Hockey teams normally have six defensemen in uniform on any given night. The Minnesota Wild are carrying seven defensemen, which means one man has to watch from the stands for most games. But the fact that coach John Hynes has to do some thinking about which defenseman will be a spectator each time they have a game is a testament to the team’s back end depth, and a reason for the better-than-expected start to the season.

Through the first 11 games this season, heading into Tuesday night’s meeting with Los Angeles, four blueliners had played in every game: Jake Middleton, Brock Faber, Jonas Brodin and Zach Bogosian. Jon Merrill had seen action in nine games, while Declan Chisholm had skated in eight, and captain Jared Spurgeon, who is still dealing gingerly with the injuries that sidelined him for much of last season, had played in five. But per the coach, all seven have been vital to the team’s early success.

“We feel like we have seven defensemen that can play. We don’t have a seventh defenseman,” Hynes said at Tuesday’s morning skate, noting that Merrill would play versus the Kings while Chisholm sat. “Both guys have played well, and I think they understand the situation where we’re healthy and neither one of them deserves to come out of the lineup. But I think early in the season in particular when guys are playing well, you feel part of the team, the motivation is there…both guys understand. And I think they’re both in a good spot mentally and understand the situation.”

Chisholm came to the Wild in January 2024 when he was claimed off waivers from Winnipeg, is seeing some extended blue line time this season after getting on the ice for 29 games in Minnesota last season. He said there is some real chemistry among the seven defenders, despite the need for one of them to sit for every game.

“We’re tight. Everyone is supportive, and I feel like we’re all playing pretty well,  which is definitely driving each other to play better,” said Chisholm, who is averaging better than 14 minutes of ice time in his games this season. “It’s friendly competition, and it’s nice to have guys that are pushing each other. I think we’re staying tight.”

Faber, who has been paired with Middleton most nights, continues to eat up ice time, as has been his hallmark with the Wild, averaging more than 25 minutes per game so far.

“They complement each other well, and there’s some pretty good chemistry there,” Hynes said. “I think when you trust your D partner, particularly if you’re going to play big minutes, if you don’t have to spend all the time defending, I think that allows you to play the minutes that Brock pays.”

Call-up likely

With the Wild heading off on a three-game road trip to San Jose (Nov. 7), Anaheim (Nov. 8) and Chicago (Nov. 10), they are expecting to bring another forward on the trip for depth purposes. Liam Ohgren, who has played seven games with the Wild this season, before spending his last two games in Iowa, would be a likely suspect. Ohgren, who was the Wild’s first round draft pick in 2022, has a goal in two AHL games this season.

The coach votes early

Still officially a resident of Tennessee from his time as head coach of the Nashville Predators, Hynes was not sporting an “I Voted” sticker on Tuesday, but said he turned in a Tennessee absentee ballot there in September before coming to Minnesota for his first Wild training camp.