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Minnesota Wild Loan Vladislav Firstov To KHL; Recall Mason Shaw

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Jordan Greenway’s return to the Minnesota Wild lineup lasted just six shifts. The bruising forward managed to land four hits during that time, but after leaving with an upper-body injury he was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game. Head coach Dean Evason told reporters including Michael Russo of The Athletic after the game that Greenway would be evaluated today and won’t play tomorrow afternoon in Boston.

With that news, it makes sense that Mason Shaw is back in the AHL transaction portal and on his way back to the NHL level. Shaw had only been sent down a few days ago when it was clear that Greenway would be returning. More importantly, perhaps, is that the portal also includes Vladislav Firstov, who has been reassigned by the team to Torpedo Nizhny Novogrod of the KHL.

Firstov, 21, was a second-round pick of the Wild in 2019 and signed his entry-level contract in March. The young Russian forward hadn’t played in his home country for years, coming over to spend his draft year in the USHL and then the last three seasons at the University of Connecticut. After just one game with the Iowa Wild this season, he’s apparently on his way back overseas to continue his development in the KHL.

Notably, he remains under contract with the Wild, so this isn’t a long-term plan. But the team will lose at least a bit of control over his deployment and development this season as he plays in Russia. In eight games down the stretch with Iowa last season he managed just two assists, meaning he’ll have to wait even longer for his first professional goal in North America.

Minnesota Wild Activate Jordan Greenway

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8:22 PM: Greenway’s current return effort could end up short-lived. The Athletic’s Joe Smith reported that Greenway will not return to tonight’s game against the Vancouver Canucks. Greenway apparently suffered an upper-body injury during play. We will have more information on the nature of this injury as it becomes available.

5:05 PM:When the Minnesota Wild sent forward Mason Shaw back to the AHL yesterday, it was a sign that injured forward Jordan Greenway was nearing a return to the active roster. Today, his return was made official. The Wild have announced that Greenway has been activated off of injured reserve, and he is expected to make his season debut in just a few hours when the Wild take on the Vancouver Canucks.

Greenway, 25, has missed the first few Wild contests recovering from the shoulder surgeries he underwent this summer. The Wild are still looking for their first victory of the season, and the return of Greenway could help them get back into the win column. Last season, Greenway was one third of the team’s “GREEF” line, skating with Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno. Together on that line, each of the three players enjoyed extremely successful seasons on both ends of the ice.

While it might take some time for Greenway to return to playing as he did last season, he could represent an immediate improvement to the team’s defensive fortunes if his old line is reunited. The Wild’s ability to keep pucks out of their net has been under great scrutiny in the early days of this season, so getting a true shutdown line back on the ice could go a long way towards righting the ship on that front.

If nothing else, though, the Wild are sure to be happy to have Greenway, ever energetic and hard-working, back on the ice.

Minnesota Wild Reassign Mason Shaw To AHL

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The Minnesota Wild announced Wednesday via Twitter that the team has reassigned forward Mason Shaw to the AHL’s Iowa Wild.

With forward Jordan Greenway now ready to go after missing the team’s first three games of the season with an injury, the team had no use for a second extra forward on the active roster. Greenway missed training camp and the beginning of the season as he recovered from offseason shoulder surgery.

Shaw is the captain of the Iowa Wild, but he’s also poised to be at the top of Minnesota’s call-up list throughout the season. The 23-year-old does now require waivers, but as he passed through less than 30 days ago, he can be shuttled up and down at will for the time being. He played one game during his call-up, skating just 5:46 in Minnesota’s 6-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Monday.

Top prospect Marco Rossi is set to reenter the lineup now after getting minuscule looks in his first two games of the season, and he could get a shot on a more offensively inclined line between Frederick Gaudreau and Matt Boldy. Connor Dewar will likely be the team’s 13th forward, for the time being, making room for Greenway to return to his checking line role with Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno.

Minnesota Wild Sign Michael Milne

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The Minnesota Wild have inked another prospect, signing Michael Milne to a three-year entry-level contract. The third-round draft pick had been with the Iowa Wild on an amateur tryout but now will be assigned there on his new NHL deal.

Milne is eligible for the AHL despite being drafted this summer as he was an overage pick who turned 20 in September. He was incredibly effective in the WHL last season, scoring 38 goals and 81 points in 68 games. Sometimes he even seemed like the most dangerous player on the ice, an impressive feat on a team that also boasted top picks Matthew Savoie and Conor Geekie.

His off-the-rush scoring ability was nearly unmatched, and Milne will now have to find a way to translate that offense to the professional level. He’s already done enough to earn an entry-level deal, now he’ll need to focus on developing and improving his all-around game before being considered for the Wild roster.

With two first-round picks, two seconds, and what looks like a tidy third-round selection in Milne, the 2022 draft class is shaping up to be a nice one for the Wild. Add that to a 2021 class that also had two firsts (including Milne’s younger Winnipeg teammate Carson Lambos, in an interesting wrinkle), and a pair of previous first-rounders in Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi that look like hits, and the Minnesota pipeline is starting to look pretty impressive.

Minnesota Wild Recall Mason Shaw

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The Minnesota Wild have recalled forward Mason Shaw from the AHL’s Iowa Wild, per a team announcement. The recall puts Shaw in a position to make his season debut tomorrow against the Colorado Avalanche.

Shaw, 23, was a 2017 fourth-round pick of the Wild who has spent the past four seasons developing his game at the AHL level in Des Moines. Shaw was a star as a junior player, and he finished his WHL career with a year where he had 94 points in 71 games.

At the AHL level, Shaw has combined scoring ability with physicality and snarl, and last season he had 19 goals and 52 points in 62 games to go along with 106 penalty minutes.

Last season Shaw also made his NHL debut, and he got into a total of three games. He didn’t register any points, but he made his presence known through his energy level and the fact that he got into his first NHL fight.

Now back with the big club, Shaw will likely get into some more games under his belt and look to help the Wild rebound after a tough start to their season.

Marco Rossi, Calen Addison Make Minnesota Wild Opening Night Roster

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The Minnesota Wild announced via video on their website that prospects Marco Rossi and Calen Addison have both made the team’s opening night roster. In the video, Wild GM Bill Guerin and Head Coach Dean Evason sit down with each player individually to let them know they’ve made the team, and in Addison’s case, discuss becoming a full-time NHLer. Both players have made their NHL debuts, Addison playing as much as 15 regular season games last season on top of three playoff contests, but now both appear to be on their way to regular NHL roles. Michael Russo of The Athletic also reports that veteran defenseman Andrej Sustr has also made the opening roster.

Russo dove deeper into the team’s decision to keep two of its exciting young players on the roster, speaking with both, who reiterated their excitement at the news. Addison, who was originally a draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins, was acquired by the Wild in February of 2020 in the deal that sent forward Jason Zucker to Pittsburgh. After finishing up his junior career in 2019-20 with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes, Addison turned pro full-time in 2020-21, playing the majority of the season with the Iowa Wild of the AHL, making his NHL debut for Minnesota as well. Last season, Addison continued his AHL development, but appeared in 18 NHL games between the regular and postseason.

Rossi was Minnesota’s first round, ninth-overall selection in the 2020 draft coming off an impressive two-year stint with the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL, which included an incredible 120 points in just 56 games in 2019-20. However, a case of COVID that included long-term symptoms set Rossi back and raised concern that it could affect his development. The young forward was limited to just a single game in 2020-21 while playing in the Swiss league. Rossi would come over to North America for the 2021-22 season, and fears of his long-term hockey ability being set back were soon gone as the then-20-year-old scored 18 goals to go with 35 assists in 63 AHL contests for Iowa.

Now left in a precarious position with $12.7MM in dead cap in 2022-23 (going up to $14.7MM the following two seasons), Minnesota will need to find as much cost-controlled talent as it can get, especially after trading star forward Kevin Fiala. Though Addison and Rossi are largely unproven at this level, if Minnesota wishes to compete like it has the past few seasons, both will have to step up as regular contributors.

Waivers: 10/07/22

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It’s an important day for waivers as the regular season approaches, and several potential targets are available. With the preseason wrapping up, teams will try to sneak players through at the last second and keep them in the organization for the time being.

Many of these placements are due to salary cap restrictions or LTIR machinations to give teams maximum flexibility as the season begins. Everyone from yesterday’s list cleared.

Here is today’s group of waiver additions:

Carolina Hurricanes

Jordan Martinook

Dallas Stars

Anton Khudobin

Edmonton Oilers

Mattias Janmark
Dmitri Samorukov

Minnesota Wild

Steven Fogarty

New Jersey Devils

Andreas Johnsson
Brian Pinho

Philadelphia Flyers

Kevin Connauton
Troy Grosenick

St. Louis Blues

Martin Frk
Klim Kostin
Matthew Highmore

Vancouver Canucks

Justin Dowling

Winnipeg Jets

Johnathan Kovacevic

Snapshots: Novak, Robertson, DeBrincat

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There’s no better news than the kind Minnesota Wild prospect Pavel Novak shared today, announcing that he is now cancer-free. The 20-year-old forward was diagnosed in June and after undergoing treatment, released the following on his Instagram page today:

After a few months of troubles, I’m happy to share with you that I beat the cancer. There is no better feeling than to be healthy again. I would like to say thank you to all the doctors who helped me get over this. You’re my heroes. The biggest thank you to my parents and sister who always supported me and went through treatment with me. It wouldn’t work without you. Also thank you to everyone who was praying for me!

I’m really excited about what the future brings. 

Novak, 20, was the 146th pick of the 2020 draft and dominated with the Kelowna Rockets last season, scoring 29 goals and 72 points in 62 games. It is not clear yet when he will return to competitive hockey but the news is certainly encouraging.

  • While Kevin Weekes of ESPN tweeted this morning to keep an eye on the Dallas Stars, Darren Dreger of TSN suggests that a “major shift” might be needed in order to have Jason Robertson signed in time for the start of the regular season. There is still more than a week before Dallas kicks things off against the Nashville Predators on October 13 but there is no indication at this point that a deal is imminent. Robertson remains unsigned and will have to ink a contract by December 1 to play at all this season.
  • That wasn’t the only contract situation that Weekes tweeted about. The NHL insider also suggested that the Ottawa Senators are “actively working” to try and reach an extension with Alex DeBrincat, after acquiring him this summer. The situation is “fluid” according to Weekes, which suggests nothing is imminent on that front either. It does make sense that the Senators would be trying to sign the two-time 40-goal man but it will take a big number to lock up DeBrincat. The 24-year-old is owed a $9MM qualifying offer for next season, his last before reaching unrestricted free agency in 2024.

Waivers: 10/05/22

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Another large group of players finds themselves on waivers today, hoping to get picked up by an NHL roster. The AHL awaits most that clear, though placement on the wire doesn’t necessarily indicate assignment to the minor leagues. Some players will clear just to give their team a little more roster flexibility over the next few weeks. Everyone from yesterday has cleared, and waivers today include:

Carolina Hurricanes

Ryan Dzingel
Maxime Lajoie
Lane Pederson
Stelio Mattheos
Mackenzie MacEachern

Minnesota Wild

Brandon Baddock

New York Islanders

Dennis Cholowski
Cory Schneider
Parker Wotherspoon
Hudson Fasching
Arnaud Durandeau
Cole Bardreau
Andy Andreoff

Philadelphia Flyers

Adam Brooks
Max Willman
Louis Belpedio

This page will be updated as more reports come in

Camp Notes: Duhaime/Dewar, Reichel, Malone

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Excitement surrounds the Minnesota Wild yet again, as young players like Calen Addison and 2020 ninth-overall pick Marco Rossi are expected to become important contributors to the team this season. Rossi, a center, still needs to work his way up the depth chart though, and he’s meshing on a prospective fourth line with wingers Brandon Duhaime and Connor Dewar, notes The Athletic’s Michael Russo.

It may seem odd to have a player with Rossi’s skill level playing that low in the lineup (and with players like Duhaime’s more physical playstyle). But evidently, the line has played so well in training camp that Rossi hasn’t even gotten a look between Frederick Gaudreau and Matt Boldy on the team’s second scoring line, according to Russo. Rossi is looking to make a Calder Trophy push after scoring 53 points in 63 games with the AHL’s Iowa Wild last year. Dewar has also demonstrated a solid scoring touch in the minors, so some chemistry there is more realistic than most would think. With Duhaime’s imposing presence, it could make for a well-blended, two-way fourth line in Minnesota this season.

  • Many expected top Chicago Blackhawks prospect Lukas Reichel to win a spot on the team out of camp, but it wasn’t to be, as the team sent him down to AHL Rockford earlier today. The Athletic’s Scott Powers notes that it’s not an indication that the organization thinks Reichel isn’t NHL-ready, but rather, that the team doesn’t see him as a fit in their top six at this time. The Blackhawks believe that top minutes in Rockford are more beneficial to Reichel’s development than more limited minutes in the NHL at this time.
  • Buffalo Sabres forward Sean Malone is on waivers today, but don’t expect any NHL team to claim him, says Buffalo News Sports’ Mike Harrington. Malone, an AHL veteran, is day-to-day and is still dealing with a “lingering injury” from an August procedure. The 27-year-old Malone has just two NHL games under his belt but has developed into a top-line AHL player in recent years.

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