With the Minnesota Wild set to play the Boston Bruins on Thursday night, they will have two first rounders making their NHL debuts, Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi. Dean Evason confirmed the call-ups and debuts of these two forwards on the KFAN radio station Tuesday morning.
Matt Boldy, 12th overall pick in the 2019 draft from Boston College, has spent the previous two seasons in the AHL for the Iowa Wild with 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) in 24 games played and is the only top-20 pick from the 2019 yet to make his NHL debut. He started off this 2021 season with an ankle injury from training camp but has since got off to a nice start with 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) in 10 games.
Marco Rossi, 9th overall pick in the 2020 draft from Austria, did not play last season after getting Covid-19 and being diagnosed with myocarditis. He was assigned to the Iowa Wild after playing in the Wild’s preseason games. He currently leads the Iowa Wild with 23 points (7 goals, 16 assists) in 21 games. Prior to his time with the Wild, Rossi played for the Ottawa 67’s in the OHL with a career 185 points (68 goals, 117 assists) in 109 games.
These were necessary with Joel Eriksson Ek (upper body) expected to be out until at least January 10th and Jordan Greenway (Covid-19) in the Covid protocol. The Wild are also without captain Jared Spurgeon (lower body) until at least January 10th, starting goalie Cam Talbot (lower body) and Jonas Brodin (Covid-19) who is expected to be in the lineup on Thursday night.
On a 5-game skid, this Minnesota team looks to get out of their slump and back on track when they face-off against the Boston Bruins in Boston on Thursday night. Let’s see if the young-guns can get something going in their debuts and stick around past Thursday night.
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