Wild recalls forwards Luke Johnson and Nico Sturm, reassigns Kahkonen

ST. PAUL --Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has recalled forwards Luke Johnson and Nico Sturm under emergency conditions from the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League (AHL), reassigned goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen to Iowa and placed forward Joel Eriksson Ek on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.

Johnson, 25, has tallied seven points (3-4=7), 10 penalty minutes (PIM) and 36 shots on goal in 10 games with Iowa this season. He recorded one assist in 15 games with the Chicago Blackhawks and 31 points (18-13=31) and 34 PIM in 53 games with the Rockford IceHogs (AHL) last season. The 5-foot-11, 177-pound native of Grand Forks, N.D., made his NHL debut with Chicago on Oct. 4, 2018, and tallied his first NHL point with an assist at Vancouver on Oct. 31, 2018. He has notched 85 points (42-43=85) and 146 PIM in 209 career AHL games with Rockford and Iowa. Johnson was signed by Minnesota to a two-year, two-way contract on July 1, 2019, and will wear sweater No. 41 with the Wild.
Sturm, 24, has recorded 12 points (6-6=12) including two power-play goals and two game-winning goals in 25 games with Iowa this season and leads team rookies in scoring. The 6-foot-3, 206-pound native of Augsburg, Germany, was signed as a free agent by Minnesota on April 1, 2019 and made his NHL debut on April 4 vs. Boston. He registered seven shots on goal in two games with the Wild last season. Sturm wears sweater No. 7 with Minnesota.
Kahkonen, 23, was recalled by Minnesota on Nov. 20 and went 3-1-1 with a 2.96 goals-against average (GAA) and a .913 save percentage (SV%) in five starts. He made 32 saves to win his NHL debut on Nov. 26 at New Jersey to become the seventh Wild goaltender to win his NHL debut and 18th all-time to play in a game for Minnesota. The 6-foot-2, 214-pound native of Helsinki, Finland, made 44 saves in his second career start, a 4-2 win at Florida on Dec. 3, to set a rookie franchise record for most saves in a game. Kahkonen went 3-0-1 in his first four starts to become the second goalie in team history to begin his Wild career with a point-streak of four games (Ilya Bryzgalov, 7-0-3). He is 7-2-1 with a 2.47 GAA, a .909 SV% and two shutouts in 10 games with Iowa this season.
Eriksson Ek, 22, has tallied 12 points (2-10=12) in 30 games with the Wild this season. He ranks T-2nd on team in hits (56) and ranks second amongst team forwards in shorthanded TOI.
Minnesota plays at the Vegas Golden Knights Tuesday at 9 p.m. on FOX Sports North and KFAN 100.3 FM.