Every Wild sweater worn by Wild players this season will display a patch with the number 25 on it to honor of quarter century since Minnesota re-entered the NHL as an expansion team in 2000. But at least in training camp, there will not be a player with 25 on the back of his uniform.
Speaking to reporters this week at a charity golf event in Lake Elmo, Wild coach John Hynes confirmed that he does not expect veteran defenseman Jonas Brodin, who wears 25, to be available for training camp, which begins Thursday in St. Paul.
“He’s skating, but as of now, as it stands right now, he will not be an active participant in camp,” said Hynes, who added that Brodin has been skating on his own, not with teammates.
While the team has not provided any inforination on what’s ailing Brodin, he had surgery for an upper body injury in June after playing in 50 of 82 regular-season games in 2024-25. Brodin, who turned 32 over the summer, also skated in all six of the Wild’s playoff games and 13 more for Team Sweden in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February and the IIHF World Championship in April.
The Wild’s first-round pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, Brodin is expected on the ice for his 14th Wild season at some point.
Looking for blue line depth in the interim, the Wild signed veteran Jack Johnson to a professional tryout contract last month. Since being the third overall pick in the 2005 Draft, Johnson, 38, has logged more than 1,200 NHL games, including 41 for Columbus last season.
When fully healthy, the Wild have five “sure things” on defense: Brodin, Zach Bogosian, Brock Faber, Jake Middleton and Jared Spurgeon. That leaves the likes of Johnson, Zeev Buium, David Jiricek and Iowa prospects Carson Lambos, David Spacek, among others, to battle for the final lineup spot.
Veteran defenseman Jon Merrill, who played 70 games for the Wild last season, remains an unsigned free agent with training camps starting this week.
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