Wild sign USHL alumni Gambrell and Joshua in free agency

Bill Guerin’s July 1 free-agency batch put two USHL alumni into the same Minnesota system, with Dylan Gambrell and Jagger Joshua joining a four-player forward haul that also included Justin Kirkland and Mason Shaw. Gambrell signed a one-year, two-way deal worth $850,000 at the NHL level and $400,000 in the AHL, while Joshua landed a two-year, two-way contract worth $850,000 and $260,000 in 2026-27, then $900,000 and $290,000 in 2027-28.

Joshua’s route is the one USHL circles will recognize first. He played his first nine games of 2017-18 with the Youngstown Phantoms, then moved on to the Muskegon Lumberjacks, where he logged 28 games and five points in his first full USHL season and followed with 27 points, including 10 goals and 17 assists, in 53 regular-season games in 2018-19. Michigan State’s roster history lists him at 32 points in 92 USHL games across parts of three seasons, a path that led to 44 points in 135 college games and Honorable Mention All-Big Ten honors as a senior in 2022-23.

Joshua has already translated that background into pro time. He has appeared in five career Calder Cup Playoff games and has logged AHL stops with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Wheeling and Rochester. For Minnesota, that makes him more than a camp body, it makes him a winger with junior seasoning, college polish and enough mileage in the American League to be slotted into a depth role without a long runway.

Gambrell brings a different USHL profile, one built on production and captaincy. He spent three seasons with the Dubuque Fighting Saints from 2012-15, producing 108 points, 39 goals and 69 assists, in 172 USHL games. He served as Dubuque’s alternate captain in 2014-15, helped the Saints win the Clark Cup in 2013 and later took gold with Team USA at the 2014 World Junior A Challenge in Kindersley, Saskatchewan. By the time Minnesota signed him, Gambrell had reached 233 NHL games.

The Wild’s same-day moves with Gambrell and Joshua sat inside a larger roster wave that also brought in Calvin Pickard and Zach Bogosian, before the club added Max Shabanov on July 2 and Daemon Hunt on July 5. Taken together, the day showed Minnesota betting on players with varied junior and college backgrounds, and the USHL footprint in that group was clear: one forward with a scoring résumé from Dubuque and one with a heavier, more physical climb through Youngstown, Muskegon and Michigan State.