Wild cuts another 13 from roster

The Minnesota Wild made some major roster adjustments on Sunday (Sept. 27), sending nine players to the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League and releasing another four from professional tryout contracts.

The following players have been reassigned to the Iowa Wild at Des Moines.

Christoph Bertschy – A 21-year-old, 5’10,” 190 lbs. forward from Le Mouret, Switzerland, Bertschy was selected in the Sixth Round (158th Overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Wild and he will be making his North American debut at Iowa after playing both junior and then pro with SC Bern in his homeland. He was a captain with the junior club and despite his young age, also wore an ‘A’ with the pro club last season where he appeared in 44 games and put up 30 points (14g, 16a) along with 26 penalty minutes and finishing the season with a +14 rating.

Brady Brassart – A 22-year-old, 6’1,” 207 lbs. forward from North Vancouver, BC; Brassart moved from a four year run in the Western Hockey League with Spokane and Calgary to the Iowa Wild, playing nine games at the end of the 2013-14 campaign and then appearing in 72 games last season where he put up 21 points (8g, 13a) and 22 penalty minutes.

Matt Carey – A 23-year-old, 6’0,” 190 lbs. forward from Hamilton, ON; Carey previously played with the Chicago Blackhawks organization after a two year stint with St. Lawrence University. Last season, with the Rockford Ice Hogs, Carey played in 67 games and collected 21 points (10g, 11a) along with 43 penalty minutes.

Maxime Fortunus – A 32-year-old, 5’11,” 203 lbs. defenseman from La Prairie, QC, Fortunus has been with the Dallas Stars organization for several seasons, appearing in nine NHL games while playing primarily with the Texas Stars where he was captain in each of the previous three seasons. Last year, Fortunus played in 65 games and collected 34 points (9g, 25a) and 31 penalty minutes.

Kurtis Gabriel – A 22-year-old, 6’2,” 212 lbs. forward from Newmarket, ON, Gabriel was selected in the Third Round (81st Overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft by the Wild and returned for a final season with the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League before joining the Iowa Wild at the end of that campaign.  Last year. Gabriel appeared in 67 games with the Iowa Wild and collected 16 points (7g, 9a) along with 125 penalty minutes.

Marc Hagel – A 27-year-old, 5’11,” 190 lbs. forward from Hamilton, ON; Hagel played parts of five seasons with Princeton and Miami of Ohio before making his pro debut at the end of the 2012-13 season with the Lake Erie Monsters. The following season he split time between the Iowa Wild and South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL and last season he appeared in 67 games at Iowa, collecting 33 points (12g, 21a) and 36 penalty minutes.

Leland Irving – A 27-year-old, 6’0,” 176 lbs. goaltender from Barrhead, AB, Irving was selected in the First Round, 26th Overall by the Calgary Flames in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He played in the Flames’ system before moving to Europe where he played in the Finnish Elite League in 2013-14 and then in the KHL last season. Playing with Salavat Yulaev last season, Irving appeared in 20 games and posted a 3.35 goals against average along with an .883 Save Percentage.

Michael Keranen – A 25-year-old, 6’1,” 192 lbs. forward from Stockholm, Sweden, Keranen made the move from pro hockey in Finland to the Iowa Wild last season. In 70 games, he collected 37 points (10g, 27a) and 22 penalty minutes.

Dylan Labbe – A 20-year-old, 6’2,” 205 lbs. defenseman from Levis, QC; Labbe was selected in the Fourth Round (107th Overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft by the Wild. He wrapped up his third full season with the Shawinigan Cataractes of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League last season and played a handful of games with the Iowa Wild at the end of each of his past two seasons. Last year, Labbe collected 51 points (15g, 36a) in 63 games with Shawinigan and then played three games at Des Moines.

Kevin Lalande – A 28-year-old, 6’0,” 190 lbs. goaltender from Kingston, ON; Lalande was selected in the Fifth Round (128th Overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames. His last North American games were played in 2009-10 with the Syracuse Crunch and he has played most of the past half dozen seasons with Dynamo Minsk of the KHL. A dual citizen of Canada and Belarus, Lalande has also represented Belarus in International competitions in the past few seasons.

Zack Mitchell – A 22-year-old, 6’0,” 194 lbs. winger from Caledon, ON, Mitchell played four seasons with the Guelph Storm before making his pro debut with the Iowa Wild last season. He appeared in all 76 games for the Des Moines club, recording 35 points (17g, 18a) and 12 penalty minutes.

Gustav Olofsson – A 20-year-old 6’3,” 196 lbs. defenseman from Boras, Sweden, Olofsson was selected in the Second Round (46th Overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft by the Wild before he moved from the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL to Colorado College. He spent just one season there, playing eight games with the Iowa Wild in the spring of 2014. He also played in both the World Junior Hockey Championships and played in five other games with Team Sweden that season. Last year he appeared in just one game at Des Moines, so he is still considered a rookie entering this season in the AHL.

Zach Palmquist – A 24-year-old, 6,0,” 187 lbs. defenseman from South St. Paul, MN; Palmquist last season finished a four season run at Minnesota State Mankato and made his pro debut in Iowa at the end of the season. He picked up 29 points (8g, 21a) and 20 penalty minutes at Mankato and added three more assists in eight games at Des Moines.

The following four players were released from Professional Tryout Contracts with the Wild, likely with the intention of ultimately being sent to the Iowa Wild:

Zac Dalpe – A 25-year-old, 6’1,” 194 lbs. forward from Paris, ON; Dalpe was selected in the Second Round (45th Overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes. He has appeared in 117 NHL games with the Hurricanes, Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks and played another 231 games in the AHL with the Albany River Rats, Charlotte Checkers, Utica Comets and Rochester Americans. Last season, Dalpe played 21 games with the Sabres, collecting three points (1g, 2a) and four penalty minutes along with 44 games at Rochester where he collected 28 points (16g, 12a) and 0 penalty minutes.

Ruslan Fedotenko – A 36-year-old 6’1,” 201 lbs. veteran from Kiev, Ukraine; Fedotenko was originally came to North America to play junior — first in the Saskatchewan Junior League and then with Sioux City of the USHL. His pro career has seen him play 863 NHL games with Tampa Bay — where he won a Stanley Cup in 2004, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers. He moved to the KHL in 2013-14 but returned to play with the Iowa Wild last season where he appeared in just 13 games, collecting three goals and six penalty minutes.

Jared Knight – A 23-year-old, 5’11,” 203 lbs. forward from Battle Creek, MI; Knight was selected in the Second Round (32nd Overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins. Knight wrapped up a four season run with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League in 2012 and played the next three seasons with the Providence Bruins before being traded to the Wild this past March for Zach Phillips. In 52 games at Providence and Iowa last season, Knight collected 10 points (4g, 6a) and 42 minutes in penalties.

Brett Sutter – A 28-year-old, 6’0,” 201 lbs. forward from Viking, Ab; Sutter was selected in the Sixth Round (179th Overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames. Since then, Sutter has played in 60 NHL games with Calgary, Carolina and Minnesota as well as 544 AHL contests with Abbotsford, Charlotte and Iowa. Sutter came to the Wild as a free agent in the summer of 2014 and last season played in six games with the Wild, where he collected three assists, and another 71 games at Des Moines where he put up 29 points (12g, 17a) and 37 penalty minutes.

These moves bring the Wild closer to a final roster with a total of 27 players — 15 forwards; nine defensemen and three goaltenders still in camp.