In some good news for the Minnesota Wild, Luke Kunin recently completed Bruce Boudreau‘s pre-season conditioning test and finds himself assigned to the Iowa Wild in anticipation of a full on-ice return.
Minnesota Wild prospect Luke Kunin had been out injured since April when he tore left ACL. He saw some action in pre-season, albeit wearing a non-contact practice jersey.
Now he has been unleashed though, he’ll surely be seeking to make up for lost time after breaking through last year, with 19 appearances in the NHL.
Passing the conditioning test shows that Boudreau places significant value on not letting any player shirk his responsibilities, regardless of your off-season or any injuries.
He expects the same out of you whether you’re a lock in the line-up or someone on the cusp, as is the case with Luke Kunin.
For the player, its possibly a bit of a disappointment to find himself with the Iowa Wild, riding the buses of the American Hockey League, but the more up to game speed Kunin gets, the more chance he is at getting back into the Minnesota Wild line-up.
He needs to be viewing this spell in the minor-league as little more than a conditioning stint, an audition to move back into the NHL line-up.
If he views it as a demotion, it could be detrimental to his development.
Should he win his way back into the Minnesota Wild line-up, I’d like to see him partnered with two of the trio of Charlie Coyle, Joel Eriksson Ek and Jordan Greenway. Despite the promise I thought that line had shown; over the past two games it’s not looked particularly good.
Pairing Kunin with fourth liners, especially if the opposition are hard-matching fourth lines could put him at heightened risk of re-injuring his knee; a fate none of us want.
With any luck, Luke Kunin is all but ready to get started now; the quicker the Minnesota Wild has more of a youthful injection, the better.