Three Wild players that can help their cause in tonight's preseason game

The Minnesota Wild head to Dallas for a preseason match-up at 7:00 PM CST tonight. After picking up a 3-2 overtime win over Winnipeg on Sunday, the Wild hope to keep the positive vibes flowing in their second outing. A few veterans, including Filip Gustavsson fill out the traveling roster. Another victory would be nice, but general manager Bill Guerin and head coach John Hynes are more interested in what happens on the ice as opposed to the scoreboard. Several players that are on the fringe of the roster will be in action tonight.

Here are a few to keep an eye on:

Carson Lambos - Defenseman

While most of the eyes in camp are on David Jiricek and his quest to make the roster, another youngster is bidding to don the Minnesota version of the Wild jersey on October 9th in St. Louis. Carson Lambos logged 21:46 of ice time against Winnipeg in his first action of the preseason. 

After two seasons in Iowa, the left-shot defenseman is in a spot where a strong training camp could land him a spot in the NHL, especially if Zeev Buium’s hand injury continues to linger. The former first-round pick (2021) has slipped a bit in regards to his ranking as a prospect, especially with the additions of Jiricek and Buium over the last couple of years. However, he is still a player with an intriguing set of skills that should translate well to the NHL level.

He’s steadily improved his game over the last two seasons at the AHL level, but has to show the coaching staff he has the ability to play consistent hockey on a nightly basis. Expect him to log a lot of minutes again tonight.

Liam Ohgren - Forward

The 21-year-old forward has been making the most of his opportunity as he’s filled in for the injured Mats Zuccarello in practice. While Joel Eriksson Ek and Vlad Tarasenko aren’t making the trip to Dallas, Ohgren will get a chance to show that he deserves to be in the top-six conversation when the season starts. 

He showed flashes of the talent that made him a first-round pick in 2022 during his 24-game debut season last season, but a lack of consistency limited him to just two goals. There was a sense that he deferred to his more experienced teammates too much last season, and so far this fall he’s been more assertive on the ice. He has the ability to drive play at the NHL level, and it seems that he is more comfortable in that role.

Nicolas Aube-Kubel - Forward

The 29-year-old free agent is fighting for a spot on the bottom-six for the Wild this season after spending time in the Rangers and Sabres organization last season. A veteran of over 300 NHL games with six different franchises in his career, Aube-Kubel has a chance to impress the coaches with Nico Sturm still sidelined by injury. 

The right-shot forward can play center or wing and would give Coach Hynes some veteran experience on the fourth line. Aube-Kubel played 13:12 in the game against the Jets and registered one shot attempt and one scoring chance while dishing out three hits and blocking two shots. 

The rosters for tonight:

The game will only be broadcast in the Stars region (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana) on Victory+. The Wild’s radio team will be covering the game on 100.3 KFAN for Minnesota folks.