MINNESOTA WILD RECALLS BEN JONES AND MATT KIERSTED, IOWA RECALLS RASMUS KUMPULAINEN
Feb 24, 2026MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Minnesota Wild President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has recalled forward Ben Jones and defenseman Matt Kiersted from the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League (AHL). The Iowa Wild also recalled forward Rasmus Kumpulainen from the Iowa Heartlanders (ECHL).
Jones, 26 (2/26/99), has collected two points (1-1=2) in 20 games with Minnesota this season and ranks seventh on the team with 53 hits. He scored his first career NHL goal on January 10 vs. the New York Islanders. He has also collected 16 points (5-11=16) including two power-play goals (PPG) in 18 games with Iowa. The 6-foot, 190-pound native of Waterloo, Ont., has recorded 50 shots on goal and 108 hits in 54 career NHL games in parts of three seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights (2021-22) and the Wild (2024-26). Jones was selected by Vegas in the seventh round (No. 189 overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft and wears sweater No. 39 with Minnesota. Jones has also tallied 213 points (90-123=213) and 294 penalty minutes (PIM) in 350 career games in parts of seven seasons in the AHL with Chicago (2019-20), Henderson (2020-22), Calgary (2022-24) and Iowa (2024-26). He has also logged four points (2-2=4) and 22 PIM in 22 career Calder Cup Playoff games.
Kiersted, 27 (4/14/98), has one assist and four shots on goal in four games with Minnesota this season. He has also recorded seven points (1-6=7), 70 shots on goal and 28 PIM in 33 games with Iowa. The 6-foot, 181-pound native of Elk River, Minnesota, posted 29 points (1-28=29), 40 PIM and a plus-34 rating in 64 games with the Charlotte Checkers (AHL) last season, leading the AHL in plus-minus rating and ranking second among Charlotte skaters in assists. Kiersted also registered eight assists, 12 PIM and a plus-8 rating in 13 games during the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs, helping the Checkers to an appearance in the Calder Cup Finals. For his career, Kiersted has tallied eight points (2-6=8) in 43 career games in parts of five NHL seasons with the Florida Panthers (2020-25) and Minnesota (2025-26). He has also skated in 266 games and notched 92 points (17-75=92), 229 PIM and a plus-52 rating across five AHL seasons with Charlotte (2021-25) and Iowa (2025-26) while posting 12 points (1-11=12) in 30 career Calder Cup Playoff games. He originally signed with Florida as a free agent on April 1, 2021, and wears sweater No. 26 with the Wild.
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