ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin is week to week with a nagging lower-body injury, coach John Hynes confirmed Thursday. The big question now is whether his availability for the Olympics is in jeopardy.

Hynes wouldn’t go so far as to predict that.

Brodin, the team’s shutdown left-shot blueliner, has been dealing with this injury for a while, but it’s just now getting to the point that he’s being shut down, with the team seeking further information. He missed four games in mid-December with an injury that Hynes indicated is related and something the team has been monitoring closely.

“It didn’t happen in one game,” Hynes said. “It’s something that I think has been building up a little bit.”

In the meantime, the Wild flipped Matt Kiersted for right-shot David Spacek from AHL Iowa ahead of Thursday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets at Grand Casino Arena. Spacek, the son of longtime NHLer Jaroslav Spacek, will make his long-anticipated NHL debut on a third pair with Daemon Hunt — less than a month before he’s set to represent Czechia in the Olympics.

With Brodin out, Minnesota will elevate left-shot Jake Middleton to the second pair with Jared Spurgeon against the Jets. Zach Bogosian (lower body) will miss his fifth consecutive game with a foot injury and didn’t skate Thursday after skating earlier this week. But Hynes indicated that Bogosian and injured center Joel Eriksson Ek will be on the upcoming trip to Buffalo, Toronto and Montreal.

Spacek, 22, had a terrific career with Sherbrooke of the QMJHL, being named the league’s defensive rookie of the year in 2021-22. The Wild drafted him in the fifth round in 2022. He’s in his third season with Iowa and has scored 10 goals and 62 points in 168 games there. He won a gold medal with Czechia at the 2024 World Championship and was outstanding in two World Juniors appearances, winning silver in 2023.

“He’s played some solid hockey,” Hynes said. “He’s a good puck-moving defenseman. … He’s played an efficient game.”

#mnwild lines

Kaprizov-Yurov-Zuccarello
Johansson-Hartman-Boldy
Foligno-Sturm-Tarasenko
Trenin-Jones-Pitlick

Hughes-Faber
Middleton-Spurgeon
Hunt-Spacek

Spacek’s NHL debut appears tonight, Hinostroza scratched (long chat with Hynes before skate on ice)

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) January 15, 2026

Brodin, who has played in 42 of the Wild’s 47 games this season, has been injured often throughout his career because of the tough minutes he plays. He dealt with injuries throughout last season, including a shoulder injury. He was then cleared to play in the World Championship, though the organization tried to talk him out of going. He played, aggravated the injury and ultimately underwent surgery in Colorado in June.

He missed most of camp as part of his recovery and the first game of the season.

The latest injury could lead the Wild to try to convince Brodin not to play in the Olympics, where he’s set to join teammates Eriksson Ek, Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt on Team Sweden.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Hynes said. “That’d be between Billy (Guerin) and Jonas. Right now, we’ll just see where he’s at and exactly what it is. There needs to be more things looked at in order for us to get to that point. Maybe he’s ready before the Olympics; maybe he’s not. We don’t know at this point out in time. But let’s let it play out a little bit and see truly what’s going on.”

If Brodin can’t go, several other Swedish defensemen who were initially snubbed could replace him, including the Edmonton Oilers’ Mattias Ekholm, who played for the team at the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Boston Bruins’ Hampus Lindholm and the Detroit Red Wings’ Simon Edvinsson.