall Nic Petan

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The Minnesota Wild have recalled forward Nic Petan to the NHL roster. Petan has appeared in 10 AHL games so far this season, recording one goal and 12 points. That tally ranks him 15th in the league in scoring, and second in the league in assists.

Petan’s recall comes in the midst of an injury to Frédérick Gaudreau, who has been out with injury since the team’s October 24th game. He’s appeared in six games through the early season, going without a point and a -2. Gaudreau has cemented himself as a serious lineup piece for the Wild through the last two seasons, scoring 44 points in 76 games in his first year with the club and 38 points in 82 games last season. While that’s a step down in total scoring, Gaudreau did score a career-high 19 goals last year, a mark that ranked fifth on the team.

With Gaudreau out with injury, Petan’s recall gives Minnesota another aging centerman with plenty of professional experience. Petan has appeared in 164 career NHL games, most recently playing 10 games with the Wild last season. He scored three points last year, bringing his career point total up to 33. He’s also recorded 44 career penalty minutes.

While Petan hasn’t shown strong scoring at the NHL level, he flashed what he’s capable of in the AHL last year, netting 62 points in 53 games with the Iowa Wild. That was the most on the Iowa Wild – 11 points more than Marco Rossi, who ranked second.

Minnesota is currently tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for seventh in the league in scoring, with 40 goals through their first 11 games. They will look to Petan to help maintain that scoring, if he’s able to slot into the NHL lineup.

Waivers: 10/04/23

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10/05/23: Per Sportsnets’ Elliotte Friedman, all players on the waiver wire yesterday have cleared (X Link).

10/04/23: Teams continue to trim their rosters ahead of the regular season, which starts in just six days. That means multiple players will hit the waiver wire daily until opening night rosters are due, and today is no different. Per TSN’s Chris Johnston, 12 players were waived today at 1 p.m. CT, 11 of whom have NHL experience. As a reminder, a waiver placement is a prerequisite for qualified players for assignment to the AHL but not necessarily an indication that a demotion to the minors will immediately happen. NHL teams can send a player down to the minors within 30 days or 10 games played of the date the player originally cleared waivers. After that time, their waiver clock will reset, and they will need to clear again.

Anaheim Ducks

D Robert Hägg
D Colton White

Boston Bruins

F Jayson Megna

Buffalo Sabres

F Brett Murray

Minnesota Wild

F Jujhar Khaira
F Vinni Lettieri
D Dakota Mermis
F Nic Petan

New Jersey Devils

D Callan Foote

Nashville Predators

F Mark Jankowski

San Jose Sharks

D Leon Gawanke

Winnipeg Jets

F Jeffrey Viel

Minnesota Wild Recall Nine Players

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The Iowa Wild were eliminated from Calder Cup contention a few days ago, but it isn’t summer vacation for all their players yet. Nine members of Iowa’s roster are on their way to join the Minnesota Wild as a set of “Black Aces,” players who will practice with the club and serve as injury insurance in the playoffs.

Adam Beckman, Steven Fogarty, Nic Petan, Marco Rossi, Nick Swaney, Samuel Walker, Daemon Hunt, Dakota Mermis, and Zane McIntyre have all been recalled.

Of course, after dropping game five on Tuesday the Wild are on the brink of elimination themselves. They’ll take on the Dallas Stars in a do-or-die matchup tomorrow night, trying to force a game seven in the first-round series.

All but Hunt have appeared in the NHL previously. The 20-year-old defenseman is in his first professional season after being selected 65th overall in 2020, and posted 11 points in 59 regular season games for Iowa.

The others are a mix of minor league veterans and top prospects. Rossi falls into the latter category, though his time in the NHL this year didn’t go well. The 2020 ninth-overall pick registered just a single assist (and no goals) in 19 games with Minnesota. While his development has been interrupted by health issues, Rossi’s inability to grab a roster spot was one of the season’s low points for the Wild.

There is at least a possibility that someone from this group does enter the lineup. According to Michael Russo of The Athletic, Mats Zuccarello and Ryan Hartman are both not practicing today, though their status for tomorrow’s game is unclear.

Wild Notes: Johansson, Eriksson Ek, Sundqvist, Petan

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The Wild are hopeful that winger Marcus Johansson will be available for the start of their first-round series against Dallas, relays Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.  The veteran was injured earlier in the week on a cross-check from Winnipeg blueliner Neal Pionk but head coach Dean Evason indicated that while the 32-year-old is sore, nothing is broken.  Johansson’s second stint with Minnesota has been quite successful as he had six goals and 12 assists in 20 games after being acquired from Washington just before the trade deadline.  He returned to practice with the team today which is a positive sign for him being able to suit up on Monday.

More from Minnesota:

  • Center Joel Eriksson Ek skated before practice today as he works his way back from a lower-body injury, notes Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 26-year-old has missed a little over a week since suffering the injury against Pittsburgh.  Eriksson Ek was given a week-to-week designation so it seems unlikely that he’ll be ready for Monday’s season opener.  His absence is a significant one as not only is he their matchup center against top opponents but he also finished fourth in team scoring, surpassing the 60-point mark for the first time in his career.
  • Forward Oskar Sundqvist also skated today for the first time since suffering also a lower-body injury against Pittsburgh last week, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 29-year-old was acquired from Detroit at the trade deadline and had made a good first impression with Minnesota, collecting three goals and four assists in 15 games before the injury.  It’s unclear at this point if he’ll be good to go to start the series against Dallas but he has not yet been ruled out for Game One.
  • The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Nic Petan cleared waivers today, enabling them to return him to AHL Iowa. Petan played his tenth game of the season Thursday, meaning that he had to pass through waivers to get back to the minors.  The 28-year-old has had another strong season at the AHL level, tallying 60 points in 51 games heading into the final weekend.

Minnesota Wild Recall Marco Rossi

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The Minnesota Wild have recalled forwards Marco Rossi and Nic Petan from their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, according to a team announcement.

These recalls come as the Wild are dealing with a major injury suffered by their most accomplished center, Joel Eriksson Ek. With Eriksson Ek out of the picture leading into the team’s playoff series next week, the Wild are exploring options to fill spots down the middle in their lineup, and Rossi is the Wild’s best center prospect.

Petan, on the other hand, is no longer a prospect, but instead a 28-year-old top-scoring AHLer. Petan leads the Wild’s AHL affiliate in scoring with 60 points in 51 games this year, and perhaps this recall is a reward for the strong play he has delivered in Iowa.

As for Rossi, the 21-year-old 2020 first-round pick saw his developmental trajectory significantly disrupted when he was diagnosed with myocarditis, a heart condition that forced him off the ice for a time. More details on Rossi’s health battle can be found in a story by The Athletic’s Michael Russo. (subscription link) Despite the fact that Rossi has not yet found success at the NHL level, what he has achieved at the AHL level and his return to hockey overall represents a major athletic accomplishment.

This season, Rossi has been a difference-maker for the AHL’s Wild, scoring 50 points in 51 games. In total, he has 103 points in 114 career contests. While he has just one point in 18 career NHL contests, the Wild are planning on Rossi becoming a top-six forward and someone they can rely on into the future.

With this recall, Rossi now has the opportunity to enter the Wild lineup and finally prove himself as an NHLer at a crucial point in Minnesota’s season. Ryan Hartman and Frederick Gaudreau are currently Minnesota’s top two NHL centers, and while they have each scored 36 points this season and are quality pivots, they’re hardly the type of dynamic, star-level centers that typically headline Stanley Cup-winning teams.

The Wild have had a strong season and have dreams that captain Jared Spurgeon will be lifting the Stanley Cup later this year. While Rossi hasn’t yet shown it on NHL ice, his AHL form lends to the idea that he could finally become the type of center the Wild have been missing for years. And if he can become that player just in time for Minnesota’s playoff run, perhaps that Stanley Cup dream could get a little bit closer to reality.

Minnesota Wild Re-Assign Nic Petan

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After a few more scoreless appearances, Nic Petan’s latest stint in the NHL has come to an end. The Minnesota Wild have assigned the depth forward to the AHL, clearing some room for Ryan Hartman and Brandon Duhaime, who are both getting closer to a return from injury.

Petan, 27, was unable to score a goal in his eight games with the Wild, meaning his streak continues. His last goal in the NHL came in the 2018-19 season, despite another 53 games since then. There is serious skill in the 5’9″ forward, but his game has never translated to the highest level, at least not on a consistent basis. He’ll return to the minor leagues where he has been outstanding, scoring 187 points in 189 career AHL games.

Since he only came up on November 19, Petan is still exempt from waivers and can be assigned without issue.

Hartman and Duhaime have not yet re-joined practice but both are expected to at some point this week. The pair will give Minnesota a nice boost while they continue to climb up the Central Division standings. After an inconsistent start, the team is now 7-3 in their last ten and just five points behind the Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets.

Minnesota Wild Recall Nic Petan

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With Adam Beckman reassigned to the AHL’s Iowa Wild and Tyson Jost on waivers, the Minnesota Wild have space for another forward. Per a team announcement, they’ve recalled Nic Petan from Iowa to fill a space on their roster.

Petan, 27, was signed this summer by the team to serve as organization depth and has yet to make his NHL debut for Minnesota. This recall puts him in a position to do so. The five-foot-nine forward has been an elite AHL scorer in recent years, and he has eight points in five AHL games so far this season.

While scoring success at the NHL level has eluded Petan, the Wild have been able to get the most out of players once tagged as depth contributors, such as with Frederick Gaudreau and Ryan Hartman. Now Petan will have a chance to join that group if he can play well.

The Wild are also expecting to get Jordan Greenway back from injury in the relatively near future, but since he isn’t expected to be ready for their next game Petan will get a chance instead.

Minnesota Wild Sign Four Players

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The Minnesota Wild have gone bargain hunting, adding a player with lots of skill but not a long track record of NHL success. Nic Petan has signed a two-year, two-way deal with the Wild. Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that it will carry an NHL cap hit of $762.5K and a massive salary in the AHL. The team also announced contracts for forward Brandon Baddock, forward Steven Fogarty, and defenseman Andrej Sustr.

Petan will earn $500K in 2022-23 and $550K in 2023-24, even if he’s in the minors all year. Baddock’s one-year, two-way contract earns him $750K in the NHL and $200,000 in the minors. Fogarty has a two-year deal which earns him $350K in the minors each year, but $750K in the NHL in year 1 and $775K in the NHL in year 2. Sustr’s one-year pays him $750K in the NHL and $400K in the AHL.

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