On the eve of the regular season, one constant of a John Hynes‘ training camp remains true in the coach’s second season at the helm: It’s hard.
To a man, Wild players note on-ice sessions are serious, focused and strenuous. The same goes for the off-ice work. It is not for those unwilling or unable to put in a full 60-minute effort every time their skates touch the ice.
A year ago, the results of that relentless prep were seen in October and November, as Minnesota blasted to one of the best starts in franchise history, at one point tallying 19 wins to just four regulation losses.
It didn’t last, as injuries piled up. By April, the Wild needed a last-minute rally in their final game to make the playoffs. Still, Minnesota showed what it could do at full strength.
On Monday, with his his full 23-man roster on the ice at TRIA Rink for the first time, Hynes reflected on the final roster cuts made to prep for the regular season opener.
“There was some tough decisions of who we would send down and who we would keep,” Hynes said, noting that several of the players who will start with the Iowa Wild had flashes in training camp practices and preseason games to state their case for NHL roster spots.
“We feel like this is the group we’ll start with and see where they go,” he said.
In the final tuneup practices before the regular season opens in St. Louis on Thursday, the forward lines have looked like this:
Top line: Marco Rossi centering with Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy on wings.
Second line: Joel Eriksson Ek centering with Marcus Foligno and Vladimir Tarasenko on the wings.
Third line: Ryan Hartman centering with Yakov Trenin and Marcus Johansson on wings.
Fourth line: Nico Strum centering with some combination of Danila Yurov, Liam Ohgren and Vinnie Hinostroza on the wings.
Mats Zuccarello is injured to start the season. On Tuesday, the team placed Zuccarello and Nico Sturm on injured reserve and designated forwards Cameron Butler and Michael Milne and defenseman Stevie Leskovar as injured, non-roster players.
Hinostroza, who the Wild claimed off waivers from Nashville last February, will likely be the veteran wing on the fourth line, with either Yurov or Ohgren on the other side.
“I think Vinnie’s had a strong camp,” Hynes said. “He didn’t get as much action later in the games, but he does have experience, we know what he can do. With Ohgren and Yurov, we’re still working those guys in, and now that camp’s over, see what they look like in different positions.”
Defensively, the pairings have been:
-Jake Middleton with Brock Faber
-Zeev Buium with Jared Spurgeon
-Zach Bogosian with David Jiricek
Newly re-acquired Daemon Hunt and veteran Jonas Brodin – who is still making his way back from off-season surgery – will be the reserve defenseman at the season’s start. Hynes said they initially did not expect to have Brodin much in October, but he’s made good progress in practice.
“I’m sure they’re going to have to test his strength, meet with the doctor, and then maybe put him in a little bit more heavier contact,” Hynes said. “The fact that he’s doing what he’s doing is really encouraging.”
The goalie tandem of Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt is set, with veteran Cal Petersen heading to his home state to tend the Iowa net. Like most Wild fans, Hynes smiled at the contract extension given to Gustavsson over the weekend, and the stability it means in the Minnesota crease.
“It’s nice that he’s got that confidence, and I think he’s earned it. He’s the guy for us,” Hynes said. “You can’t win without good goaltending, and the way that he played last year and the way that he looks now is going to be really important for us.”
Among those waiting in the wings in Iowa are defensemen Carson Lambos and Matt Kiersted and forwards Tyler Pitlick and Hunter Haight, all of whom had strong showings in training camp and were among the final cuts.
Veteran forward Brett Leason and veteran defenseman Jack Johnson both attended Wild camp on professional tryouts, but neither was offered a contract.
Similar to October 2024, the Wild will learn much about themselves while getting to know one another away from home.
After the opener in St. Louis, they play home games versus Columbus on Saturday and versus Los Angeles on Monday, Oct. 13. Then the Wild head out on a five-game road trip, during which they’ll visit the Stars, Capitals, Flyers, Rangers and Devils.
Briefly
The Wild’s “Skate It Forward” program — which was announced last season as an effort to promote growth in youth hockey participation in Minnesota, western Wisconsin and the Dakotas — announced its initial grant recipients for the 2025-26 season this week.
The 11 community hockey programs included are Anoka, Bloomington Jefferson, Delano, Langford Park (St. Paul), Minnesota Sled Hockey, Mounds View Irondale, Osseo-Maple Grove, St. Paul Capitals, Waseca, Willmar and Winona. For every first-year player under the age of eight that registers for hockey in those associations, the Skate It Forward program will provide a $250 grant to help encourage more young players to take up the game.
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