Article: Kirill Kaprizov Is Grabbing the Torch As the NHL's Best Winger

[Tony Abbott]

View full article

[Citizen Strife]

What I have enjoyed is he has done it in a myriad of ways.

- super quick PP

- Insane passes in traffic

- long stretch passes to breakaways

- Crashing the net for greasy goals

- Empty netters 

He is pretty much good to great at all facets of the game, and is happy to do things the hard way.

 

[Citizen Strife]

Accidental double post

Edited November 3 by Citizen Strife

[RedLake]

Give him his 14 mil!!!

[Sam]

He’s got that dog in him and he’s fun to watch. He’s a big reason why I’ve become a Wild fan.. Well that and hockey is just the best sport to watch. He is basically carrying the team on his back.

[Amaddeo]

I’m a Wild fan and I love KK and think he is the best player in the show (my bias). But removing that bias, Kap isn’t at Kuch’s level.. at least just yet. I think he can get there with a strong season showing he elevates players better than Kuch, but at this time, I think it’s a bit premature. Love that he’s getting the respect though, he’s earned it!

[Dango]

Ive always thought that if you took Neil Broten and combined him with Dino Ciccarelli  you would get Kaprizov

[B1GKappa97]

Its gonna be crushing if he doesn't stick around 😞

Hopefully the extra year is enough to entice him to give us a shot, in addition to what's looking like a well-laid plan coming to fruition with the roster. Excited to see how this team looks once Yurov, Buium and Wallstedt start making some contributions, assuming they are as advertised. 

[Up North Guy]

17 hours ago, Dango said:

Ive always thought that if you took Neil Broten and combined him with Dino Ciccarelli  you would get Kaprizov

KK is tough as nails but he has a ways to go before he gets as feisty as Dino.

[MNCountryLife]

Not very many players that have his skill and that drive to win.  Sign him.  We need him.

Edited November 4 by MNCountryLife

[Protec]

Yurov currently has 10pts in 17 games and is tied for most shots on the team. He's taken nearly 200 faceoffs and has a 50% win rate. If MN keeps winning, their case for keeping him is stronger. Their strength of schedule and handling of adversity so far has been very good. Is Kaprizov getting the right message? He knows what OCL said about salary. If winning is the big idea, MN has a solid feel after 11 games.

In contrast to last season, we saw a bad start and recovery with Hynes to no avail. This year the Wild look like they took the shortfalls to heart and returned with a determined outlook. LA will be another good test. I'm looking ahead to Nov. 16th. That's when the Wild can make a statement if you ask me. Kaprizov and the Norwegian Hobbit teaming up for multi-point games against Dallas would be encouraging. The Central is always tough. That is one potential reason Kirill might like other options. Carolina, FL, or NYR, seem like the kinds of places that could get him. To be in an easier division gets you further in the playoffs argument. I like Kaprizov in a contract year more than NoJo in a contract season.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

1 hour ago, Protec said:

Yurov currently has 10pts in 17 games and is tied for most shots on the team. He's taken nearly 200 faceoffs and has a 50% win rate.

Yurov was scoreless in his first 2 games coming back from offseason shoulder surgery, and his team was struggling a bit in the 6 games he missed. Since then, he's tallied 5 goals and 5 assists in 15 games and leads the team in +/- by a couple of points at +5.

I would anticipate some future games where he's accumulating multiple points to get back around, or exceed, his scoring pace from last season. I have little doubt that Yurov will be an upgrade from Johansson even if he isn't a dynamic scorer right away. The faceoff percentage is promising as that was an area he was said to need work from last season.

[Sam]

On 11/3/2024 at 6:08 PM, Dango said:

Ive always thought that if you took Neil Broten and combined him with Dino Ciccarelli  you would get Kaprizov

I didn’t know who these old guys were, so I looked them up and found out they were pretty good. One of them was even on the 1980 Olympic team. That inspired me to rewatch that Miracle movie. Anyway, comparing Kap to them is a good complement.

[mnfaninnc]

Kaprizov has backed up his statement that he was embarrassed about not making the playoffs last year. He's extra motivated. Who's going to go along with him? 

I would suggest Faber, Goose, Boldy, Rossi have elevated their play too. Of course, we were expecting that from all those guys who should have naturally improved. 

Our main improvement was always going to be internal.

[Enforceror]

1 hour ago, mnfaninnc said:

Kaprizov has backed up his statement that he was embarrassed about not making the playoffs last year. He's extra motivated. Who's going to go along with him? 

I would suggest Faber, Goose, Boldy, Rossi have elevated their play too. Of course, we were expecting that from all those guys who should have naturally improved. 

Our main improvement was always going to be internal.

There appears to be a full team movement towards making it this year. Seeing drive even from our normal whipping boys.

[mnfaninnc]

16 hours ago, Enforceror said:

Seeing drive even from our normal whipping boys.

While Johansson isn't stacking up points, I see a far better effort from him, and a willingness to finish his checks and shoot when there's an opening. These are positive steps, and they need to be noticed by the group here.