Article: Kirill Kaprizov Is About To Break More Records

[Tony Abbott]

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[MNCountryLife]

Kirill and Ek are two players with an incredible desire to win.  Both are making the players around them better.  Sure is fun to watch.  Inspiring an entire team to be better.

[Lovehockey]

Just keep the other teams in check if they try to take him out of the game with questionable hits. I saw one in the last game in Pittsburgh behind the net. 

[Up North Guy]

1 hour ago, Lovehockey said:

Just keep the other teams in check if they try to take him out of the game with questionable hits. I saw one in the last game in Pittsburgh behind the net. 

This is where MnFanInNC's theory of relativity comes into play. Other teams go after KK, our guys go after their stars. It is the only way it works. Going after their 4th liners is a huge waste. The Wild have several players capable of accomplishing this. "Turn loose the hounds"!

[mnfaninnc]

I'm not so sure that Kaprizov will improve like other years. I think he just started his season this year by spinning the wheels just before the opener.

What it looks like to me is that when Kaprizov says something, he's pretty honest about it and isn't talking cliches. He says not making the playoffs last year was embarrassing. Well, he just put the franchise on his back this month to make sure that poor start doesn't happen again. 

Ek has a similar mentality. I assume the elbow to his neck was what LoveHockey saw in the Pittsburgh game. One other guy to mention here is Faber, he's got that same desire.

If we are going to grab a free agent or 2 next season, my #1 thing to look at is going to be their desire to win. Fill a franchise with guys like that, and I'm pretty sure Kaprizov will be signing on around August next year (depending on where he spends the summer). This was one reason why I so highly recommended B. Tkachuk in a trade. He has that. The hope is that Boldy picks up on it too.

[FredJohnson]

2 hours ago, Up North Guy said:

This is where MnFanInNC's theory of relativity comes into play. Other teams go after KK, our guys go after their stars. It is the only way it works. Going after their 4th liners is a huge waste. The Wild have several players capable of accomplishing this. "Turn loose the hounds"!

Except that other team's whiney coaches poison officials by saying we commit a lot of penalties. So when we go after their stars we get called for it.

[Up North Guy]

2 hours ago, FredJohnson said:

Except that other team's whiney coaches poison officials by saying we commit a lot of penalties. So when we go after their stars we get called for it.

we get called for it anyway. We may as well impose our will and let the chips fall where they may.

[1Brotherbill]

4 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

If we are going to grab a free agent or 2 next season, my #1 thing to look at is going to be their desire to win. Fill a franchise with guys like that, and I'm pretty sure Kaprizov will be signing on around August next year (depending on where he spends the summer). This was one reason why I so highly recommended B. Tkachuk in a trade. He has that. The hope is that Boldy picks up on it too.

Isn't that what you always want in a signed player?

The thing with the free agents is the ones that are good and desirable are either expensive or old.  The ones that you look at as a possible future are RFA's.  

I would personally be fine with the Wild tendering an offer to Gabe Valardi from Winnipeg.  Someone who is south of 30 who is on a team that might have a difficult time signing him.  Get him off a rival and have him here in the State of Hockey for 10 years.  

It's all nice to think that we can sign Brock Boeser to a team friendly contract but even with that we wouldn't have much left of the the 17 million.

I would personally wait and see what they team does this year.  As it stands contacts that everyone say are horrible will fall off the books when the projected elite talent starts arriving in St. Paul.

[mnfaninnc]

12 hours ago, 1Brotherbill said:

Isn't that what you always want in a signed player?

As an untrained eye, and by that I mean most everyone commenting on here, including the writers, we have more of a tendency to look regular statistical numbers, and underlying analytical numbers to value a player. Rarely does anyone look them straight in the eye and see whether or not they have an undying drive to win, or in some cases not to lose.  

You're right about the UFAs, they tend to be older and on the downside of their career, and I am a huge advocate for offersheeting an RFA (if you can't trade for them). I thought St. Louis was brilliant going after Broberg and Holloway (sp) even if they don't work out to their contract. For $6+m, St. Louis added 2 1st round picks, one early and one mid round. The most interesting part of this deal, was that Army found Edmonton in a cap strapped position giving them a week to figure it out. They couldn't and had to let those guys go. But, what about retaliation? Army is retiring after this year! Brilliant!

We have a very good prospect pool right now, probably more players than we will ever see make the N on a regular basis. If we were going to use picks to subsidize gaining talent, this is the time. However, back to the original point: some players are there for the money, some players are very talented, not all players are there with a drive to win. Those guys usually do not become available, you have to steal them.

Note to Guerin: take care of your own before doing this. You don't want to lose someone on a retaliatory offer.

[mnfaninnc]

13 hours ago, Up North Guy said:

we get called for it anyway. We may as well impose our will and let the chips fall where they may.

Another one of my tenants: if you're going to get penalized, earn it! Make it worth while.

[Pewterschmidt]

9 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

St. Louis was brilliant going after Broberg and Holloway

Watched STL v PHI last night.  Broberg is going to be a beast for years.  Big, physical and good handles.  Halloway pretty invisible.  I think the EDM GM made mistake not matching Broberg 

[Pewterschmidt]

Just now, Pewterschmidt said:

Watched STL v PHI last night.  Broberg is going to be a beast for years.  Big, physical and good handles.  Halloway pretty invisible.  I think the EDM GM made mistake not matching Broberg 

Also, Konecny is a hella skilled

[mnfaninnc]

2 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

 Halloway pretty invisible.

Isn't Halloway in the bottom 6? Maybe 3rd line C?

[Pewterschmidt]

13 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

Isn't Halloway in the bottom 6? Maybe 3rd line C?

Yes bottom 6 I believe

[mnfaninnc]

9 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Yes bottom 6 I believe

I assume he's on the 3rd line, wouldn't invisible be the way you'd want it? Visible would likely mean mistakes and getting scored upon, wouldn't it?

[Pewterschmidt]

13 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

I assume he's on the 3rd line, wouldn't invisible be the way you'd want it? Visible would likely mean mistakes and getting scored upon, wouldn't it?

I think i understand the point your making.  aka a defenseman you don't notice is invisible because he's never getting burned.

Halloway was more Ogzy invisible

[mnfaninnc]

4 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

I think i understand the point your making.  aka a defenseman you don't notice is invisible because he's never getting burned.

Halloway was more Ogzy invisible

I thought I remembered Halloway's draft potential as a middle 6 center. Perhaps he can still grow to get to line 2, but right now he should be concentrating on shutting everyone down.

Quote

Holloway consistently applies pressure on the backcheck, pickpockets puck-carriers, makes timely hits, wields a disruptive stick -- you name it. He never flees the zone early and is a capable east-west attacker who shields the puck from opposing defenders really well. -EliteProspects 2020 NHL Draft Guide

Does this describe him?

He's pretty close to a +/-0 on the scoresheet. I suppose we will call this a low event player. Someone who's responsible in their own end and doesn't take a lot of chances. IE, an invisible player. He's also 23, so this really should be his rookie year. I expect he'll be improved. I like the build: 6'1" 205. How come other organizations can get their guys over 200?

[Tony Abbott]

18 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

If we are going to grab a free agent or 2 next season, my #1 thing to look at is going to be their desire to win. Fill a franchise with guys like that, and I'm pretty sure Kaprizov will be signing on around August next year (depending on where he spends the summer). This was one reason why I so highly recommended B. Tkachuk in a trade. He has that. The hope is that Boldy picks up on it too.

Guy who wants to win so bad that he's never been to the playoffs.

[mnfaninnc]

11 minutes ago, Tony Abbott said:

Guy who wants to win so bad that he's never been to the playoffs

I'll give you that, but it's not due to his play. You'd be rescuing a guy like that from a franchise that just can't put it together. Many of his meltdowns come due to a lack of winning. Look at the pedigree, his dad and brother are built the same way. Put Brady on a team that can win and he will make a huge difference. Matthew did that for Florida, especially in the playoffs. Brady is the kind of kid who can win you a series.

A Tkachuk is one of the few players that I would buy high on. Finding guys like that do not come around so commonly, uber talented and desire to win. Another guy to keep an eye on is this Lindstrom kid who, I think, is in the CBJ organization. He'd been compared to the Tkachuks. 

[TheGoosesAreLooses]

I would like to see them go out and get a RHD in the free agency market instead. IF you could entice a guy like Dobson on an offer sheet I think you pull the trigger. 

Our top six is pretty solid and we have some good talent showcasing next year. Our right side on D is getting older and a guy like spurg may need someone in line for the heir. 

If Yurov is anything like he projects we could be in a really good spot come next year. Resign guys like Rossi, Khus and Lauko and I think we look pretty solid. I don't think any of the three guys listed have hit their ceiling just yet.

It is early yet but I think this team has looked pretty solid, despite my fears starting out this year. Zucc may still take a step back at some point

[MNCountryLife]

I prefer building through the draft rather than trading for players.  Players are younger and less prone to injuries.  If our prospect pool is so large that we can't use them all, trade them out for future draft picks and try to move up in the draft to get higher picks.  The goal should be two fold... always have 1 or 2 new draft picks starting every year.... try to have 3 picks in the first 2 round of the draft.  My biggest problem with this is that I don't think IA is very good at preparing players for the N.  

[Protec]

I think Kaprizov and the Norwegian Hobbit have a year for the record books. The PP has been consistently better. 

The start has been better for Kirill. He could get going good and have an amazing back half. Last season his scoring pace late in the season was unmatched. 

[FredJohnson]

Imagine how good KK97 would be with a 1C.