SAN JOSE, Calif. — With 2022 third-round pick Michael Milne recalled for the first time in his young career and readying to possibly make his NHL debut on the Wild’s three-game road trip that begins Thursday against the Sharks, it’s clear the Minnesota Wild plan to let Liam Öhgren bake a bit in AHL Iowa.
The 20-year-old left wing earned a job out of training camp, but because of the Wild’s strong start and relative health up front, Öhgren never escaped the fourth line and was averaging a team-low 9 minutes, 33 seconds a game in seven games with no points.
Prolonged, that’s not good for development or confidence. Iowa has won three games in a row. Öhgren has played the past two, scoring his first goal of the season Sunday. He’s getting the ice time and responsibility he can’t in Minnesota.
That was the message from coach John Hynes when Öhgren was assigned to Iowa before the Wild’s just-completed three-game homestand.
“He certainly is a guy that we’re going to need throughout the year,” Hynes said last week. “But at the same time as a young player, where you look at coming into the season, how are lines going to stack up? How are players going to be able to return? He made as good of a push as he could, but right now we have a lot of guys playing really well. So our thought process is to try to do what’s right for him now but also for our team moving forward in the year so we’re able to get him down to play more — to play more minutes, to play some more situations than he’s played. And he recognizes that.”
The Wild are competing for a playoff spot. They’re not rebuilding. So they can’t force-feed a young player into an elevated role he hasn’t earned or isn’t ready for.
Marcus Johansson has one goal and no assists in his last 10 games, but he continues to be a mainstay on the Joel Eriksson Ek-Matt Boldy line.
If the Wild were the San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks or Chicago Blackhawks, maybe you insert Öhgren in that spot even if that responsibility is initially over his head. But they’re not the Sharks, Ducks or Blackhawks.
“As a young player, sometimes when you’re trying to work your way into the league, if you’re on a team that’s very competitive, it’s hard,” Hynes said. “You can be a young player on a rebuilding team, and you just get carte blanche. But I think the survival skills that you need to play in the NHL — the importance of the wall play, the importance of puck management, the importance of not taking a shift for granted, because you may not get 20, you may get 12 — I thought he handled it really well. We talked him through that. So I think he’s in a really good place, but it’s, I think, what’s best for him right now.
“We’re looking forward to him (continuing) to develop and build. And the other message, too, is if he goes down and plays the way he needs to play, right now we’re healthy and the team’s going well, but we all know there’s ups and downs through a season (and) that he’s a guy that (we’re going to need).”
Hynes said the Wild coaching staff had been in constant communication with Öhgren about his role and what could happen, so last week’s news didn’t blindside him.
“Obviously, you’re disappointed if you get sent down,” Hynes said. “But the messaging was all on the same page.”
Milne, 22, is a winger who could theoretically slide into the fourth line and bring speed and energy. He was Iowa’s second-leading scorer with four goals and eight points in 10 games, and he’s known as a tenacious player. Maybe he’s inserted for Yakov Trenin, the free-agent pickup who has thus far been a disappointment with no goals, one assist and 11 shots in 12 games and whose skating has left a lot to be desired.
Maybe it’s too soon, but Milne is also a penalty killer, and the Wild’s penalty kill has given up a goal in six of its past 11 tries.
“From the start of the season, he’s been the most consistent player that’s been down there,” Hynes said of Milne. “Fast. Plays hard. He’s producing down there. He’s been consistently the top forward there, so it’s good to see. I actually haven’t really had the chance to see him because he was hurt in rookie camp, then he was hurt in training camp. I didn’t get a chance to see him last year. So based on his performance, his style of game and the way he’s played, he’s the guy that got the recall and yeah, there’s a good chance he could get in.”
Fleury on future, his kids taking in Pittsburgh reception
One of the coolest parts of Marc-Andre Fleury’s final start in Pittsburgh last Tuesday and his love affair with the fans who cheered him on for 13 seasons was Fleury’s three children, Estelle, Scarlette and James, attending the game.
Originally, Fleury didn’t plan to have his wife and kids there, but the Wild convinced him it would be special for his children to witness.
In the end, Fleury relented and couldn’t have been happier that he did. His wife and kids flew in on Delta on game day and were on the team charter back to the Twin Cities after. He won the game, was named first star and his kids got to cut the netting off the cage.
Taking in every. single. moment.
Check out more moments of Beyond Our Ice » https://t.co/3mkHEBnhfd#mnwild x @TRIAOrthopedics pic.twitter.com/Yzit38ILaK
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) October 30, 2024
“My oldest, she’s 11, and understands it a little more,” Fleury told The Athletic. “My girls were born there and hopefully they can understand or be old enough to remember their time in Pittsburgh where this game and the people are so special. Pittsburgh was a big part of my life — me and my wife. Many great years there. I became an adult and a man a little bit, and I was happy they were there to see the love from the people.”
Fleury’s youngest, James, crashed quickly on the flight home, but Fleury said his daughters “thought (players) were pretty spoiled with the food, big (first-class) seats, how they’re always serving you snacks and the quick security.”
🌸 🌸 🌸 pic.twitter.com/AWL6nmX7qe
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) October 29, 2024
Fleury said he doesn’t know yet what he’ll do when he retires. He is building his retirement home in Las Vegas, but he’ll have no shortage of job opportunities, including probably one in any capacity with the Wild.
“I think the first thing is I want to be home more for my kids,” he said. “I don’t want to miss their soccer tournament, their school play, right? Like, I want to be there for those things and be able to choose to be there for that.
“And then obviously, I think hockey is all I know. I only got a (diploma) from high school. And hockey I love. So I guess we’ll see. I heard, though, it’s hard sometimes when you leave the game too long. It’s hard to come back in.”
Rossi on hidden puck trick
One of the funniest moments in the Wild’s victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning was Marco Rossi scoring when a second puck was on the ice.
Rossi was coming in on the forecheck when he took a shot that missed the target to the left of the net. The rebound caromed all the way to the right corner, but as Rossi circled the net, he grabbed a loose puck that was tucked close to the back of the net and scored on a wraparound.
Some fans cheered and were confused that the red light and go horn didn’t go off. Referees reviewed the play with the NHL situation room and realized the puck from a shot Kirill Kaprizov took that hit the netting on the previous power play had fallen onto the ice undetected.
Have you ever seen TWO pucks in play? 😂
Now you have pic.twitter.com/cdYVbqAJcJ
— Lightning on FanDuel Sports Network (@FDSN_Lightning) November 2, 2024
“I shot it and I saw a puck there and I saw the other puck — the original puck — was so far away, so I thought I’d just give it a shot,” Rossi, laughing, told The Athletic. “As soon as it went in, I still went on the backcheck.”
When the referees reviewed the “goal,” Rossi sat on the bench with a mischievous grin, knowing he had scored with the second puck. He said teammates got a kick out of it and were giving him grief on the bench.
“All the guys knew,” Rossi said.
(Photo of Michael Milne: Nick Wosika / Getty Images)
