After being a healthy scratch in four of the last eight games, Minnesota’s Mikael Granlund was sent to AHL Houston on Tuesday.
Granlund, 21, was heavily hyped heading into this season and on a number of Calder Trophy shortlists -- and with good reason.
The ninth overall pick at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft was tearing up the American League during the lockout, scoring 21 points in 21 games while winning Rookie of the Month for October.
The Finnish forward then started fast to begin the year -- he scored in his NHL debut, a 4-2 win over Colorado -- and had a nice streak in February where he scored points in three consecutive games and logged a career-high in ice time (19:14) against Calgary on the 11th.
Lately, though, Granlund’s been a spectator.
He was held out of Minnesota’s last two games -- victories over the Predators and Canucks, the latter moving the Wild atop the Northwest Division -- and in his last contest, a 5-3 loss to Chicago, he finished a disastrous minus-3 with no points and just one shot on goal.
