The Minnesota Wild are in the midst of trying to gain home ice advantage for their first-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars. With the Colorado Avalanche clinching the Central Division, the Wild are just two points back of the Stars for second place.
The Wild have four more games left in their regular season schedule to gain ground. They will be getting some reinforcements for this final stretch in the form of one of their young prospects.
On Thursday, the Wild officially signed defenseman Viking Gustafsson Nyberg to a two-year entry level contract, which begins immediately. This comes days after signing an amateur tryout deal. Now, Gustafsson Nyberg is set to make his debut at some point in the final four games of Minnesota's season. He will wear the No. 6 jersey.
Wild sign Viking Gusafsson Nyberg to two-year entry level contract
For fans wondering if Gustafsson Nyberg will be able to compete with the Wild in the playoffs, that is not the case. The Athletic's Michael Russo points out that the rookie is ineligible for the playoffs. Even so, the Wild wanted to give Gustafsson Nyberg some playing time in their final four games.
As we speculated, #mnwild have signed Viking Gustafsson Nyberg to a two-year deal ($975K cap hit). He’ll burn the first year (RFA on July 1, 2027). He will join the team this morning in Dallas. He is not eligible for the playoffs but can play any of the final 4 games https://t.co/PBTvayiT6o
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) April 9, 2026
The Wild's final four games of the season are against the Dallas Stars (Thursday), Nashville Predators (Saturday), St. Louis Blues (Monday), and Anaheim Ducks (Tuesday).
Gustafsson Nyberg played the previous two seasons for the UConn Huskies hockey program. In the 2024-25 campaign, Gustafsson Nyberg recorded one goal, 10 assists, 36 shots, and 62 blocked shots. That year, the Huskies made it to the NCAA Tournament, but lost in the regional finals to the Penn State Nittany Lions. This season, Gustafsson Nyberg played 39 games, recording 11 assists, 50 shots, and 51 blocked shots. UConn lost in the regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament to the Michigan State Spartans.
Gustafsson Nyber played in two games with the Iowa Wild this week. Gustafsson Nyberg was held point-less in Iowa's 5-2 win over the Texas Stars on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the rookie recorded an assist on a beautiful play, where he skated up ice with two defenseman chasing him, allowing him to connect with David Spacek on a goal in the 4-0 win over Texas.
PRETTYYYYY 😍😍😍#WildTerritory pic.twitter.com/IHQCdfJpLm
— Iowa Wild (@IAWild) April 9, 2026
The Wild anticipated bringing in some other prospects, notably Charlie Stramel of Michigan State. Unfortunately, Stramel suffered a broken ankle in his last NCAA Tournament game, and will not play until next season.
Now, they are giving a shot to Gustafsson Nyberg at some poitn in these final days of the regular season. From there, he will watch on as the Wild try to reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time ever.