SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has acquired forward Nick Bonino (boh-NEE-noh) and the 37th and 70th draft picks in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft from the Nashville Predators in exchange for forward Luke Kunin and the 101st selection in this year’s draft. Bonino, 32 (4/20/88), recorded 35 points (18-17=35), 16 penalty minutes (PIM), three game-winning goals (GWG), 89 blocked shots and 104 shots in 67 games with Nashville during the 2019-20 season. The 6-foot-1, 196-pound native of Harford, Conn., ranked T-2nd in goals, third in plus/minus rating (plus-17), T-3rd in GWG, fourth in blocked shots and sixth in points. He scored a goal in four Stanley Cup Playoff games this postseason as the Predators fell to Arizona in the Qualifying Round. Bonino owns 282 points (122-160=282), a plus-72 rating, 171 PIM, 22 PPG, 13 GWG, 656 blocked shots, 251 hits and 989 shots in 626 career games in 11 NHL seasons with Anaheim, Vancouver, Pittsburgh and Nashville (2009-20). The left-shot forward has 48 points (19-29=48), 45 PIM, three PPG, six GWG, 138 blocked shots and 172 shots in 98 career Stanley Cup Playoff contests with Anaheim, Vancouver, Pittsburgh and Nashville and has won two Stanley Cups with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017. He was drafted by San Jose in the sixth round (173rd overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and made his NHL debut with Anaheim on March 26, 2010. Kunin collected 31 points (15-16=31), 55 PIM, 54 blocked shots and 64 hits in 63 games with Minnesota in 2019-20 and owns 52 points (23-29=52) in 131 career NHL games in three seasons with the Wild (2017-20).
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has made qualifying offers to the following players: D Louie Belpedio, F Jordan Greenway, G Kaapo Kahkonen and D Brennan Menell. The Wild did not make qualifying offers to the following restricted free agents: D Stepan Falkovsky, G Mat Robson and D Hunter Warner.
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Wild selected five players during the 2020 NHL Entry Draft Tuesday and Wednesday virtually from the Minnesota Wild 317 offices, including four players during rounds two-seven today. Minnesota selected three forwards and two defensemen, including two Canadians, one player from Austria, one player from Russia and one player from the Czech Republic. Minnesota selected center Marco Rossi, ninth overall, during the Draft’s first round Tuesday night. The 19-year-old (9/23/01), spent the 2019-20 season with the Ottawa 67’s of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), totaling 120 points (39-81=120) in 56 games. He led the OHL and all players in the Canadian Hockey League (OHL, QMJHL, WHL) in assists and points. The 5-foot-9, 183-pound native of Feldkirch, Austria, was named the OHL’s Most Outstanding Player of the Year, just the second European import player to win the award and was named to the OHL First Team All-Star. He led Ottawa in plus/minus rating (plus-69) and power-play assists (31), second in goals, third in shots (193) and fifth in power-play goals (7) and game-winning goals (5). The left-shot center becomes the fifth Austrian-born player selected in the first round, joining former Wild player Thomas Vanek (No. 5, 2003), Michael Grabner (No. 14, 2006), Andre Burakovsky (No. 23, 2013) and Marko Dano (No. 27, 2013). “Marco is a two-way center with incredible vision, skill and compete level,” said Judd Brackett, Minnesota Wild Director of Amateur Scouting. “We are very excited to add his playmaking ability to our organization.” Minnesota began Wednesday by acquiring forward Nick Bonino, a second round (No. 37) and fourth round (No. 70) selections in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft from the Nashville Predators in exchange for forward Luke Kunin and the 101st overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The Wild selected center Marat Khusnutdinov with the 37th overall selection. The 5-foot-11, 176-pound native of Moscow, Russia, recorded 38 points (13-25=38) in 44 games with SKA St. Petersburgh (Russia-Jr.) during the 2019-20 season. The 18-year-old (7/17/02) captained Team Russia to a gold medal at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzy Cup and tallied three assists in five games. The left-shot forward also earned a gold medal with Russia at the 2018 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and a silver medal at the 2019 IIHF World Under-18 Championship. He is playing for St. Petersburg SKA of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for the 2020-21 season. “Marat is an elite skater, two-way center with speed and has creative offensive vision,” said Brackett. The Wild selected defenseman Ryan O’Rourke in the second round with the 39th overall selection. The 6-foot, 178-pound native of Pickering, Ontario, was named captain of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) prior to the 2019-20 season and recorded 37 points (7-30=37) in 54 games. The 18-year-old (5/16/02) led the team with a plus-16 rating and 79 PIM and ranked fifth in assists. He led team defensemen in GWG (2) and ranked third in scoring. The left-shot forward helped Team Canada earn a silver medal at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. The blueliner registered 22 points (8-14=22) in 62 games with the Greyhounds during the 2018-19 season and ranked fifth amongst OHL rookie defensemen in scoring. He was named a tournament all-star and tied for most points by a defenseman at the 2018 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge with six points (3-3=6) in five games. “Ryan is another strong skater, two-way defender with great character and grit,” said Brackett. Minnesota acquired a third round (No. 65) selection in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for the 70th and 132nd selections in this year’s draft. The Wild selected defenseman Daemon Hunt in the third round with the 65th overall selection. The 6-foot, 198-pound native of Brandon, Manitoba, tallied 15 assists in 28 games with Moose Jaw of the Western Hockey League (WHL) during the 2019-20 campaign. The 18-year-old (5/15/02), served on the Warriors leadership group and missed half the season due to an arm laceration injury. He helped Team Canada earn a silver medal at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzy Cup. The left-shot blueliner collected 22 points (8-14=22) in 65 contests in two seasons with the Warriors from 2017-19 and ranked fourth amongst WHL rookie defensemen with 20 points (7-13=20) in 2018-19. “Daemon is a hard-nosed, two-way defender with excellent mobility and has strong leadership skills,” said Brackett. The Wild acquired a fifth round (No. 146) pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for the 163rd and 194th selections in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Minnesota selected center Pavel Novak in the fifth round with the 146th overall selection. The 5-foot-9, 170-pound native of Tabor, Czech Republic, spent the 2019-20 season with Kelowna (WHL) and recorded 58 points (25-33=58) in 55 games. The 18-year-old (4/16/02) led the Rockets in goals, GWG (5) and scoring, ranked T-1st in PPG (8), second in assists and plus/minus rating (plus-10) and third in shots (155). He ranked T-2nd amongst WHL rookies assists, third in scoring and fourth in goals. He registered his first career hat trick and four-point game (3-1=4) on Nov. 1 vs. Prince George. The right-shot forward has represented the Czech Republic at the 2019 Ivan Hlinka Memorial, the 2018 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and twice at the Five Nations Tournament. He totaled 45 points (29-16=45) in 31 contests with Ceske Budejovice (CZREP-Jr.) during the 2018-19 campaign. “Pavel is a smart possession center with good vision and great puck distribution skill,” said Brackett.
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