The Minnesota Wild have signed 19th overall pick Liam Ohgren to a three-year entry-level contract. Ohgren was one of two first-round selections from the Wild in the 2022 NHL Draft, alongside Danila Yurov.
✅ 2022 NHL Draft
✅ Dev Camp
✅ Sign Entry-Level ContractThe good times just keep on coming! 👏#mnwild
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) July 16, 2022
Liam Ohgren Signs Contract
The 18-year-old, heralding from Stockholm, Sweden put up 33 goals and 58 points in 30 games in the Swedish J20 Nationell league this past season, along with three points in three SHL games. Ohgren led Djurgardens of the J20 league in points, goals, and plus/minus. Captaining Sweden’s gold-medal-winning U18 team, Ohgren equally had three goals and six assists for nine points in six games.
The big-bodied left winger (6’1″, 201 lbs) plays a very mature game, both physically and mentally. His speed and agility paired with his big body allow him to drive play in both the defensive and offensive zone. He has the intelligence to predict plays well before they happen, with elite positional awareness to complete plays. His defensive game benefits from this as well, with his speed allowing him to be the first player back on the back-check, and his positional awareness allowing him to block plays.
His overall game is incredibly well-rounded, however, his upside is questionable as he doesn’t particularly excel in any facet of the game, as explains our very own Ben Kerr in his scouting report.
Assuming Ohgren comes over to North America this season, his three-year contract will expire after the 2024-25 season, however, he is a candidate for an entry-level slide. The contract holds a cap hit of $950,000, along with a maximum annual average value of $1,441,667.
Newest member of the #mnwild family, Liam Ohgren, makes his media rounds at the 2022 #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/MfIxdxlMK3
— Minnesota Wild PR (@mnwildPR) July 8, 2022
What This Means
Using the 19th overall pick acquired from Los Angeles in the Kevin Fiala trade, Minnesota will hope that Ohgren can have a similar impact as a versatile top-six winger. In a serious cap crunch due to the Ryan Suter and Zach Parise buyouts, the Wild will need ELC players to fill holes in their roster, and this could lead Ohgren to play with the big club sooner rather than later. Alongside fellow first-round pick Danila Yurov, Minnesota is stocking up on skilled wingers, hopefully, to become mainstays on their roster.
In Ben Kerr’s scouting report, Ohgren’s all-around game is compared to that of Jesper Bratt’s. Ohgren seems to have all the tools to become a useful NHL forward, however, another season or two overseas, full-time in the SHL could be best for his development.
