Wild – Minnesota Wild top prospect Liam Ohgren knows how significant this offseason is for his development.

And for his goal in September.

“It’s very important,” Ohgren told Wild.com after his first practice inside Tria Rink with the team on April 17. “I think I need to get a lot of work done, so I come back to [training] camp feeling very comfortable and better than I am now.”

Ohgren’s season was filled with both highs and lows. But he enters this offseason having reached an important milestone and having made a strong first impression with the Wild, who drafted him in the first round in 2022.

“I’m living my childhood dream right now,” Ohgren said on April 17. “So it’s exciting, and I’m very happy to be here.”

Ohgren’s season didn’t start the way he imagined it, but it ended with his dream coming true with the Wild. As Ohgren reflected on his season, he described last fall as “very tough,” with an injury delaying his season about three months until he made his debut with his new team, Farjestad, on Nov. 21.

Ohgren decided last summer to play for Farjestad this season in the Swedish Hockey League — the highest league in Sweden — after his former team, Djurgardens, lost in the SHL Qualifier Finals. Ohgren had 11 goals and 20 points in 36 games in 2022-23 with Djurgardens in HockeyAllsvenskan, the second highest league in Sweden.

The decision proved to be beneficial for his development, and Ohgren put together a strong second half after returning from injury. The 20-year-old winger scored 12 goals and 19 points in 26 games (a .73 point-per-game rate) and finished with a +12 rating with Farjestad this season. Ohgren also captained Sweden to silver at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship in January.

The Wild are pleased with Ohgren’s progress and how he overcame the injury and had a productive second half of the season.

“Proud of him for how he handled that and got through that and then came back and had a very solid season in the SHL pretty much just playing half a season there,” Wild Director of Player Development Brad Bombardir told Wild.com.

“He became an important player for them, a reliable player. And he kind of built his game through the second half as well.”

What does that say about Ohgren?

“That just shows you his maturity and his willingness just to stay on the course and be patient, and he did just that,” Bombardir added. “So it was really positive for him to have a second half in the SHL like he did. It was great for him to have that.”

Ohgren feels like he took another step in his development this season despite missing the first half of the year because of that injury.

“I think I got better and better every game and every practice and got more comfortable and more confident,” Ohgren said of his second half play.

Ohgren saw his season end in the SHL when his No. 1 ranked Farjestad got swept by ninth-seed Rogle in the opening round of the playoffs. With his season unexpectedly over so early, the Wild invited him to come play with Iowa in the AHL.

Ohgren skated in three games with Iowa and immediately made an impression after his arrival to North America. Iowa GM and Wild Director of Hockey Operations Mike Murray watched Ohgren play in those three games before the recall to Minnesota.

“There’s a maturity to his game,” Murray said. “He’s a responsible 200-foot player. He’s strong on the walls. And the two things that really define his game are his explosive skating — his first step is just as explosive as I’ve seen, very strong skater — and then his shot is second to none. He has an NHL-caliber shot already.

“So he has defining skill sets that will put him in position to be a successful NHL player for a long time.”

Then the day that Ohgren had long been waiting for arrived: his NHL debut.

The Wild recalled Ohgren on April 10 before their three-game West Coast swing. Ohgren, 20, made his NHL debut in Las Vegas on April 12 and then scored his first NHL goal and assisted on another in San Jose in his second game.