Why Loucks Believes Hunter Haight Could Be the Wild’s Game-Changer This Season

Hunter Haight’s been tagging along with the Minnesota Wild for seven games now, yet he’s barely laced up on the ice during any of them. I mean, sometimes sitting a young player on the bench, tagging along for road trips, or just soaking in the atmosphere can be an invaluable piece of the growth puzzle, right? At just 21, Haight turned heads during training camp and the preseason, scorching the ice enough that he earned a roster spot out of camp and even kicked off the season playing in the first two games — before getting reassigned down the line.

Since then, he’s been shuffled, scratched out of the lineup multiple times, sent down to get some reps with the Iowa Wild in the AHL, then recalled — only to be benched once again. Meanwhile, Minnesota’s fourth line, composed of Liam Ohgren, Ben Jones, and Tyler Pitlick, has struggled mightily. With zero combined points and some of the worst advanced stats you can find, their defensive and offensive impact barely registers as relevant. Jones, a seventh-round pick, has yet to record a single NHL point in his 43 games over three seasons, and his on-ice expected goals percentage sits deep in the negatives.

This raises a real head-scratcher: Haight, a player who notched 20 goals in his AHL rookie year and has shown flashes in the preseason, is sitting on the sidelines, while this underperforming trio continues to log minutes. Development, at some point, demands opportunity — and if that fourth line is consistently getting steamrolled, why not roll the dice on Haight? At least getting out there might kickstart something — for the team and for him. With nothing to lose and a whole lot to gain, it’s puzzling to see him sidelined rather than learning on the big stage. Intrigued? There’s a lot more beneath the surface. LEARN MORE.

Hunter Haight has been with the team for seven games. He has not played in any of those games. Sometimes having a young guy be with the team on the road trip or any game for that matter, can be a great thing for their development.

Haight, 21, was fantastic in training camp and in the preseason. He impressed the staff so much he made the team out of camp and started the season by playing in the first two games. He was then sent down.

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Since being called up, Haight was scratched for five games before he was sent down where he played in an AHL game with the Iowa Wild.

Minnesota called him back up for the road trip and he has been scratched for the last two games. The Wild’s fourth line is Liam Ohgren, Ben Jones and Tyler Pitlick.

The three of them have a combined zero points. Ohgren is a minus-3 in 15 games, Pitlick is a minus-2 in 17 games and Jones is a minus-5 in 15 games.

Jones, 26, is a seventh round draft pick and played in 26 games last year for Minnesota and didn’t record a point. He had three points last year all taken off because he ran into the goaltender and it was overturned for goalie interference.

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In 15 games this year and 43 in his NHL career over three seasons, Jones has zero points. Believe it or not, in 15 games this year Jones has not been on the ice for a single goal for. His expected goals numbers aren’t much better.

Jones’ on-ice expected goals is 31% which is the second worst on the Wild behind Ohgren. The line as a trio is tied for 22nd worst in the NHL for expected goals against per 60 minutes. They rank 262 out of 284 lines.

The trio ranks as the worst line in the NHL in expected goals for per 60 minutes. That is 284 out of 284. They have recorded 19 shots as a trio and have allowed 45. They rank dead last in Corsi For %. 284 out of 284. Do they allow shots?

You bet. 78.76 shots against (Corsi) per 60 minutes. Only three lines in the NHL have a worse rating. They also rank dead last in Fenwick and third to last in Fenwick against.

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What is Corsi and Fenwick?

Corsi counts all shot attempts, including shots on goal, missed shots, and blocked shots. Fenwick is a variation of Corsi that excludes blocked shots, counting only shots on goal, missed shots, and shots that hit the post.

So in conclusion, the data suggests they are one of the worst lines in the NHL when it comes to allowing offense and generating offense.

Meanwhile the Wild’s 47th overall pick from the 2022 NHL Draft is sitting in the press box and the Wild’s 19th overall pick from the same Draft is playing between two guys who have combined for zero points in 32 games.

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Haight scored 20 goals in his rookie season in the AHL. He scored a few in the preseason this year and impressed the Wild. Maybe not enough though considering Jones, Pitlick and Ohgren are still playing.

It doesn’t seem to matter what Ohgren or anyone else around him does. He will continue to be sheltered and play limited minutes. Almost every one of his goals and assists in his career have come when he was playing in the top-nine.

At some point, development has to come with opportunity. Whether or not you believe Haight earned his call-up and this opportunity to play, he is here and if the fourth line is going to get caved in every game, it’s hard to justify Haight watching it happen instead of getting those minutes himself to grow.

The Wild have nothing to lose by putting him in but everything to learn. The results below him aren’t changing, but at least he could learn something by being out there.

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All data from Money Puck.com.

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