The Minnesota Wild have shaken up their roster a bit ahead of Opening Night. Forwards Nico Sturm and Mats Zuccarello have officially been placed on injured reserve with a back injury and lower-body injury respectively. In their place, the Wild have recalled forward prospect Hunter Haight. It’s not yet clear if the Wild plan to award Haight with his NHL debut in their season-opener against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.
What is clear is that both Zuccarello and Sturm could miss significant time. Zuccarello underwent surgery to address his injury in late-September. The team confirmed that he is expected to miss at least seven-to-eight weeks as he recovers from the procedure. Sturm’s timeline isn’t as clear after he reaggravated a back injury during training camp. Initial reactions to his injury suggest bad news on the horizon, per Michael Russo of The Athletic. That’s unfortunate news after the 32-year-old center signed a two-year, $4MM contract with Minnesota this summer.
The early beneficiary of the two injuries could be Haight. The 21-year-old centerman played his first full season in the minor-leagues last year. He posted a stout 20 goals and 34 points through 67 appearances, enough to rank him second on the Iowa Wild in goals and fifth in points. Before his move to the AHL, Haight was a standout utility-knife in the OHL – routinely rivaling point-per-game scoring with a presence that was felt all over the ice. He’s undersized, but still showed an ability to battle through traffic and win space in front of the net. Those attributes convinced Minnesota to draft Haight with the 47th-overall pick in 2022. Now, three years later, the young center could soon get a chance to show his might at the top level.
Haight was one of only five Wild players to score a goal in the preseason. He played in four games. His training camp showings suggested a lot more improvement was needed, though he never looked much out of place against NHL talent. Should he slot into the lineup, Haight would likely step into the team’s fourth-line center role – potentially next to fellow rookie Danila Yurov.