Iowa Wild defenseman David \u0160pa\u010dek earns NHL call-up<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIS IOWA\u2019S NEWS LEADER KCCI EIGHT NEWS AT FIVE STARTS RIGHT NOW. THE COUNTDOWN IS ON. WE ARE JUST WEEKS AWAY FROM THE START OF THE 2026 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES. THOUSANDS OF ATHLETES FROM ALL AROUND THE WORLD WILL MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE BIG STAGE IN ITALY TO COMPETE FOR GOLD. AND OF COURSE, IT WOULDN\u2019T BE THE WINTER OLYMPICS WITHOUT HOCKEY. OF COURSE NOT. IN SOME IOWA WILD, PLAYERS IN DES MOINES ARE GETTING READY TO HEAD TO MILAN TO REPRESENT THEIR COUNTRIES. KCCI SHANNON EHRHARDT SHOWS US WHICH STARS ON THE ICE ARE HEADING TO ITALY. WELL, YOU GUYS, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU KNOW THIS. FIRST THINGS FIRST. IT\u2019S THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2014 THAT NHL PLAYERS WILL BE COMPETING IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES. YOU MIGHT SAY, WHAT DO YOU MEAN? WELL, I MEAN THAT THE NHL IS TAKING AN OFFICIAL OLYMPIC BREAK THE IOWA WILD WILL HAVE TWO GUYS REPRESENTED AT THIS YEAR\u2019S OLYMPICS, BUT IT WON\u2019T BE FOR TEAM USA. GOALIE SAMUEL HALABI WILL PLAY FOR TEAM SLOVAKIA, AND DEFENSEMAN DAVID SPACEK IS ON THE CZECH TEAM. SPACEK LEADS THE TEAM IN ASSISTS AND RANKS SECOND IN POINTS. THE DEFENSEMAN ACTUALLY JUST GOT RECALLED TO MINNESOTA, SO HE\u2019S NOT WITH IOWA AT THE MOMENT. THIS IS STAR TREK\u2019S FIRST OLYMPICS, BUT HIS FATHER, JAROSLAV SPACEK, IS A THREE TIME OLYMPIAN. THIS WILL ALSO BE SAMUEL HOLLOWAY\u2019S FIRST OLYMPICS. HE WILL START IN GOAL FOR SLOVAKIA. HOLLOWAY COMES WITH GLOBAL EXPERIENCE AS HE\u2019S PLAYED IN THREE WORLD JUNIORS AND THREE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS. HE SAID TO REPRESENT HIS COUNTRY AT THE OLYMPICS IS A DREAM COME TRUE. BUT IF HE WERE TO COMPETE IN A DIFFERENT SPORT, HE\u2019D CHOOSE THE BIATHLON. I DON\u2019T KNOW IF IT\u2019S CALLED HERE THE SAME AS IN BIATHLON. IS IT CALLED HERE AS WELL? IS IT LIKE YOU RUN ON A SKI WITH THE GUN ON YOUR BACK AND SHOOTING? THAT FASCINATES ME BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO RUN. IT\u2019S IN SKIS AND THEN YOU ARE LIKE, GASSED OUT AND THEN YOU HAVE TO SHOOT. AND IF YOU MISS, YOU HAVE TO RUN ANOTHER ROUND, YOU KNOW? IT\u2019S FASCINATING. ME, I ALWAYS LIKE TO WATCH IT ON TV. I HONESTLY DON\u2019T KNOW WHAT HOCKEY HAS TO DO WITH BIATHLON. AND IF THOSE SKILLS REALLY TRANSLATE. BUT HIS ANSWER WAS AUTOMATIC WHEN WE ASKED HIM ABOUT THIS. BUT HE WILL BE STARTING IN GOAL, NOT DOING THE BIATHLON FOR SLOVAKIA COME FEBRUARY. A LOT OF I TOLD US HE LEAVES FOR ITALY FEBRUARY 7TH. THE MEN\u2019S HOCKEY TOURNAMENT STARTS FEBRUARY 11TH. YOU GUYS THANKS SHANNON. CLEARLY HE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT BEFORE. IN WEST DES MOINES, NATIVE IS ON A FAST TRACK TO MAKE HISTORY. ZACH STOPPEL MORE WILL BE CHASING GOLD IN THE WINTER GAMES. HE COMPETES FEBRUARY 14TH. YOU CAN HEAR HOW ZACH MADE HIS BIG DREAM COME TRU\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Minnesota Wild recalled defenseman David \u0160pa\u010dek from the Iowa Wild on Tuesday, and the 22-year-old is expected to make his NHL debut when Minnesota hosts the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.\u0160pa\u010dek has yet to appear in an NHL game since being selected by the Wild in the fifth round (No. 153 overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft. He has been one of Iowa\u2019s top defensemen this season, recording 19 points (three goals, 16 assists) in 35 AHL games and leading the team in assists.The 6-foot, 190-pound native of Columbus, Ohio, has totaled 62 points in 168 career AHL games over three seasons. He will wear No. 82 with Minnesota.Iowa Wild defenseman Carson Lambos was also called up by Minnesota for Thursday’s game.\u0160pa\u010dek is also set to represent Czechia at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics and previously helped his country win gold at the 2024 IIHF World Championship.Minnesota hosts Winnipeg at 7 p.m. CT on FanDuel Sports Network and KFAN FM 100.3.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tMINNEAPOLIS \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
The Minnesota Wild recalled defenseman David \u0160pa\u010dek from the Iowa Wild on Tuesday, and the 22-year-old is expected to make his NHL debut when Minnesota hosts the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.<\/p>\n
\u0160pa\u010dek has yet to appear in an NHL game since being selected by the Wild in the fifth round (No. 153 overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft. He has been one of Iowa\u2019s top defensemen this season, recording 19 points (three goals, 16 assists) in 35 AHL games and leading the team in assists.<\/p>\n
The 6-foot, 190-pound native of Columbus, Ohio, has totaled 62 points in 168 career AHL games over three seasons. He will wear No. 82 with Minnesota.<\/p>\n
Iowa Wild defenseman Carson Lambos was also called up by Minnesota for Thursday’s game.<\/p>\n