Wild Sign Pair Of College Standouts To Entry-Level Deals

Detroit Lakes, MN (KDLM) – The Minnesota Wild are adding a pair of top college prospects to the pipeline ahead of their first-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars.

General Manager Bill Guerin announced Wednesday that the Wild have signed defenseman Ben Dexheimer to a one-year entry-level contract and forward Rieger Lorenz to a two-year entry-level contract. Both deals begin with the 2026-27 season. In the meantime, Dexheimer and Lorenz will join the AHL’s Iowa Wild on amateur tryouts for the remainder of this season.

The two prospects faced off against each other just days ago in the NCAA championship game, where Lorenz’s Denver Pioneers beat Dexheimer’s Wisconsin Badgers for the national title.

Dexheimer, a 23-year-old native of Edina, served as Wisconsin’s captain this season and posted seven goals and 21 assists for 28 points in 39 games. The 5-foot-10 right-shot defenseman led the Badgers with 21 minutes and 21 seconds of ice time per game and helped lead the program to its first national championship game appearance since 2010. Over four seasons in Madison, he collected 84 points and blocked 192 shots in 149 games.

Lorenz, 22, was Minnesota’s second-round pick, 56th overall, in the 2022 NHL Draft. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound forward from Calgary, Alberta served as an alternate captain at Denver and set career highs across the board in his senior season, with 17 goals and 18 assists for 35 points in 43 games. He scored the game-tying goal in the third period of the NCAA title game to help the Pioneers to the championship.

The Wild open their first-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars next week. It will be the second and third seeds in the Western Conference meeting in the opening round.