With winger Mats Zuccarello landing on injured reserve for the next few weeks and center Joel Eriksson Ek’s availability in question after exiting Thursday’s victory over Montreal, the Wild needed an extra forward. They’ve now made that move, announcing the recall of Liam Ohgren from AHL Iowa on an emergency basis.
The 20-year-old broke camp with Minnesota and has played in seven games with them so far this season. However, he was held off the scoresheet and his playing time dwindled quickly; he failed to reach eight minutes of playing time over his last three games. As a result, they elected to send him down to the minors at the end of October in the hopes of getting him more minutes.
Ohgren got into four games with Iowa while on assignment, scoring four goals, three of which came in his last game back on Saturday against Rockford. If he does get into Minnesota’s lineup, it’ll likely be a short-lived recall as they undoubtedly would prefer him playing in a top role in the minors over spot duty with the Wild. So once Eriksson Ek is able to play, Ohgren will probably be sent back down soon after.
