IOWA WILD ANNOUNCES ROSTER MOVES
Nov 14, 2024DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa Wild General Manager Matt Hendricks today announced the American Hockey League (AHL) club has recalled forward Ryan Sandelin and defensemen Kyle Masters and Will Zmolek from the Iowa Heartlanders of the ECHL. The Iowa Wild also reassigned goaltender Samuel Hlavaj to the Heartlanders.
Sandelin, 25 (1/3/1999), owns three points (2-1=3) across four games with the Iowa Wild this season. He has also posted two assists in two games with the Heartlanders in 2024-25. He recorded nine points (6-3=9), 18 penalty minutes (PIM), and a plus-11 rating in 37 games with the Colorado Eagles during the 2023-24 season. He also totaled six points (3-3=6), two PIM, and a plus-6 rating in seven games with the Utah Grizzlies in the ECHL during 2023-24. Prior to his professional career, Sandelin played four seasons at Minnesota State University, Mankato from 2019-23, where he accumulated 76 points (43-33=76), 93 PIM, and a plus-49 rating through 128 games. The 6-foot, 185-pound native of Hermantown, Minn., also totaled 72 points (39-33=72) and 62 PIM over 106 games and two seasons with the Penticton Vees in the BCHL from 2017-19.
Masters, 21 (4/9/03), has recorded two points (1-1=2) in six games with the Iowa Wild this season. He has one point (0-1=1) in two games with the Heartlanders in 2024-25. Masters skated in 19 games with the Iowa Wild in 2023-24, where he recorded three assists, six PIM, and a plus-3 rating. Masters also accounted for 19 points (4-15=19), two PIM, and a minus-9 rating in 32 games with the Heartlanders in 2023-24. Prior to his professional debut, the 6-foot, 190-pound defenseman totaled 92 points (26-76=92) through 175 games in the WHL across four seasons with the Red Deer Rebels and Kamloops Blazers. The Edmonton, Alberta native led Kamloops defensemen in points (11-54=65) and ranked second on the team in assists during the 2022-23 season.
Minnesota selected Masters in the fourth round (#118 overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Zmolek, 25 (4/17/1999), has one goal in two games with the Iowa Wild and has recorded two assists in six games with the Heartlanders this season. He recorded two points (0-2=2), and a minus-2 rating in six games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms during the 2023-24 season. He also totaled 11 points (4-7=11) and 44 PIM in 50 games with the Reading Royals in the ECHL during 2023-24. Zmolek skated in three regular season games and one postseason contest with the Phantoms during 2022-23. Prior to his professional career, Zmolek played four seasons at Bemidji State University from 2019-23, where he recorded 46 points (9-37=46), 72 PIM, and a plus-5 rating through 126 games. The 6-foot-3, 194-pound native of Rochester, Minn., also accumulated 34 points (4-30=34), 173 PIM, and a minus-2 rating over 121 games and two seasons with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in the USHL from 2017-19.
Hlavaj, 23 (5/29/2001), owns a 4.78 goals against-average (GAA) and a .776 save percentage (SV%) in three appearances with the Iowa Wild this season. He also recorded a 2.00 GAA and a .882 SV% in a single appearance with the Heartlanders. Last season, Hlavaj posted a 3.10 GAA and a .902 SV% in 28 games with HC Škoda Plzeň of the Czech Extraliga. The 6-foot-4, 193-pound native of Martin, Slovakia, spent two seasons with HC Slovan Bratislava (2021-23) of the Slovakia League and recorded a 2.47 GAA, a .912 SV% and one shutout in 27 games.
Hlavaj posted a 2.22 GAA and a .932 SV% in three games for Slovakia at the 2023 IIHF World Championship. He also played for Slovakia in three Under-20 IIHF World Junior Championships (2019, 2020, 2021), posting a 4.41 GAA and a .871 SV% in 11 games and played in two Under-18 IIHF World Junior Championships (2018, 2019) where he posted a 4.30 GAA and a .892 SV% in five games.
He played two seasons with the Sherbrooke Phoenix (2019-21) of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and with a 3.84 GAA, a .905 SV% and four shutouts in 59 games. He led the QMJHL in GAA (2.25) during the 2019-20 season and was named the QMJHL Defensive Rookie of the Year, named to the QMJHL All-Rookie Team and to the QMJHL Second All-Star Team.
Iowa Wild hockey is presented by Kwik Star. For more information on Iowa Wild hockey, please visit www.iowawild.com. Fans can purchase single-game tickets through the team’s website at www.iowawild.com. Group tickets (10 or more), suites, Wild 365 memberships or premium tickets can be purchased by contacting the Iowa Wild Ticket Department at 515-564-8700 or tickets@iowawild.com. Season tickets for 2024-25 are on sale now. Fans can purchase season tickets for the upcoming season at https://www.iowawild.com/wild-365.
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