The Minnesota Wild have recalled defenseman Daemon Hunt from the Iowa Wild for their trip to Sweden this week for the NHL Global Series, the team announced Monday afternoon.
It's not surprising the Wild recalled another player today as head coach Dean Evason alluded to it this morning at practice inside Tria Rink in St. Paul.
The addition of Hunt gives the Wild more depth and insurance on their blue line as they'll carry eight defensemen on their cross-ocean trip to Sweden.
This comes after the Wild recalled Jesper Wallstedt this morning and retroactively placed Freddy Gaudreau on long-term injured reserve.
In addition to Wallstedt — who is off to a red hot start this season with a .932 save percentage and two shutouts across eight games — serving an an extra goalie and now Hunt as an extra defenseman, the Wild have Jon Merrill on the backend and Nic Petan up front as more insurance.
This is the third time Hunt has been recalled this season. The 21-year-old left-shot defender made his NHL debut on Oct. 27 in Washington D.C. and has played five games with the Wild so far this season.
Hunt (eight blocked shots) has averaged 8:36 of ice time in those five contests.
He has also played five games with AHL Iowa this season. Hunt proved to be a reliable, two-way defender who played in all situations during his rookie season a year ago, where he tallied 11 points in 59 games with a +2 rating.
The Wild (5-8-2) face the Ottawa Senators (6-7-0) at 10 a.m. Central time Saturday and the Toronto Maple Leafs (8-5-2) at 7 a.m. Sunday.