General Manager Bill Guerin announced this afternoon that the Wild have recalled forward Jake Lucchini from their AHL affiliate team, the Iowa Wild. This was done under emergency conditions. The left-shot skater is on a one-year, two-way contract with the Wild that he signed on July 1, 2023.
This season, Lucchini has put up 20 points (9 goals and 11 assists) with Iowa in 24 games. He is first on the Iowa Wild team with goals and second with points. Lucchini has played 11 games in his NHL career, all of them for the Ottawa Senators during the 2022-23 season. In those games, he came away with a point, which was a goal. This will be Lucchini’s first regular-season appearance with the Minnesota Wild.
As of now, the Minnesota Wild have three players out with injury, two of which are on Long Term Injured Reserve. Jonas Brodin and Mats Zuccarello are both on LTIR, freeing up enough space under the salary cap to recall numerous players from Iowa. Defensemen Dakota Mermis and Daemon Hunt, along with forward Vinni Lettieri, have been with Minnesota for a week. Captain Jared Spurgeon is also out with an injury but is listed as day-to-day. Spurgeon was already on LTIR with an injury earlier in the season.
As it stands, both Mermis and Hunt may see ice time tonight, as both practiced with the team this morning. Lettieri is slated for a position on the fourth line again. However, there is one player who is a game-time decision. It is unknown if that is a forward or a defenseman. Speculation has ranged from Ryan Hartman to Lettieri for forwards to either Zach Bogosian or Alex Goligoski, who both practiced alongside Hunt this morning. Lettieri blocked a hard shot during Tuesday’s game against the Boston Bruins but assured everyone afterward that he was okay. If everyone is okay come game time, Lucchini will be a healthy scratch alongside a defenseman.
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