MINNESOTA RECALLS ZACK MITCHELL FROM IOWA; REASSIGNS ERIKSSON EK AND KUNIN
Nov 21, 2017DES MOINES, IA – Minnesota Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has recalled forward Zack Mitchell from the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League (AHL) and reassigned forwards Joel Eriksson Ek ((JUHL AIR-ihk-suhn EHK) and Luke Kunin (KUNN-nihn) to Iowa.
Mitchell, 24 (1/7/93), leads Iowa in scoring this season with 16 points (5-11=16) in 11 games. He has tallied two points (1-1=2) in five games with Minnesota this season recording his first career NHL point with an assist vs. Columbus on Oct. 14 and his first NHL goal against the New York Islanders on Oct. 26. The 6-foot-1, 196-pound native of Orangeville, Ontario, owns two points in 16 career NHL games with Minnesota. Prior to his recall, Mitchell had racked up points in seven of his last eight games for Iowa, totaling 15 points in that span. As of November 21, Mitchell's 1.45 points-per-game average this season ranked second-best in the AHL out of all skaters who appeared in at least 10 games.
Eriksson Ek, 20 (1/29/97), has tallied three points (1-2=3) in 20 games with Minnesota this season averaging 12:47 in TOI/game. He ranks third on the team with 30 hits. The 6-foot-2, 206-pound native of Karlstad, Sweden, owns 10 points (4-6=10) in 35 career NHL games with the Wild.
Kunin, 19 (12/4/97), has recorded four points (2-2=4) in 17 contests with Minnesota this season averaging 13:49 in TOI/game. He ranks second on the team with 32 hits. Kunin tallied his first career NHL goal on Oct. 26 against the New York Islanders to become the first player in team history to score his first career NHL goal shorthanded. The 6-foot, 193-pound native of Chesterfield, Mo., made his NHL debut against Columbus on Oct. 14 and recorded two assists for his first career NHL points at Calgary on Oct. 21. Kunin has also notched two points (1-1=2) and four penalty minutes (PIM) in two matches with Iowa this season. He was selected by Minnesota in the first round (15th overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
The Iowa Wild is on the road tomorrow against the Rockford IceHogs at 7 p.m. and again against Rockford on Friday, Nov. 24 at 7 p.m.
The Iowa Wild 2017-18 season is presented by Mercy Medical Center and runs from October through April. For more information, please contact the Wild office by calling 515-564-8700 or by visiting www.iowawild.com.