Wild reward Michael Milne for his strong start to season with promotion to NHL

SAN JOSE, CALIF. – When Michael Milne was pulled aside after practice with the Iowa Wild on Tuesday to watch a clip, he didn’t think anything of it.

“We do video all the time,” the forward said.

But when he walked into the room and saw the coaches smiling at him, Milne had a feeling why he was there: He was getting beckoned to the NHL.

“To join this team, it’s an honor,” Milne said, “and I’m super excited.”

The Wild added Milne from the minors to give them an extra forward for their three-game road trip that started Thursday night at San Jose, and although he wasn’t in the lineup against the Sharks, it’s still possible Milne draws in to make his NHL debut before the Wild return home.

Regardless, the promotion was a nod to the strong start the 22-year-old has had in the American Hockey League after being tested by adversity throughout his journey to the Wild.

“Obviously, you don’t want to have injuries,” Milne said, “but builds you stronger as a person and mentally as well. So, probably wouldn’t be here today without that because you got to go through the grind to get here and just try to take every lesson as I can.”

Milne was drafted by the Wild in the third round, 89th overall, in 2022, but he was eligible for the draft the previous year.

He was passed over after playing sparingly with his junior team; the season was already truncated by the pandemic, and Milne was further sidelined due to shoulder surgery. In 14 games with the Winnipeg Ice in the Western Hockey League, Milne had six goals and six assists.

“I didn’t really take it personally,” he said. “I knew you can’t really judge a guy off [14] games. So just going into my 19-year-old year, I knew I had to have a good year and we had a great team in Winnipeg, so it was a lot of fun.”

His 38 goals ranked second on the team the following season, and he tied for second in points with 81.

After a deep playoff run, Milne debuted with Iowa in 2022 and has suited up in the American Hockey League ever since. About a year ago he had another shoulder surgery, and Milne was also hurt at training camp. But his performance on the ice hasn’t stalled: When he was recalled by the Wild, Milne left Iowa with four goals and four assists in 10 games.

“Just try to be confident with the puck,” said Milne, whose mom Deryn and dad Jerry are “on alert” in case they need to fly in from the Vancouver suburb of Abbotsford, British Columbia, for Milne’s first game. “Be confident in my game, and it’s led to some success early on. So, I’m happy about it.”

Since this call-up was to give the Wild insurance on their trip, the Wild chose to leave Liam Ohgren with Iowa because they didn’t want to disrupt the rookie’s rhythm since going to the minors last week.

After the 5-1 dud to Los Angeles on Tuesday, coach John Hynes mentioned he would like to see more from certain players, and Hynes met with Yakov Trenin on Thursday morning as the team tries to help its offseason acquisition understand what gives him the best chance to be effective; Trenin had one point, an assist, going into the San Jose game.

Hynes wanted to give the team a chance to respond from its off night, so he kept the forward lines the same.

But if he decides to make a change eventually, Milne is an energetic player who likes to crash the net.

“I’m just trying to keep my eyes open, listen to everyone, see what everyone has to say, and kind of experience that NHL lifestyle,” he said. “First day has been great and just going to continue to work hard and see what happens.”