SAINT PAUL, Minnesota – Minnesota Wild President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin announced today that the National Hockey League (NHL) club has recalled forwards Travis Boyd and Brendan Gaunce under emergency conditions and defenseman Carson Lambos (regular recall) from the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League (AHL) and placed defenseman Jared Spurgeon on injured reserve.
Boyd, 31, (born September 14, 1993), tops Iowa in scoring this season with 20 points (3-17=20) in 22 games. He has also played in three games for Minnesota, recording one hit and three blocked shots. Last season, the 6-foot, 190-pound Hopkins, Minn. native scored eight points (2-6=8) in 16 games for the Arizona Coyotes while missing 60 games due to injury. He has 118 points (47-71=118), 74 PIM, 280 shots on goal, and 173 blocked shots in 299 NHL games with the Washington Capitals (2017-20), Toronto Maple Leafs (2020-21), Vancouver Canucks (2021), Arizona Coyotes (2021-24), and Minnesota. Boyd scored one goal in six Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Capitals and was a member of the 2018 Stanley Cup Championship squad.
He was originally drafted by Washington in the sixth round (177th overall) at the 2011 NHL Draft. Boyd signed a one-year, two-way contract with Minnesota on July 1, 2024, and now wears sweater No. 72 with the Wild. Gaunce, 30 (3/25/94), has appeared in five games for Minnesota this season, averaging 9:29 time on ice (TOI) per game. The 6-foot-3, 219-pound Sudbury, Ontario native has played 22 games for Iowa this season, leading the team with 11 goals, four power-play goals (PPG), and 66 shots, while ranking second with 17 points (11-6=17). Gaunce has had three three-point games for Iowa this season, including two hat tricks against the Rockford Ice Hogs (December 31 and 11).
Gaunce has 28 career points (13-15=28) and 71 PIM in 182 NHL games with Vancouver (2015-19), Boston (2019-20), Columbus (2021-24), and Minnesota (2024). He has 250 points (119-131=250), 957 shots on goal, 232 PIM, and a plus-8 rating from 3645 AHL games with Utica (2014-19), Providence (2019-20), Cleveland (2021-24), and Iowa (2024). He has also scored 14 points (7-7=14) in 31 career Calder Cup Playoff games. Gaunce played for Vaxjo in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) in 2020-21, when he helped the Lakers win the championship. Gaunce was selected by Vancouver in the first round (26th overall) at the 2012 NHL Draft. He agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with Minnesota on July 1, 2024. He’s wearing Minnesota sweatshirt number 21.
Lambos, 21 (1/14/03), has five points (2-3=5), 26 shots, and seven penalty minutes (PIM) in 27 games for Iowa this season. The 6-foot-1, 191-pound product of Winnipeg, Manitoba, has appeared in 96 career games with Iowa over two AHL seasons (2023-24), scoring 19 points (6-13=19), 71 PIM, and 111 shots. Lambos also appeared in 176 career games with the Kootenay/Winnipeg Ice of the Western Hockey League (WHL) over five seasons (2018-23) and scored 128 points (31-97=128). He was Winnipeg’s captain during the 2022-23 season, finishing second among defenseman with 48 points (12-36=48), 12 goals, and 36 assists in 61 games.
He played for Canada White in the 2017 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and was awarded a tournament all-star after recording five assists in six games. Lambos also played one game for Canada in the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship. Lambos was selected by Minnesota in the first round (26th overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft and has yet to play in an NHL game. He will be wearing Minnesota’s sweater number 71. The Wild will face the St. Louis Blues tomorrow at 7 p.m. CT on FanDuel Sports Network North and KFAN FM 100.3.
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