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2022 NHL Prospect Watch – Minnesota Wild – WHL Network

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With the 2022-23 NHL season on the horizon, we’re putting a focus on current and former WHL players looking to make their mark at the next level.

The 2022 NHL Prospect Watch series will feature some of the current and past WHL talent recently drafted or signed to NHL contracts, and having appeared in fewer than 50 NHL games.

Our series continues with a look at the prospect pool of the Minnesota Wild.

Calen Addison
Defenseman Calen Addison is primed for a big year within the Minnesota Wild organization after appearing in 15 NHL contests in 2021-22. The product of Brandon, Man. scored his first NHL goal on November 2, 2021 against the Ottawa Senators, finishing the season with two tallies at the NHL level and 34 points in 43 games with the Iowa Wild of the AHL. Addison spent his entire WHL career with the Lethbridge Hurricanes after being selected second-overall in the 2015 WHL Draft, collecting 215 points in five seasons in Lethbridge.

Caedan Bankier
Selected in the third round of the 2021 NHL Draft, forward Caedan Bankier enters the 2022-23 WHL season after setting career bests with 21 goals and 60 points in 2021-22 for the Kamloops Blazers. Bankier, from Surrey, BC, added five goals and 11 points in 17 playoff appearances this past spring, and is poised to be one of the Blazers premier players as Kamloops prepares to host the 2023 Memorial Cup presented by Kia.

Adam Beckman
Forward Adam Beckman made his NHL debut for the Minnesota Wild on October 30, 2021 against the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche, and appeared in a total of three NHL contests in his first professional campaign. Beckman, who hails from Saskatoon, Sask., scored 11 times and totaled 34 points at the AHL level with the Iowa Wild last season. Beckman spent his entire WHL career with the Spokane Chiefs, leading the league in goals (48) and points (107), as well as capturing the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as WHL Player of the Year in 2020.

Connor Dewar
Forward Connor Dewar made 35 appearances for the Minnesota Wild in 2021-22, scoring twice and totaling six points at the NHL level. His first goal came as part of a two-point effort January 24 versus Montreal, and the former Everett Silvertips captain also made his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut this past spring. Dewar, from The Pas, Man., added 17 points in 19 AHL contests with the Iowa Wild. As a Silvertip, Dewar enjoyed 38- and 36-goal seasons in 2017-18 and 2018-19, helping Everett reach the WHL Championship series in the spring of 2018.

Daemon Hunt
A third-round selection by the Minnesota Wild in the 2020 NHL Draft, defenseman Daemon Hunt is coming off an impressive 2021-22 season as captain of the Moose Jaw Warriors. Hunt, from Brandon, Man., scored 17 times in 46 games from the Moose Jaw blueline, helping the Warriors reach the Second Round of the 2022 WHL Playoffs. Hunt was also selected to represent Canada at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship in August.

Carson Lambos
Defenseman Carson Lambos became the first ICE defenseman selected in the first round of an NHL Draft since Steve McCarthy in 1999 when he went 26th overall to the Minnesota Wild in 2021. Lambos appeared in 51 games for his hometown Winnipeg ICE in 2021-22, scoring 10 times and accruing 47 points before helping his side reach the Eastern Conference Championship. He was named to the East Division First All-Star Team this past spring. Lambos also captured a gold medal with Canada at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship in Edmonton.

Kyle Masters
A fourth-round selection by the Minnesota Wild in the 2021 NHL Draft, defenseman Kyle Masters joins a new WHL Club this season in the Memorial Cup host Kamloops Blazers. The product of Edmonton, Alta. made his way West earlier this month after spending the past three seasons with the Red Deer Rebels, for whom he made more than 100 regular season and playoff appearances. This past season, Masters set career bests with three goals and 14 points for Red Deer, while appearing in 75 of the team’s 78 regular season and post-season contests.

Mikey Milne
After a career year with the Winnipeg ICE in 2021-22, forward Mikey Milne heard his name called at the 2022 NHL Draft when he was selected in the third round by the Minnesota Wild. Milne, from Abbotsford, BC, put up 38 goals and 81 points for the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy winners, adding 13 tallies in 15 playoff games for Winnipeg this spring.

Pavel Novak
Forward Pavel Novak, a fifth-round pick of the Minnesota Wild in the 2020 NHL Draft, continues his recovery from an oncological disease as the 2022-23 season begins. Novak, who spent two seasons with the Kelowna Rockets, announced his diagnosis in June, but added in an Instagram post that he believes “everything will turn out well” and that “soon, [he] will fly again on the ice with joy and passion.” Novak signed an entry-level contract with Minnesota in May after scoring 29 goals and 72 points for the Rockets in 2021-22, earning BC Division Second All-Star Team honors as part of his most recent WHL campaign.

Josh Pillar
Warman, Saskatchewan’s Josh Pillar split the 2021-22 season between the Kamloops Blazers and Saskatoon Blades after being selected by the Minnesota Wild in the fourth round of the 2021 NHL Draft. Pillar totaled 37 points in 46 regular season games before scoring three times in five playoff outings for Saskatoon in April. The 20-year-old has 132 career WHL points to his name since being selected 14th-overall by Kamloops in the 2017 WHL Draft.

Mason Shaw
Former Medicine Hat Tigers speedster Mason Shaw made his NHL debut for the Minnesota Wild in 2021-22 after four full seasons in the AHL. Shaw appeared in three contests for Minnesota, all while posting his most productive professional season at AHL Iowa, scoring 19 times and totaling 52 points in 62 contests. Shaw, who hails from Wainwright, Alta., spent three seasons with the Tigers from 2014-15 through 2016-17, collecting 94 points in his final WHL season; his 67 assists in 2016-17 were fifth most among WHL skaters.