It was a little over two years ago since former Minnesota Wild General Manager Paul Fenton had signed former Blackhawks first-round pick, Ryan Hartman. Hartman came to Minnesota looking for consistency and a place to prove who he is as a player and in the two years he’s been with the Wild he has been everything the Wild needed and a little more.
The Chicago Blackhawks used their first-round pick in 2013 to select Hartman and as such, being a first-round pick especially on the Blackhawks brought high expectations. While Hartman was able to meet those expectations, he was able to learn from Blackhawk players that were fresh off of two Stanley Cup championships in three years at the time and it was with that experience that Hartman has transitioned into the player he is today.
Since being with the Wild, Hartman has found himself playing a middle six to a bottom six role on the team. throughout his time in Minnesota he’s been full of grit and versatility but also he has the abilities to score as well, although he may not be leading the Wild in points year in and year out, he still contributes positively and that’s what counts in the end.
This past season, Hartman strongly demonstrated his versatile abilities by jumping in and playing as a center as opposed to his normal position as a winger. Being able to be versatile as Hartman is makes him sort of a gadget player in a sense of being able to play him in a lot of different situations and making it easier to gain the edge competitively.
The 2020-2021 season may have been Hartman’s best season with the Wild yet. It’s the season where he made more of an effort to take draws and he even found himself temporarily playing with Kirill Kaprizov. Mustering up seven goals and 15 assists in 51 games is just numbers to Hartman such he plays for more than just points as discussed about. It’s his play and ability to contribute that earned him a 3-year contract extension with Minnesota.
The #mnwild today announced the club has signed @RHartzy18 to a three-year, $5.1 million contract extension. Congrats, Ryan! pic.twitter.com/oOmFVLVXGQ
— Minnesota Wild PR (@mnwildPR) April 22, 2021
Final thoughts
Ryan Hartman and the Minnesota Wild were a great match from the beginning and with Hartman being able to play his game with players of similar playing styles, it caused Hartman not only being able to develop more but, he began to be the most effective that he could be.
*Stats/ data were found at NHL.com and CapFriendly.com