Wild assign Eriksson Ek to Swedish Elite League

The Minnesota Wild on Thursday assigned rookie forward Joel Eriksson Ek to Farjestad BK of the Swedish Elite League.

Eriksson Ek, the Wild's first-round pick (No. 20 overall) in the 2015, draft, Eriksson Ek, recorded two goals and five points, a plus-2 rating and averaged 10:07 in TOI/game in nine games with Minnesota this season. The 6-foot-2, 197-pound native of Karlstad, Sweden, became the seventh player in Wild history to score a goal in his NHL debut on Oct. 22 at New Jersey and tied a rookie franchise record with three assists and a plus-3 rating on Oct. 25 at Boston.

However, Eriksson Ek was a healthy scratch for the second straight game Tuesday and has been held without a point in his last five games. Playing in one more game would have put Eriksson Ek over the nine-game maximum that allows teams to give rookies a trial run in the NHL without burning a year of his entry-level contract.