At some future point in his NHL career, Danila Yurov was going to get a shot at being the Minnesota Wild’s number one center. Even the most fervent Yurov optimist didn’t think it would happen 16 games into his career. Yet, here we are.
Make no mistake, the series of events that have led to the Danila Yurov Top Line Center Experience are heavily (some might say Wildly) influenced by the injury bug that is tearing through the Wild’s locker room right now. Marco Rossi, Ryan Hartman, and Nico Sturm are all centermen that are sidelined with various ailments. That has left John Hynes with few options (and Bill Guerin reportedly searching for deals) in the middle of the ice.
Normally it would be Joel Eriksson Ek assuming the position, but Hynes seems wary about breaking up the Marcus Johansson - Eriksson Ek - Matt Boldy trio that has been clicking lately. That limits Hynes options for Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello. Ben Jones has been fine doing what he does, but he’s not cut from the first-line center cloth at the NHL level. That pretty much leaves Yurov.
It’s been a learning season for the young Russian. He watched the first couple of games from the press box, and then finally made his debut with 10 minutes of hockey action against the Los Angeles Kings. He’s been a mainstay on the bottom-six since then, picking up two goals and an assist while playing between eight and eleven minutes a night.
He picked up his first NHL goal against a pretty good netminder named Igor Shesterkin:
That goal is indicative of how he plays. He likes to be around the net and is able to dig out loose pucks to keep the action going. As his comfort level grows in the NHL, he’s become more effective on the ice. Recently he’s been teamed up with Yakov Trenin and Marcus Foligno and the trio has been tilting the ice in their favor. With them on the ice the Wild have scored twice while conceding zero goals. They’re controlling the shot attempts to the tune of a 58.46% edge, as well as scoring chances (61.29%), and high-danger chances (55.865).
The trick will be for Yurov to trust his own abilities as he steps up the line-up. There is a natural tendency for younger players to defer to established stars on their line and Yurov has to avoid that temptation when skating with Kaprizov. It is enhanced by the Russian system that has been in place since the Red Army hockey days where passing and constant motion is preferred to straight-line, shoot-at-the-net action.
He will give that line a little defensive help as well. As insanely talented as Kaprizov is with the puck, he can get a little careless with his play at times. Having a 200-foot player like Yurov skating around with him could offset those issues a bit.
How long this experiment will last is up to Yurov (and the injury gods). If he can be effective in the role, Hynes will be more than happy to keep him in it. The best way for him to stay there is to keep his hockey simple. Make the plays that present themselves and don’t try to get too creative. If that play is to take the shot, he needs to take it and not defer to his linemates. What he’ll find out is that the more he shoots, the more room he has to make plays.
It is a huge opportunity for the young player, hopefully he shines under the spotlight.