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Top 5 young prospects in the Minnesota Wild system

By Cody Defoe

ST. PAUL, MN - OCTOBER 6: The Minnesota Wild line up for the National Anthem before a game between the Minnesota Wild and Las Vegas Golden Knights at Xcel Energy Center on October 6, 2018 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Golden Knights defeated the Wild 2-1 in a shootout.(Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)
ST. PAUL, MN - OCTOBER 6: The Minnesota Wild line up for the National Anthem before a game between the Minnesota Wild and Las Vegas Golden Knights at Xcel Energy Center on October 6, 2018 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Golden Knights defeated the Wild 2-1 in a shootout.(Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA FEBRUARY 11, 2018: Forward Kirill Kaprizov of the Olympic Athletes from Russia men’s ice hockey team seen ahead of making a family photo at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Valery Sharifulin/TASS (Photo by Valery SharifulinTASS via Getty Images) /

#2 – Kirill Kaprizov (KHL – CSKA Moskva)

Russian athletes and the NHL have had a myriad of struggles finding a common ground in recent years. Most recently, the Minnesota Wild have discovered how difficult it can be to encourage a talented Russian hockey player to leave his home and bring his skills to North America.

As reported by NHL.com, Minnesota Wild GM Paul Fenton is taking a trip to Russia and Finland this month to personally scout and meet with former 5th round pick Kirill Kaprizov about coming to the State of Hockey when his current KHL contract expires in 2020.

More. Kaprizov needs convincing on move from Russia. light

Kaprizov is only 21 years old, so still extremely young with a ton of hockey in his future. Currently this season, Kaprizov has 17 points (10 G, 7 A) through 23 games of play, with a +13 plus/minus.

This is not unusual for Kaprizov either, as he has been nearly a point per game player for the entirety of his short adult life. He has broken 40 points in each of his last 2 seasons, and is on his way to doing it once again this year.

Being drafted in the 5th round in 2015 could end up being a huge steal for the Minnesota Wild, the likes of a Pavel Datsyuk or a Peter Bondra as a draft steal.

In his draft year, Kaprizov had a meagre 8 points in 31 games at the KHL level. Since being drafted, he has improved his production each and every season on his way to becoming a top prospect in the Wild pipeline.

When the general manager is making a special trip to meet with a player and his family, to pitch the vision of his team and encourage a prospect to make the journey to start a career in the NHL, it’s usually a good sign the team is extremely high on that player.

Barring some kind of setback, we should expect Kaprizov to be a major piece of the Minnesota Wild from 2020 onward. Let’s hope they have found themselves a player the calibre of a Bondra or Datsyuk that can lead this team to multiple Stanley Cups.

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