Alex Tuch has a chance to be one of the Minnesota Wild’s best offensive weapons in the future and fans will likely get a first look at him Saturday when the Wild play the Canucks in Vancouver.
Tuch got the call up from General Manager Chuck Fletcher today. He has 11 goals and 11 assists in 34 games in his first season in the American Hockey League with the Iowa Wild.
Minnesota drafted the 6-foot-4, 225-pounder 18th overall in 2014 and he nearly made the team out of training camp last summer.
“You can see the growth, obviously with the way he handles himself off the ice, obviously his confidence level and he’s stronger and quicker and obviously he’s blessed with a lot of natural tools,” Wild Assistant GM Brent Flahr said this summer, via the Pioneer Press. “He works very hard off the ice and he’s very driven to be an NHL player.”
According to Michael Russo, Tuch’s arrival might mean a night as a healthy scratch for the struggling Charlie Coyle. Coyle has no goals in his last 17 games and was demoted to the fourth line in the Wild’s 5-1 loss to Calgary Wednesday night.
Tuch will wear No. 53.
