One game remains on the Minnesota Wild's 2022/23 schedule, and that Thursday evening contest against the Nashville Predators could be Nick Swaney's first appearance in the National Hockey League.
The former Waterloo Black Hawks star forward was recalled by the Wild on Wednesday afternoon. This is Swaney's second full season playing in the Minnesota organization. The 25-year-old has skated as a member of the American Hockey League's Iowa Wild since making his pro debut in the spring of 2021.
Swaney made his first USHL forray during the Black Hawks' 2013/14 Anderson Cup championship season, scoring a goal during an initial appearance against the Dubuque Fighting Saints. It was an accurate indicator of what would follow during his junior career. Swaney again primarily played for Lakeville South (MN) High School the next year, but still managed to appear in one quarter of Waterloo's games, recording 13 points (nine goals, four assists).
As a fulltime Black Hawk in 2015/16 and 2016/17, Swaney led the club with 30 and 26 goals respectively. In those years, he notched a combined total of 13 game-winning goals, 10 tallies on the power play, and four shorthanded. Swaney is the most recent Waterloo skater to reach the 100-career point threshold, ultimately notching 115 (66 goals, 49 assists) in 120 regular season games. His goal count ranks fifth during the Black Hawks' junior era. For good measure, during the 2016 World Junior A Challenge he was named an All-Star as the U.S. Junior Select Team won the competition's gold medal.
Following Swaney's second full season with the Black Hawks, he was chosen during the 7th Round (209th overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft by the Minnesota Wild. It was the first time the Wild had ever picked a Waterloo player, although the group has since expanded to include Vladislav Firstov and Nate Benoit.
From the fall of 2017 through the spring of 2021, Swaney played for the University of Minnesota-Duluth. The Bulldogs won National Championships in 2018 and 2019, then reached the 2021 National Semifinals. The only year Swaney didn't play in the Frozen Four was in the COVID-shortened 2019/20 season. Overall, he tallied 46 goals and 55 assists in 134 NCAA games.
Swaney's pro career has included 114 regular season AHL appearances with 33 goals and 35 assists.
If he takes the ice on Thursday, Swaney would become the second Black Hawk to make his NHL debut for the Wild, joining fellow Lakeville South alum Justin Kloos (October 24, 2017). J.T. Brown and Rem Pitlick also previously skated for the Wild.
Two Black Hawks have already made their NHL debuts this season: Swaney's Black Hawks teammate Shane Bowers (Colorado Avalanche), plus Matej Blumel (Dallas Stars). In total, a team-record 17 different Waterloo alumni have played in at least one NHL game during 2022/23.
