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MN Wild Swap Out Youngsters Before Opener; Injuries Remain Top of Mind
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- MN Wild Swap Out Youngsters Before Opener; Injuries Remain Top of Mind
Nick Wosika-Imagn Images
The Minnesota Wild had to fight for their playoff lives during the second half of last season, as injuries ravaged the roster from start to finish. And from the beginning of 2025 training camp, those injuries have continued to haunt this team.
Some good news: Jonas Brodin has been slowly ramping up to full speed, following surgery on an upper body injury he suffered last season, and he now appears dangerously close to rejoining the Wild's defensive core, possibly even as soon as Thursday night in St. Louis for the 2025-26 regular season opener .
Not only was Jonas Brodin not placed on the IR to open the season, he was on the ice in practice this morning.
It wasn't a no-contact practice for Brodin either.
John Hynes didn't have an answer this morning if Brodin will play Thursday in St. Louis. pic.twitter.com/h6MF47Xe3oRelated Headlines
— Alec Ausmus (@A_TwiceKSTP) October 8, 2025
Whenever the 32-year-old Swed does return, Minnesota will have one of the better defensive groups from top to bottom in the NHL, with Spurgeon, Buium , Faber, Brodin and Middleton healthy. Unfortunately, the Wild enter yet another regular season with questions up the middle.
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Injuries remain a problem for the Wild going into opener
Their biggest immediate problem comes again in the health department. Center Nico Sturm — who played his first 3.5 years of his NHL career in a Minnesota Wild sweater — has had his homecoming foiled by a back injury that he's been struggling with all camp.
Hynes wouldn't talk about Sturm's return timeline, but sources tell Michael Russo (The Athletic) that Nico will undergo surgery soon, which means his return to a Wild uniform will be delayed quite a bit.
Coach John Hynes didn't offer a specific timeline Wednesday, but league sources told The Athletic that Sturm is expected to undergo surgery for a back injury that has been ailing him since the first practice of training camp.
As Russo notes , this is a huge loss for the Minnesota Wild, given what they were expecting out of Nico Sturm this season, which was a solid all-around center who could kill penalties and win faceoffs. The injury also makes the underwhelming camp performance of the Wild's newest shiny Russian forward , Danila Yurov .
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Yurov made the jump from the KHL this year, and in a perfect world, he would have left training camp with a solidified spot on Minnesota's active roster in St. Louis Thursday. Instead, Yurov failed to take what the Wild wanted to be his.
Minnesota Wild expected to go with Haight, not Yurov
So with Hynes in need of a fourth line centerman for the opener in St. Louis, with Sturm unavailable, he and president Bill Guerin are not expected to select their new 21-year-old Russian . Instead, according to Russo, he's likely to call upon 21-year-old Hunter Haight, who is now expected to make his NHL Debut against the Blues .
Hunter Haight, 21, was recalled in Sturm's absence and is set to make his NHL debut on the fourth line unless something changes. His parents, Steve and Amy, and girlfriend, Brie, will be in attendance for the game. Liam Ohgren and Vinnie Hinostroza will likely be on his wings, which means Danila Yurov's NHL debut appears to be on hold.
Hynes wouldn't totally commit to Haight over Yurov for Thursday, but mostly acquiesced to the likelihood of it, by the end of his presser. What gave it away? Well, Hunter's parents are going to be at the game in St. Louis, making the plan pretty clear, whether the Wild are willing to announce it publicly yet or not.
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However, throughout his meeting with media on Wednesday, the Minnesota Wild head coach made it very clear that the organization has not lost any belief in what Danila Yurov will eventually become as an NHL player.
John Hynes assures organizational confidence in Danila Yurov
He also noted that Yurov will get his opportunities and that those moments will likely come sooner than later. Hynes pointed specifically to Haight's experience playing in North America, as a reason he could get the call over Yurov. He also reminded reporters that Hunter Haight scored 20 goals last season in Iowa, his year first as a pro.
"I've talked with Danila," Hynes said. "He's learning every day. He's getting better. He's going to be a good player. We believe in him as a player… Hunter has played in the American League. He's played in North America. He scored 20 goals last year."
"It doesn't mean that Danila is not going to play. We may make the decision to go with guys who have more North American experience, and then we'll go there. There's lots of games coming, so we'll just get the lineup that we feel comfortable with and gives us the best chance to win against St. Louis."
"You could argue that at training camp some of those guys didn't 'take' the jobs, but they're still pushing. And that's refreshing and is going to make us a better team."
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