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Samuel Walker

Minnesota Wild Re-Sign Sammy Walker

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The Minnesota Wild organization has brought back a depth player from the past two years as they announced a one-year contract for forward Samuel Walker. Walker will earn a salary of $775K in the NHL and $125K in the AHL for the 2024-25 season.

Although Walker started as a seventh-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2017 NHL Draft, he decided to forego his entry-level contract with the Lightning to spend the next four years in the NCAA with the University of Minnesota. Walker spent three years as the team captain for the Gophers and helped his team make it as far as the Frozen Four during his tenure with the school. Overall, Walker played in 144 games for the Gophers and scored a total of 48 goals and 112 points.

Walker became a collegiate free agent after his NCAA career ended and he quickly signed on with the Wild organization to a two-year, $1.85MM agreement. Since then, Walker has only played in 13 games for the Wild in the last two years where he has scored one goal and two points.

He has been a solid player in the minor leagues as he’s spent most of his time in the AHL with the Iowa Wild. Over the past two seasons, Walker has suited up in 126 games for AHL Iowa and has scored 41 goals and 93 points. With decent depth on the NHL roster, it may be tough for Walker to challenge for a spot on the opening night roster out of training camp. However, if there are injuries to the NHL-squad, Walker should serve as one of the first call-ups to fill in.

Minnesota Places Vinni Lettieri On IR, Recalls Samuel Walker

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In an announcement coming from the Minnesota Wild this afternoon, the organization has placed depth forward Vinni Lettieri on injury reserved due to a lower-body injury. In a corresponding move, the team has recalled Samuel Walker from their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild.

As reported this morning, veteran Marcus Foligno will be a game-time decision for the team’s game tonight against the Calgary Flames, and with Lettieri also injured, Minnesota was put in a position where they may have only been able to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Instead, with Lettieri’s placement on the injured reserve and the subsequent callup of Walker, the team will now be able to put together four full offensive lines for their matchup tonight.

Even while maintaining their roster flexibility, it will mark another time this season that the Wild’s depth has been tested. In his own right, Lettieri himself was viewed as an extra forward for Minnesota at the beginning of the season, coming over from the Boston Bruins organization on a two-year, $1.55MM contract this past summer.

In what is now his second call-up with the organization since clearing waivers on November 24th, Lettieri has suited up in a total of 19 games for the Wild this season, scoring one goal and four points on the team’s fourth line. Although he has shown spurts of solid play, his 45.8% CorsiFor%, as well as his 6.3% team on-ice shooting percentage in all situations are both below his career averages.

It has been a difficult transition back into the NHL for Lettieri, as a fourth-line role is somewhat foreign territory for him compared to his usage at the AHL level. Throughout his time in the AHL, Lettieri has been nearly a point-per-game player, scoring 237 points in 277 career games. Due to that, and his regular usage of the powerplay, Lettieri will have to add a bit more hard-nosed physicality into his game for a smoother transition.

Walker, an Edina, Minnesota native came over to the organization in the seventh round of the 2017 NHL Draft. Having already made his NHL debut last year, Walker has suited up in two games this season in mid-October. Similarly to Lettieri, Walker has also been a heavily relied upon offensive talent for Iowa, as he currently sits third on the team in scoring.

Minnesota Wild Recall Samuel Walker; Place Goligoski On LTIR

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Before last night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, the Minnesota Wild announced that defenseman Alex Goligoski would miss the game due to a lower-body injury suffered in practice the day before. Today, according to a team announcement, the team has placed Goligoski on LTIR, and recalled forward Samuel Walker from their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, in a corresponding move.

For the time being, the Wild will likely operate with only six defensemen on the active roster, with Dakota Mermis replacing Goligoski’s spot in the lineup. Team captain, Jared Spurgeon, is still listed as week-to-week as he recovers from an upper-body injury, but would give the team a much deeper blue line upon his return.

After an exceptionally poor start to the season in terms of production and penalties, this lower-body injury is another negative moment for Goligoski in this very young season. At 38 years old, and a pending unrestricted free agent at the end of this year, this may spell the end of the line for the veteran defenseman in Minnesota.

Walker, who was the 200th overall selection in the 2017 NHL Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning, would end up playing four years at the University of Minnesota, before finally landing with the Wild in 2022 as a college free agent. Primarily playing in Iowa last season, Walker had quite a productive season, scoring 27 goals and 21 assists in 56 games, finishing fourth on the team in points.

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