Good News! Ryan Hartman joins Vinnie Hinostroza on the ice after serving 8 game suspension from the NHL

Good News! Ryan Hartman joins Vinnie Hinostroza on the ice after serving 8 game suspension from the NHL

Old friends reunite with Wild as Ryan Hartman joins Vinnie Hinostroza on the ice

Hartman returned after serving an eight-game suspension from the NHL.

SEATTLE — There were no “proud parent” social media posts the first time Ryan Hartman and Vinnie Hinostroza played hockey together. Not that their parents weren’t delighted by their on-ice success playing for a Chicago-area mite team when both were 8 years old.

It’s just that social media wasn’t what it is now 22 years ago.

Hartman and Hinostroza skated on a line together as members of the Minnesota Wild for the first time on Tuesday night, which marked the second time these childhood friends have skated together in the NHL. They were previously members of the Chicago Blackhawks for a time, and both still call the Windy City their year-round home.

For Hartman, Tuesday was his first game back in the lineup after serving an eight-game suspension. In an ironic twist, Hartman’s punishment for an infraction in early February facilitated this on-ice reunion, as the Wild claimed Hinostroza off waivers to fill the roster gap created by his absence.

“We’ve played together our whole lives. We got drafted to the same team. We lived together in Rockford (Illinois) in the same house and were linemates in Chicago. And then obviously we both go our own ways for a while and now we’re back together,” Hartman said.

“I’ve been excited that he’s been here. Obviously, it was tough because I wasn’t able to play right when he got here. But I’m going to take advantage of this, for sure.”

After winning numerous Illinois state titles at the youth hockey level, the friends went their separate ways at the higher levels of hockey. Hinostroza went to Waterloo, Iowa, in the USHL while Hartman went to USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program in Michigan. Hinostroza went the college hockey route at Notre Dame, while Hartman played major junior hockey in Plymouth, Michigan, on the way to the NHL.

Now, for the first time in several years, they are reunited with the Wild, and both hope that history leads to chemistry.

“He’s always been a great player, hard player. Hard to play against. He gets to the dirty areas. He’s got a really good shot, and he can make plays,” said Hinostroza, who has become an instant net-front presence for the Wild with three goals in seven games. “So, I feel like I know his game better than a lot of people. So, just knowing in certain instances where he’s going to be, or the communication on the bench, it should make it a little bit easier.”

 

Hartman, who spent the past month going through some intense on-ice work in an effort to stay in game shape, was greeted by cheers from teammates welcoming him back to the ice for morning skate at Climate Pledge Arena on Tuesday.

 

“It was almost like a mini training camp again. I got to work on a lot of things,” said Hartman, who re-started his season on Tuesday after seven goals and 10 assists in his first 48 games. “With having an earlier game on Sunday, we didn’t have ice available, so I went out and found some ice in Eden Prairie and did some game situation stuff just to make sure I was ready for live action.”

 

With several key players still out with injuries, the playoffs roughly six weeks away and the Wild winning just one of their previous four games, Minnesota’s coach stressed the importance of the Hinostroza-Hartman reunion being as productive as it was heartwarming.

 

Hartman, John Hynes said, “Is needed. We need him to commit.”

 

“Obviously he’s had the break, and I know he’s worked hard, but we need him to come in and be an impact player right away,” the coach added. “The good thing is I think you see a player that is hungry and wants to get back, and I think he wants to help the team the best he can, and he can do that by playing at the top of his game.”