The Bjugun Goaltending Years

Lore & Background

When the Minnesota Wild locked in Niklas Bäckström as their starting goaltender in the early 2010s, the question every coaching staff asks becomes immediate: who sits behind him? For the Wild, that answer was Nicklas Bjugun, a compact, technically polished Swedish keeper who had been a mid-round pick in 2009 and spent the intervening seasons sharpening his craft in Iowa. Bjugun's game was built on quick reflexes, a low butterfly, and an almost stubborn refusal to let a puck slip past his pads. He was not the flashiest name in the league, but in the second-period stints, the 5-on-5 relief assignments, and the occasional full-game start when Bäckström sat out, he delivered.

The Bjugun years overlapped with a Wild team that was competitive but perpetually one or two pieces short of a deep playoff run. Goaltending was never the franchise's defining weakness during that stretch—Bäckström was consistently solid—but depth was a luxury the Wild could not always afford. Bjugun's presence meant the coaching staff did not have to gamble on an untested rookie every time the starter needed a night off. In a league where goaltending depth can make or break a 82-game schedule, that reliability mattered more than any single highlight reel.

For Wild fans of that era, Bjugun is the name that pops up in box scores on the nights the starter was scratched or pulled. He is the goalie who made the save that kept a 2-1 lead alive in the third, or the one who absorbed a barrage of shots in an overtime period that ultimately went to a shootout. His story is not one of trophies or All-Star nods, but of showing up, lacing up, and doing the job—season after season, game after game—while the franchise searched for the next goaltending chapter.

In Their Own Story

The Xcel Energy Center was humming at half-capacity on a mid-February Tuesday, the kind of night where the Wild were playing a division rival and the starter had taken a slap shot to the mask in the first. Bjugun skated out from the bench tunnel, his pads still damp from the warm-up, and the crowd gave him a polite, knowing nod. They had seen this before. He dropped into position, stick flat on the ice, and the first shot came—a wrist shot from the dot that he tracked with his eyes and smothered with his glove. The second was a rebound he kicked out weakly, but the defenseman cleared it before the forechecker could pounce. By the fourth minute of his stint, the tension in the building had eased. He was not the headline. He was the reason the headline didn't have to change. When the period ended and Bäckström was still in the hospital, Bjugun stayed, and the Wild fans in section 114 clapped a little harder than they needed to, because they knew what it meant to have a goalie who simply did not flinch.

Reader's Guide

2012–2013: Bjugun makes his NHL debut with Minnesota, splitting time behind Niklas Bäckström. The Wild are a mid-pack team, and the coaching staff uses Bjugun in second-period stints and occasional full starts. His role is clear: be the reliable Swedish backup who can handle a full 60 if needed.

2013–2015: Bjugun settles into a defined backup role. Bäckström starts the majority of games, and Bjugun handles the relief assignments, the scratch-game starts, and the occasional injury call-up. The Wild remain a solid 80-to-90-point team, and goaltending depth is one of the quiet reasons they stay in the playoff conversation. Bjugun's AHL stints with Iowa are brief and infrequent—his NHL role is established.

2015–2016: The final season of the Bäckström era. Bäckström's contract situation becomes a question mark, and Bjugun's role as the established backup makes him a natural part of the goaltending conversation as the Wild plan for the future. His time in Minnesota closes out as the franchise prepares to transition into the next goaltending chapter, and Bjugun departs to continue his career elsewhere in the league.

Did You Know?

• Nicklas Bjugun was a 3rd-round pick (68th overall) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, making him one of the more efficient mid-round goaltending selections of that class.
• Bjugun and Niklas Bäckström were both Swedish goaltenders, meaning the Wild's crease featured a distinctly Scandinavian identity during the Bjugun years.
• Before earning a regular NHL role with Minnesota, Bjugun spent multiple seasons developing with the Iowa Wild in the AHL, where he built the technical foundation that made him a trusted backup in the NHL.
• Bjugun's backup role meant he was frequently the goalie on the ice during critical second-period stints and overtime assignments, making him a more visible presence in box scores than his limited start count might sugges