To have enough salary cap space to add Kaprizov and Spurgeon to their lineup, the Wild sent David Jiricek to the minors.
“You’ve seen at times where he’s got great offensive instincts and has the ability to make plays,” Hynes said. “Then there’s other times, like any player, plays under pressure on breakouts — that’s a difficult task at the NHL level. Sometimes the D-zone, the details of when to go, when not to go, when to hold ice, when not to hold ice. The nice thing is that I think there’s much more positive, in seeing him play and play regularly, than there are things he needs to work on.”
Rookie Liam Ohgren has also made an impression lately.
Promoted from Iowa after Johansson got hurt, Ohgren assisted on two goals vs. the Avalanche and was on the ice for all three scored by the Wild.
“Some of the things that we wanted to be better at against Colorado, he was very good at,” Hynes said. “I thought he was good on the forecheck, good speed. He had a couple nice plays on the goals, and now you’re starting to see him use his natural abilities. The game’s coming more natural to him.”