The Minnesota Wild are now not only reaching out to Kirill Kaprizov, but also Andrei Svetlakov; with General Manager Paul Fenton in Russia to chat to both players.
Per Elloitte Friedman and his 31 Thoughts column; Minnesota Wild General Manager, Paul Fenton is attempting to create positive relationships with both the 2017 6th round pick (178th overall), Andrei Svetlakov and the higher-rated 2015 5th round pick (135th overall), Kirill Kaprizov.
Both players represent solid prospects in the Minnesota Wild system, even more interesting is the fact they both were later round picks but are drawing such attention from the organisation already.
Paul Fenton had the following to say about Kirill Kaprizov:
"‘I’ve watched him from afar, now I’m going to look at him in a different light. We’re going to build a relationship, let him know the door is still open here. It’s important to get to know him early in the year.’ – Paul Fenton (31 Thoughts)"
Safe to say that the Minnesota Wild don’t want this player remaining in the KHL; they want him out of Russia as soon as possible and into their line-up.
Andrei Svetlakov though, is a less-known quantity. We’ve previously looked at the fact Fenton was headed East to chat with his fellow Russian, but this is the first mention of Svetlakov anywhere.
At age 22, he already has four KHL seasons under his belt, albeit splitting that time somewhat between the KHL and VHL (Russia’s equivalent of the AHL). In terms of being drafted, he was picked up in his draft +3 year, meaning he’d been massively overlooked in the past.
During that time, he has a 0.39 points-per-game average in the KHL; 27 from assists and 20 from goals, showing somewhat of a penchant for making the play. He seems to average a rather high number of penalty minutes, almost matching his 122 KHL games with 115 PIM.
The biggest draw is that he’s a center that knows how to use his size and with an expiring KHL contract in 2020, is one definitely worth talking to.
You never know what you’ll find with some of the Russians coming over; just look at Artemi Panarin as the most recent example.
It seems to be a really positive move on behalf of Paul Fenton and the Minnesota Wild to head over to Russia and chat in-person with these potential roster additions.
To me, that’d prove that the organisation is serious about giving you a real shot in the NHL and not just trying to prevent other teams from acquiring your rights.
Of course, there’s a long road yet especially as neither player can be signed next year, but the signs are certainly there that there may well be an influx of Russian talent in Minnesota come 2020.
Bring on Kirill Kaprizov and Andrei Svetlakov suiting up in Minnesota Wild colours already!