The Minnesota Wild are set to have an interesting training camp this year, with a couple of prospects legitimately poised to contend for a roster spot. However, the team may start training camp down a couple of prospects after they suffered injuries at the Traverse City Prospects Tournament, which ended Tuesday.
The Star Tribune’s Michael Russo offered updates on those players Wednesday, noting that one of the team’s top defensive prospects, Gustav Olofsson, has avoided serious injury with his knee.
Olofsson was hurt Friday, early in the team’s first Traverse City game. Though he did manage to pot a goal before being removed from the tournament. He is expected to be cleared to play at training camp by the end of the weekend.
RELATED: Minnesota Wild Traverse City Notes: Day 1
Top line winger at Traverse City and free agent acquisition Sam Anas was injured during the tournament as well. He was thrown to the ice and had to be helped off, bleeding. The team didn’t offer much in the way of details on Anas’s injury, but Russo called it a “head” injury, which was clear if you saw the play where he hit his head on the ice.
Russo indicated that Anas’s injury isn’t serious, but the “Wild will err on side of caution” with him. That may mean he’s held out of the start of camp. He is expected to begin the season with AHL Iowa.
In other team injury news, Iowa Wild defensemen Dylan Labbe and Maxime Fortunus, who are both nursing injuries, are “close to being cleared.” Winger Chase Lang, who will be turning pro this year, is considered week-to-week with a back injury.