ST. PAUL, Minn - Training camp and preseason games are a great chance for players to make a good impression and push for spots. It is especially important for the younger players and prospects to showcase their skills.
For the second straight year, Hunter Haight is doing just that.
Haight, 21, impressed in last year's training camp and preseason. Following that he played his rookie season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Iowa Wild.
In his rookie season, Haight recorded 20 goals and 14 assists in 67 games. In the opening preseason game of the year, Haight was the team's fourth line center. Caedan Bankier, Ben Jones and Danila Yurov were ahead of him.
With three minutes left in that game Haight game flying in on the right side before scoring his first goal of the preseason.
For his second preseason game of the year, Haight was on the third line as the center. He played great against Dallas and was the team's second line center on Sunday against the Chicago Blackhawks.
With the goalie pulled and down two goals, the Wild had Haight on the ice. He was on the ice over Yurov and seemly has been impressing the Wild.
"Yeah, I thought he's had a strong camp," Wild head coach John Hynes said on Sunday. "He's got good hockey sense. I think his competitiveness jumps out at you. He's been able to produce in a couple games and he seems like a pretty versatile player. He's a right-shot center and he's done a pretty good job on the penalty kill. He's had some power play time too, so he's done well."
On Sunday Haight picked up his second goal of the preseason after he finished off his own rebound. Tyler Pitlick made a nice pass to Haight who was streaking in. It was the Wild's only goal on Sunday.
The 5-foot-11 center has impressed the Wild enough to possibly make the team but that opportunity could actually become a reality. Yurov has been given a lot of chances in the preseason. He has centered Kirill Kaprizov and Vladimir Tarasenko for a few shifts and has been on the top power play and penalty kill for every game.
On Sunday those spots were given to Haight. He dropped to the third line and went 2-for-8 on the face-off dot. Haight went 4-for-6 on the dot and had 15 minutes and 45 seconds of ice time.
"Yeah, he's put himself in a position to continue to compete for a spot," Hynes said of Haight after the game.
Nico Sturm was signed this offseason to be the Wild's fourth line center but has now missed some time in camp due to an upper-body injury. His status remains unclear if he will be ready to start the season.
Hynes said after the game on Sunday that Sturm's timetable is a moving target. He said they want to get Sturm into a full hour long practice before coming up with how long he will be out for, if any time.
Sturm could respond really well to that practice and be ready to go or he could miss a little bit of time to start the season. This could open a spot for Haight.
"At the end of the day, that's why I'm here, is to try to find a roster spot and every day try and get better," Haight said after the game on Sunday. "I think I've progressed throughout this camp."
Nonetheless, Haight has impressed the Wild and will continue to push for a spot as training camp begins to wind down.
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