Injuries have thrust Daemon Hunt and David Spacek into bigger roles for the Minnesota Wild, and Thursday night gave John Hynes a clear look at what he wants from both young defensemen.
With Brock Faber, Jared Spurgeon and Olli Määttä out, Minnesota has had to turn to players farther down the blue-line chart sooner than planned. In Thursday’s 5-4 win over the St. Louis Blues, Hunt and Spacek were among the defensemen who got the chance to show they can handle the load.
Hynes said the standard is simple: be steady, move the puck well and defend with purpose.
"I'd like to see what they did tonight, which I felt like they were consistent in their game," Hynes said. "Both players were efficient when they moved the puck.
Skated well. They defended hard."
That kind of trust is built on the details, especially for young defensemen trying to stick in the NHL. It is not enough to chip in offensively.
They have to be dependable when the puck is coming the other way, and Hynes liked what he saw against St. Louis.
"Even the other night we talked to our guys about, even Huntsy and some of the other guys, I felt like even defensively, they were harder tonight," Hynes said. "We ended plays in the D-zone."
The Wild need that kind of finish in their own end - not letting opponents keep plays alive with second chances, but ending possessions and getting the puck moving the other direction. Hynes said Hunt and Spacek did that well.
"They were able to stop plays and break pucks out and I thought when they had the opportunity to make plays, they did," Hynes said. "They didn't panic with the puck, which was good, but I also felt like they didn't force things."
That balance matters. Young defensemen can feel like they need to do too much to prove they belong, but Hynes’ comments pointed to the opposite approach: make the smart play, keep it simple when it’s there, and let the talent show through that structure.
"When they can play like that, it allows their talents to come out and they're efficient and they were strong players for us tonight," Hynes said.
The injuries have also changed Minnesota’s mix elsewhere, with Quinn Hughes adjusting to different partners early in the season. He acknowledged the impact of losing key regulars, but he also sounded confident about what comes next.
"You miss Brock, it hurts, and then you miss Spurgey. You could see it hurt in Winnipeg," Hughes said. "And when we get those guys back, we'll be at full power."
For Hunt and Spacek, the path is right there: keep showing they can be reliable, and keep earning those chances. Thursday was a start. The harder part is making it a habit.
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The Wild are still piecing things together through a long injury list, but on Oct. 15 they found enough offense to pull out a 5-4 win over the Blues in St. Louis. Minnesota spotted the home side an early deficit, then leaned on a sharper attack and contributions from across the lineup to steady the night and keep the game from slipping away.
Matt Boldy was at the center of it, driving the comeback with a hat trick and four points as Minnesota kept finding answers in a spot that can swing a game quickly. Even without several regulars available, the Wild showed they can lean on skilled finishers and enough depth to make opponents pay if they lose track of the puck in the wrong area. [Read more 🡒]
Quinn Hughes Is Making Minnesota's Biggest Worry Harder To Ignore
Even with injuries thinning out the blue line, Quinn Hughes has been one of the reasons Minnesota has been able to keep its strong start rolling. The defenseman has taken on heavy ice time and added more offense than the Wild have expected, giving the team a stabilizing presence while several other key defenders have been sidelined. His impact shows up quickly in the way Minnesota plays when he is on the ice, especially alongside Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy.
What makes Hughes such a compelling subplot for the Wild is that his future remains unsettled even as his role keeps growing. He has not moved quickly toward a long-term extension, leaving Minnesota with a major contributor now and a looming question later. For a team trying to ride early momentum, that mix of immediate value and long-term uncertainty is becoming harder to overlook. [Read more 🡒]
Wild Suddenly Face A Quinn Hughes Decision They Feared
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Now the question is whether that vision holds if the sides cannot get aligned soon enough. If Minnesota has to treat Hughes like a rental, the market would likely bring back a first-round pick and a top prospect, a decent haul in a vacuum but a far cry from the package the Wild originally sent out. Add in the clubs offseason moves and the pressure to keep pace in a tough division, and this has the feel of a decision the front office would rather not be forced into so quickly. [Read more 🡒]