Kaapo Kähkönen.
The former fourth-round pick of the Wild in 2014 blossomed into Minnesota this season and started to see real game time after the departure of goalie Alex Stalock.
It may have been a look into the future for the Wild and their fans as Kahkonen had an impressive streak of hockey as he tied for fifth in the longest win streak for a rookie goalie. Kahkonen went 9-0 over the course of starts between February and March.
His 16 wins are most by a Wild rookie goaltender in their history.
As for Kahkonen’s other numbers, he only had eight regulation losses during this season — same as Talbot — and posted two shutouts as well.
His performance was enough to kick him into the Calder trophy conversation at points during the season, an honor that teammate, Kirill Kaprizov , was named one of three finalists for.