Liam Ohgren, Jesper Wallstedt Expected To Make Wild Roster
Minnesota is expected to maintain top prospects Liam Ohgren and Jesper Wallstedt on their opening night roster, per Michael Russo of The Athletic. Minnesota’s brass has named both players as favorites to make the team since the start of training camp.
The Wild are showing no hesitation in placing perhaps the league’s best goalie prospect – Wallstedt – into a three-man rotation with Marc-Andre Fleury and Filip Gustavsson. All three goaltenders made two appearances in the preseason, with Wallstedt leading the trio in save percentage with a .930 to Fleury’s .925 and Gustavsson’s .898.
Fleury and Gustavsson split starts last year, making 40 and 45 appearances respectively. Neither were particularly productive, each posting save percentages below .900 – a feat Fleury hadn’t managed since his rookie season of 2005-06. Those muddling performances leave plenty of room for excitement in Minnesota’s goaltending room – something Wallstedt may be able to bring quickly. The former first-round pick has posted two strong seasons as an AHL starter, collectively posting 40 wins and a .909 save percentage in 83 appearances.
Ohgren should have a much clearer path to an NHL role, having spent five preseason games on the team’s third-line. He certainly seemed comfortable in the role, posting one goal and one assist – the same statline he managed in his first four NHL games at the end of last season. An upper-body injury delayed the start of Ohgren’s 2023-24 to late November, but he played well immediately upon returning, ultimately recording 19 points in 27 games in Sweden’s SHL – the highest scoring pace of any U20 SHL player last season. Wild general manager Bill Guerin has previously praised Ohgren’s ability to produce from any spot in the lineup, which could mean he’ll have to work his way up to a high-usage role – though a fully healthy season could make quick work of that challenge.
Both Ohgren and Wallstedt seem poised to bring big impacts to the Minnesota lineup – a welcome relief to the team that ranked in the bottom 15 of both goals scored and goals allowed last season. They’ll each be names to watch closely, as Ohgren fights for healthy footing and Wallstedt looks to claw above two proven NHL starters.
Training Camp Cuts: 10/5/24
With the preseason winding up this weekend, final roster cuts will be made across the NHL over the next couple of days. We’ll keep tabs on today’s cut-downs here.
Last Updated: 4:45 PM
Anaheim Ducks (per team announcement)
F Jansen Harkins (to AHL San Diego after clearing waivers)
Columbus Blue Jackets (per team announcement)
D Cole Clayton (to AHL Cleveland)
F Luca Del Bel Belluz (to AHL Cleveland)
F Trey Fix-Wolansky (to AHL Cleveland)
G Jet Greaves (to AHL Cleveland)
F Hunter McKown (to AHL Cleveland)
F Owen Sillinger (to AHL Cleveland)
D Stanislav Svozil (to AHL Cleveland)
Dallas Stars (per team announcement)
D Lian Bichsel (to AHL Texas)
F Matej Blumel (to AHL Texas)
F Arttu Hyry (to AHL Texas)
Detroit Red Wings (per team announcement)
F Alexandre Doucet (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Amadeus Lombardi (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Jakub Rychlovsky (to AHL Grand Rapids)
G Gage Alexander (to ECHL Toledo)
F Ondrej Becher (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Hunter Johannes (released from PTO to AHL Grand Rapids)
D Josiah Didier (released from PTO to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Carson Bantle (to ECHL Toledo)
F Gabriel Seger (to ECHL Toledo)
D Chaz Reddekopp (to ECHL Toledo)
G Jan Bednar (to ECHL Toledo)
F Tim Gettinger (to injured non-roster list)
D Shai Buium (to injured non-roster list)
Minnesota Wild (per team announcement)
D Daemon Hunt (to AHL Iowa)
New York Rangers (per team announcement)
F Ryder Korczak (to AHL Hartford)
F Brennan Othmann (to AHL Hartford)
Ottawa Senators (per team announcement)
D Calen Addison (released from PTO)
Pittsburgh Penguins (per team announcement)
F Emil Bemstrom (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers)
D Nate Clurman (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers)
F Jonathan Gruden (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers)
F Joona Koppanen (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers)
D Filip Kral (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers)
G Filip Larsson (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
D John Ludvig (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers)
F Samuel Poulin (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers)
Vancouver Canucks (per team announcement)
D Akito Hirose (to AHL Abbotsford)
Washington Capitals (per team announcement)
D Ethan Bear (to AHL Hershey after clearing waivers)
F Luke Philp (to AHL Hershey after clearing waivers)
F Michael Sgarbossa (to AHL Hershey after clearing waivers)
Waiver Wire: 10/5/24
With season-opening rosters due in just over 48 hours, it’s going to be a busy weekend on the waiver front across the NHL. A total of 14 players are on waivers today. The players below were first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link) unless otherwise specified. Meanwhile, Friedman relays (Twitter link) that of the 25 players on the wire yesterday, all cleared aside from John Ludvig who was claimed by Colorado.
Anaheim Ducks
Colorado Avalanche
Dallas Stars
D Kyle Capobianco
G Magnus Hellberg
F Cameron Hughes
F Kole Lind
D Alexander Petrovic
F Emilio Pettersen
Florida Panthers
Minnesota Wild (per team release)
New York Rangers
Seattle Kraken (per team announcement)
These players will be on waivers until 1:00 PM CT on Sunday.
Wild Intend To Outbid Teams On Kirill Kaprizov
Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold spoke this week about the future of star forward Kirill Kaprizov saying that the Wild will offer more money and term than any other team may offer in free agency when the former Calder Trophy winner is eligible for an extension next summer (as per Michael Russo of The Athletic). Kaprizov has registered three straight 40-goal seasons and will certainly hit the jackpot whenever he does put pen to paper on his next deal. Whether that is with Minnesota or not remains to be seen, but according to Leipold, that is certainly the Wild’s intention.
Leipold is aware that Kaprizov’s focus is on winning, and while the Wild have been a perennial playoff contender for the past decade (last year aside), the team hasn’t had much playoff success to speak of. Minnesota hasn’t made it out of the first round of the playoffs since 2014-15 and will have their work cut out for them if they want to prove to their 27-year-old star that they are serious about winning.
The Wild do have an opening though, and it begins next summer when the pain of the Ryan Suter and Zach Parise buyout begins to dwindle. This season the Wild are dealing with $14.7MM in dead money on their salary cap, but next year that dead money drops to just $1.7MM from 2025-29. That reduction opens the door for Minnesota to have more than $20MM in cap space to make moves to improve their team, and given the list of potential free agents next summer the Wild could be positioned to make a splash. Whether or not that will entice Kaprizov to sign long-term remains to be seen, but the Wild appear set to make the best possible push that they can with Leipold acknowledging that the team might have to give out large signing bonuses, something they’ve been hesitant to do in recent years.
The other variable that will work in Minnesota’s favor is that they can offer an eighth year on a long-term contract and will be the only team positioned to do so as other teams will only have the option to offer seven-year contracts in unrestricted free agency.
Wild’s Troy Grosenick Underwent ACL Surgery, Out For Season
Wild goaltender Troy Grosenick sustained a torn ACL in his right knee and underwent surgery Tuesday, per a team announcement. He’ll miss the 2024-25 season but is expected to be cleared to play for the 2025-26 campaign.
Grosenick, 35, signed a one-year, two-way deal ($775K/$250K) with the Wild in the offseason. He’ll still collect his pro-rated NHL salary while spending the entire campaign on season-opening injured reserve. Grosenick spent one day on the Predators’ roster last season, meaning he’ll cost $4K against Minnesota’s cap, per PuckPedia. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent next summer, meaning he’ll potentially never suit up for a regular-season game in the Minnesota organization.
An undrafted free agent signed by the Sharks in 2013, Grosenick has played sparingly in the NHL. He’s only made four career appearances, two with San Jose in 2014-15 and two with the Kings in 2020-21. He was strong in spot duty, logging a .933 SV% and 2.27 GAA.
Those numbers aren’t entirely surprising – it’s more surprising that he never got a more extended look at the top level. The Wisconsin native has long been one of the AHL’s best talents between the pipes, posting a career .913 SV%, 2.52 GAA, 13 shutouts, and 169-101-42 record in 324 appearances in parts of 11 seasons. He’s a two-time All-Star and won the league’s Best Goaltender award in 2016-17.
The Wild were to be Grosenick’s fifth organization in the past five years. After playing 2020-21 in the Kings’ system, he’s also played for the Bruins’, Flyers’, and Predators’ minor-league affiliates. He was projected to be AHL Iowa’s starter this season after logging a .907 SV% in 30 games for Milwaukee in 2023-24. His absence leaves the Wild affiliate in a tough spot with top prospect Jesper Wallstedt set to jump to the NHL as part of a three-goalie rotation with Marc-André Fleury and Filip Gustavsson. They’ll instead turn to 26-year-old Dylan Ferguson, who signed an AHL deal with them last month after a failed PTO with the Canucks. He had a .904 SV% in 23 KHL games last year for Belarus’ Dinamo Minsk.
Central Notes: Boldy, Middleton, Marino, Bjugstad, Kaiser, Barlow
The Wild have upgraded winger Matt Boldy‘s status from week-to-week to day-to-day, head coach John Hynes said Tuesday (via NHL.com’s Jessi Pierce). He hasn’t been ruled out of Friday’s preseason game against the Blackhawks, a strong sign he’ll be available when Minnesota opens its regular season against the Blue Jackets on Oct. 10.
Boldy was initially termed week-to-week on Sep. 23 with a lower-body ailment, but the team wasn’t concerned he’d miss any regular-season action. That appears to be the case. He’s been skating since Saturday.
His presence is crucial for the Wild. The 23-year-old set career highs last season with 40 assists and 69 points in 75 games, finishing second on the Wild’s 21st-ranked offense in scoring. With most of their bottom six either declining or overtaxed in offensive roles, he’s an irreplaceable source of secondary scoring behind Kirill Kaprizov, at least until Minnesota’s next wave of prospects hits their stride.
It’s not all good injury news for the Wild today, though. Defenseman Jacob Middleton is now day-to-day with bruising, Hynes added, but isn’t expected to miss their season opener, which is still nine days away.
There’s more from the Central Division:
- The Utah Hockey Club may be without a top-four stalwart on defense for its first-ever game. John Marino‘s availability for the season opener is now in doubt after missing all of training camp to date with an upper-body injury, per ALL Utah Hockey’s Craig Morgan. The team will know more about his timeline for a return next week, Morgan added, but for now, he hasn’t been ruled out of any action past then and is still day-to-day. They’re also not expecting center Nick Bjugstad back until Nov. 1, per Morgan. He’s out with an upper-body injury, but his absence isn’t new. He was already ruled doubtful for the start of the season last week.
- Defenseman Wyatt Kaiser has been mysteriously absent from Blackhawks camp thus far, but that’ll end soon. The Blackhawks told the Chicago Sun-Times’ Ben Pope that an undisclosed concern popped up during his pre-camp physical that required “some invasive testing.” He’s passed all of them, though, and will begin ramping up to game speed. The 22-year-old is a strong candidate to land on the opening night roster after posting seven assists and an even rating in 32 games with Chicago last year.
- Jets prospect Colby Barlow has officially requested a trade in the OHL from the Owen Sound Attack, Postmedia’s Greg Cowan reports. Winnipeg returned Barlow, the No. 18 overall pick in 2023, to Owen Sound on Sunday. The 19-year-old left winger had 40 goals in 50 games last year but recorded only 18 assists for 58 points, placing him fourth on the team in scoring overall. He won’t be reporting to Owen Sound’s camp at all, Cowan adds, so expect him to be on the move before the start of the OHL regular season.
Waiver Wire: 10/1/24
28 players hit the waiver wire Tuesday, per PuckPedia. It’s a sharp increase from yesterday’s 12 names as more veterans are assigned to the minors later in camp. All of yesterday’s waived players cleared, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. Today’s waiver placements are as follows:
Anaheim Ducks
Buffalo Sabres
F Joshua Dunne
F Mason Jobst
F Brett Murray
D Colton Poolman
D Jack Rathbone
G Felix Sandström
Calgary Flames
Edmonton Oilers
G Collin Delia
D Ben Gleason
D Philip Kemp
F Lane Pederson
Los Angeles Kings
Minnesota Wild
New York Rangers
F Anton Blidh
G Louis Domingue
D Casey Fitzgerald
D Brandon Scanlin
Seattle Kraken
F Brandon Biro
F Max McCormick
F Ben Meyers
D Gustav Olofsson
F Mitchell Stephens
G Ales Stezka
Vancouver Canucks
F Phillip Di Giuseppe
G Jiří Patera
F Nathan Smith
D Christian Wolanin
Waiver Wire: 9/30/24
Another 12 players have hit the waiver wire today as part of training camp cuts across the league, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. All of the 25 players on waivers yesterday cleared without incident, he adds.
Colorado Avalanche
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
Minnesota Wild
F Travis Boyd
F Brendan Gaunce
F Devin Shore
San Jose Sharks
F Justin Bailey
D Jimmy Schuldt
St. Louis Blues
Utah Hockey Club
Training Camp Cuts: 9/30/24
Training camp cuts continue Monday with just eight days until opening night of the regular season (aside from this week’s Devils/Sabres Global Series games in Prague). As always, we’ll keep track of all of today’s moves in this piece.
Last updated 4:41 p.m.
Chicago Blackhawks (per the Chicago Sun-Times’ Ben Pope)
F Zach Sanford (to AHL Rockford)
F Brett Seney (to AHL Rockford)
G Mitchell Weeks (to AHL Rockford)
Dallas Stars (per team announcement)
F Francesco Arcuri (to AHL Texas)
F Jack Becker (released from PTO)
F Justin Ertel (to AHL Texas)
F Justin Hryckowian (to AHL Texas)
D Michael Karow (released from PTO to AHL Texas)
G Ben Kraws (to AHL Texas)
D Luke Krys (to AHL Texas)
D Christian Kyrou (to AHL Texas)
D Kyle Looft (released from ATO to AHL Texas)
F Kyle McDonald (to AHL Texas)
F Curtis McKenzie (released from PTO to AHL Texas)
G Rémi Poirier (to AHL Texas)
D Connor Punnett (to AHL Texas)
F Anthony Romano (released from ATO to AHL Texas)
F Matthew Seminoff (to AHL Texas)
F Antonio Stranges (to AHL Texas)
G Bryan Thomson (to AHL Texas)
F Chase Wheatcroft (to AHL Texas)
D Gavin White (to AHL Texas)
Florida Panthers (per team release)
D Marek Alscher (to AHL Charlotte)
D Michael Benning (to AHL Charlotte)
F John Leonard (released from PTO to AHL Charlotte)
F Aidan McDonough (released from PTO to AHL Charlotte)
D Evan Nause (to AHL Charlotte)
F Gracyn Sawchyn (to WHL Edmonton)
F Hunter St. Martin (to WHL Medicine Hat)
F Ben Steeves (to AHL Charlotte)
D Zachary Uens (to AHL Charlotte)
Minnesota Wild (per team release)
F Caedan Bankier (to AHL Iowa)
F Travis Boyd (to AHL Iowa) pending waivers
F Brendan Gaunce (to AHL Iowa) pending waivers
F Riley Heidt (to WHL Prince George)
G Samuel Hlavaj (to AHL Iowa)
D Carson Lambos (to AHL Iowa)
D Ryan O’Rourke (to AHL Iowa)
F Devin Shore (to AHL Iowa) pending waivers
D David Spacek (to AHL Iowa)
Nashville Predators (per team announcement)
F Kieffer Bellows (to AHL Milwaukee)
F Vinnie Hinostroza (to AHL Milwaukee)
G Matt Murray (to AHL Milwaukee)
Ottawa Senators (per team announcement)
F Nikolai Kulemin (released from PTO)
G Leevi Merilainen (to AHL Belleville)
D Filip Roos (to AHL Belleville)
D Donovan Sebrango (to AHL Belleville)
Pittsburgh Penguins (per team announcement)
G Sergei Murashov (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
San Jose Sharks (per team release)
F Justin Bailey (to AHL San Jose) pending waivers
F Filip Bystedt (to AHL San Jose)
G Gabriel Carriere (released from PTO to AHL San Jose)
F Brandon Coe (to AHL San Jose)
D Sam Dickinson (to OHL London) – separate announcement from the organization
D Ethan Frisch (released from PTO to AHL San Jose)
D Jake Furlong (to AHL San Jose)
F Kasper Halttunen (to AHL San Jose)
F Quentin Musty (to OHL Sudbury)
F Tristen Robins (to AHL San Jose)
G Georgi Romanov (to AHL San Jose)
D Jimmy Schuldt (to AHL San Jose) pending waivers
St. Louis Blues (per team release)
F Mathias Laferrière (to AHL Springfield)
F Mackenzie MacEachern (to AHL Springfield)
F Hugh McGing (to AHL Springfield)
D Hunter Skinner (to AHL Springfield)
Toronto Maple Leafs (per team announcement)
D Ben Danford (to OHL Oshawa)
Utah Hockey Club (per team announcement)
F Travis Barron (to AHL Tucson) pending waivers
D Kevin Connauton (to AHL Tucson) pending waivers
F Cam Hebig (released from PTO to AHL Tucson)
D Montana Onyebuchi (to AHL Tucson)
G Dylan Wells (released from PTO to AHL Tucson)
Waiver Wire: 9/29/24
The hockey world is one week closer to the start of the regular season, with October rolling around in just a few days. That’s sparked a flurry of decisive roster cuts as teams finalize their roster or – in the case of teams like Buffalo, New Jersey, and New York – prepare for trips overseas. As always, we’ll track the day’s waiver placements here.
Boston Bruins (per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman)
F Marc McLaughlin (assigned to AHL Providence)
Calgary Flames (per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman)
F Martin Frk (assigned to AHL Calgary)
F Justin Kirkland (assigned to AHL Calgary)
Chicago Blackhawks (per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman)
F Zach Sanford (assigned to AHL Rockford)
F Brett Seney (assigned to AHL Rockford)
Edmonton Oilers (per Sportsnet’s Mark Spector)
D Cam Dineen (assigned to AHL Bakersfield)
D Connor Carrick (assigned to AHL Bakersfield)
Los Angeles Kings (per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman)
F Glenn Gawdin (assigned to AHL Ontario)
F Tyler Madden (assigned to AHL Ontario)
D Joe Hicketts (assigned to AHL Ontario)
D Reilly Walsh (assigned to AHL Ontario)
Minnesota Wild (per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman)
F Adam Raska (assigned to AHL Iowa)
D Cameron Crotty (assigned to AHL Iowa)
D Joseph Cecconi (assigned to AHL Iowa)
Montreal Canadiens (per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman)
F Lucas Condotta (assigned to AHL Laval)
F Brandon Gignac (assigned to AHL Laval)
Nashville Predators (per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman)
F Kieffer Bellows (assigned to AHL Milwaukee)
F Vinnie Hinostroza (assigned to AHL Milwaukee)
G Matt Murray (assigned to AHL Milwaukee)
St. Louis Blues (per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman)
F Mathias Laferriere (assigned to AHL Springfield)
F Mackenzie MacEachern (assigned to AHL Springfield)
F Hugh McGing (assigned to AHL Springfield)
D Hunter Skinner (assigned to AHL Springfield)
Tampa Bay Lightning (per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman)
D Tobie Paquette-Bisson (assigned to AHL Syracuse)
D Derrick Pouliot (assigned to AHL Syracuse)