Minnesota Wild: Iowa Wild the perfect training ground for Kaapo Kahkonen

The future between the Minnesota Wild pipes seems to be safe. Kaapo Kahkonen joined the Iowa Wild ranks this year and has taken next to no time to settle in.

Through his first three games with the Iowa Wild, Kaapo Kahkonen has already netted two wins, one of which was a shut-out victory. He seems to be a very shrewd pick by the Minnesota Wild in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

Going in the fourth round (109th overall), you don’t necessarily expect him to become a franchise goaltender, but the early signs are very positive. It all goes to show the voodoo of picking a good goaltender at the draft!

Given that the Iowa Wild net is manned by Andrew Hammond, a netminder with NHL experience who had solid early form, it’s unsurprising that Kahkonen is being eased into the role gradually, but there will come a point both with the Iowa Wild and I’m sure later on with the Minnesota Wild where he eventually usurps the experienced guys.

To be sitting on a 1.32 goals against average and a lofty 0.953 save percentage is remarkable. However, it shouldn’t have been unexpected given his career-best marks in the Finnish Liiga last season. This isn’t some youngster facing adults for the first time; Kaapo Kahkonen has been facing adults in his home country for a while now!

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The Iowa Wild so far are wise to limit his starts, but they may need to increase them to see whether the current sample size of just three games is what is elevating Kahkonen’s statistics. If it proves to be the case then you can slow his starts down.

If, however, those statistics are the real deal and he can maintain similar numbers after ten AHL games, then I think it’s not long at all before he needs a chance in Minnesota Wild colours.

The AHL can be a cruel mistress; just ask Garret Sparks of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Last season, he was elite in the league winning the Aldege ‘Baz’ Bastien Memorial Award as the best goalie in the league. He now finds himself as an NHL backup goaltender, playing one game in every five and getting shelled most recently by Boston. Sometimes, the skill jump is too much.

Whilst I don’t doubt that Kaapo Kahkonen will fit right in at a higher level, it’s a cautionary tale that we’ve seen repeated many times over and needs to be in the back of the minds of the Minnesota Wild and Iowa Wild brain trust.

It’s great to have the team at the point where it’s now developing goaltenders internally and good ones at that, but we have to now make sure that the learning curve is gradual.

Kaapo Kahkonen, I firmly believe, is the future of the Minnesota Wild organisation, but we just need patience and we’ll eventually be rewarded.