Article: Draft Analyst Breaks Down Wild's Top 10 Prospects

[Thomas Williams]

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[Scalptrash]

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One NHL analyst is projecting Kirill Kaprizov's contract to be upwards of $120 million in total value.

Duh. It's the worst kept secret that he's going to get $15M x 8....if he signs. Knowing cheap Billy, he probably offered $12M. That extra $2.8M in cap hits sure would come in handy right about now.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

Surprising to me that they don't include Lambos in the Wild's top 10. I don't think there's a good reason to doubt that he should be top 10, but I think they like writing about the more recent prospects.

They have a couple of undersized 4th rounders ahead of Lambos, Kiviharju and Benak. Those Wild prospects are skilled, but they are years away from possibly being positive players in the AHL, which is what Lambos is already.

[TCMooch]

I can't take any top 10 prospect list that has Charlie Stramel on it seriously.

[mnfaninnc]

3 hours ago, TCMooch said:

I can't take any top 10 prospect list that has Charlie Stramel on it seriously.

Wow, this sounds like Dean's perspective!

[mnfaninnc]

5 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Surprising to me that they don't include Lambos in the Wild's top 10. I don't think there's a good reason to doubt that he should be top 10, but I think they like writing about the more recent prospects.

They have a couple of undersized 4th rounders ahead of Lambos, Kiviharju and Benak. Those Wild prospects are skilled, but they are years away from possibly being positive players in the AHL, which is what Lambos is already.

I think you may be right on this one. I see 2 ways of writing the list, and 1 is the excitement and hype behind the new guys. But 2 is where they currently are on the depth chart within an organization. 

I didn't see the list, but I'm assuming the top 5 are generally expected to make the roster next season.

[mnfaninnc]

Ok, I saw it and yes, the top 5 are expected to make the team. 

I thought it was interesting that they ranked Jiricek #2. Obviously this guy doesn't subscribe to the Button analysis.

[Enforceror]

Slightly off-topic but has anyone heard any Yurov news? I know he was supposed to go in the US back east to train this summer. Haven't heard anything about it.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

49 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

I didn't see the list, but I'm assuming the top 5 are generally expected to make the roster next season.

Yeah, the top 5 are who you'd expect--Buium, Jiricek, Yurov, Wallstedt, Ohgren.

After that, in order, he has Hiedt, Ritchie, Stramel, Kiviharju, Benak.

I'd put Lambos ahead of the last 3, for certain, and there's a case to be made for #6, given how close he seems to the NHL after being a 1st round pick.

[Mateo3xm]

12 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Surprising to me that they don't include Lambos in the Wild's top 10. I don't think there's a good reason to doubt that he should be top 10, but I think they like writing about the more recent prospects.

They have a couple of undersized 4th rounders ahead of Lambos, Kiviharju and Benak. Those Wild prospects are skilled, but they are years away from possibly being positive players in the AHL, which is what Lambos is already.

Idk man. I’ve been waiting for him to sort of break out and it hasn’t happened. He’s only 22 but I figured he would have taken bigger steps. I could be wrong but I don’t see him being much more than a 3rd pairing dmen.

[Mateo3xm]

6 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

Ok, I saw it and yes, the top 5 are expected to make the team. 

I thought it was interesting that they ranked Jiricek #2. Obviously this guy doesn't subscribe to the Button analysis.

Button has some good takes and some absolutely moronic takes as well. I think he’s wrong about Jiricek and a bit of goofball but we will see.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

13 hours ago, Mateo3xm said:

He’s only 22 but I figured he would have taken bigger steps. I could be wrong but I don’t see him being much more than a 3rd pairing dmen.

For the Wild with Brodin, I see him as a 3rd pairing D-man as well, but I wouldn't really be surprised if he can easily step into 2nd pairing minutes as he matures.

The 4th rounders they listed in front of him might never move beyond the AHL. Again, they are really solid and skilled skilled, but the smallish size could be a real concern at the NHL level.

[mnfaninnc]

I got this off the national boards today. The quote is from Frank Seravalli: The question was about an offersheet for Rossi.

Quote

Um, you're not gonna see one. That's the answer. 

I don't think anyone would be willing to step up and pay for an undersized center... I don't think (another team) could present any number that would scare off the Minnesota Wild. It would have to be a long-term deal, a five-year deal, and look something like $9.5–$10 million a year... (The rival team) would have to step up and offer something that would also throw (their) own cap out of whack. And I just don't see anyone stepping up to give Marco Rossi that kind of offer as an undersized center. 

If this information turns out to be true, then it will have to be Rossi who blinks first. This is his only hope to getting a big contract now. 

I'm standing my ground on a low bridge deal (meaning under $5m). I think that Guerin will try for 2-3 years making sure he is an RFA at the end of it. Then, we'll go through this again. 

He'll immediately grab Guerin's attention if he comes in heavy and strong to camp. In the article, the author said at this point a trade looks far more likely. Well, we've got a perfectly acceptable player in a similar conundrum over in Anaheim. McTavish meets Shooter's requirements, and, perhaps Rossi could be useful for the Ducks. I'm guessing straight up is unlikely to happen but I like McTavish in the #2C role. 

The rumors I've seen do not include Minnesota chasing this one down. It seems to me that they have the best young player to offer, but the Ducks also might be too squeamish to take back the shorter player. If Rossi goes in a trade, his contract demands have to come down significantly as he will have to prove his worth all over again.

Edited Sunday at 10:23 PM by mnfaninnc

[mnfaninnc]

On 7/26/2025 at 12:13 AM, Mateo3xm said:

Idk man. I’ve been waiting for him to sort of break out and it hasn’t happened. He’s only 22 but I figured he would have taken bigger steps. I could be wrong but I don’t see him being much more than a 3rd pairing dmen.

Generally it takes D-men a little longer to develop. Taken in '21, '26 should be his 1st full-time year. I think he gets some time up here this year, though, maybe to start the season with Brodin being out. I'm expecting him to come in around 210 and be able to be very physical. He was larger last training camp, I estimated 205 since he was drafted close to 200.

[bisopher]

2 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

McTavish meets Shooter's requirements, and, perhaps Rossi could be useful for the Ducks. I'm guessing straight up is unlikely to happen but I like McTavish in the #2C role. 

I don't.  From Luke Simms' article on 7/10 that proposed a Rossi - McTavish swap, Rossi's Offense / Defense projections for 25-26 were 86% / 75% .  McTavish matched Rossi on the Offensive side, but his Defense rating was 11%.  As I keep saying, Rossi was in the top 1/4 of the league for BOTH offense and defense last year, at age 23.  Trade him, and the Wild will regret it for a long time.

Edited Monday at 01:23 AM by bisopher
Updated from article

[0 Stanley Cups]

On 7/25/2025 at 4:39 PM, Enforceror said:

Slightly off-topic but has anyone heard any Yurov news? I know he was supposed to go in the US back east to train this summer. Haven't heard anything about it.

Yurov is currently training out in Connecticut this summer

[Imyourhuckleberry]

Sounds to me like Guerin is taking a little break from negotiations until Kaprizov comes back to the US, and he can get that deal done. Once that's done, I would expect him to focus on a deal for Rossi, who's working hard this offseason.

Russo indicated that Rossi was working with Joe Thornton to improve his faceoffs recently. While there's a small chance of a short term deal, I still think an intermediate deal(4-5 years) around $5.5M-$6.5M AAV is where they end up.

[Scalptrash]

On 7/25/2025 at 8:28 AM, Scalptrash said:

That extra $2.8M in cap hits sure would come in handy right about now.

The Wild still have $2.8M in cap penalties. I thought people around here were more knowledgeable, my bad.

[Scalptrash]

4 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Rossi was working with Joe Thornton to improve his faceoffs recently.

This is interesting, since Joe just accepted a position with the Sharks in hockey operations and player development. San Jose has the money and the need, is this a clue? I would assume that since he's an employee of the Sharks, this would be a conflict of interests, but idk for sure.

[SkolWild73]

29 minutes ago, Scalptrash said:

The Wild still have $2.8M in cap penalties. I thought people around here were more knowledgeable, my bad.

So how exactly does this 2.8M for this year have anything to do with what Kaprisov's next contract will be since he is signed for this year?

[Imyourhuckleberry]

52 minutes ago, Scalptrash said:

The Wild still have $2.8M in cap penalties. I thought people around here were more knowledgeable, my bad.

Also note that most of that Bonus Carryover Overage is tied to Rossi. I believe he earned $850k in bonus last season on top of his standard ELC base salary.

I'm not sure how many ELC players get bonus options included at that level. It's a nice deal if you can get it as it nearly doubles his pay for last season.

[AKwildkraken]

1 hour ago, Scalptrash said:

This is interesting, since Joe just accepted a position with the Sharks in hockey operations and player development. San Jose has the money and the need, is this a clue? I would assume that since he's an employee of the Sharks, this would be a conflict of interests, but idk for sure.

Definitely an interesting perspective that has some logic behind it. 

Although, I think in professional sports it's more common for athletes to be more willing to spread their knowledge to other players who are willing to listen.  It's a way of giving back to the game that gave them a great career.  Besides, Joe might learn something in return by helping others.  It can be a two way street, which is what you were alluding to.

Edited Monday at 06:59 PM by AKwildkraken

[mnfaninnc]

19 hours ago, bisopher said:

I don't.  From Luke Simms' article on 7/10 that proposed a Rossi - McTavish swap, Rossi's Offense / Defense projections for 25-26 were 86% / 75% .  McTavish matched Rossi on the Offensive side, but his Defense rating was 11%.  As I keep saying, Rossi was in the top 1/4 of the league for BOTH offense and defense last year, at age 23.  Trade him, and the Wild will regret it for a long time.

B- I saw the same article that Luke wrote. 11% is horrible defense. Why??? This guy is a bulldog but it takes all 5 players on the ice to play sound defense. I don't think this was all on McTavish, I think the Ducks just played really sloppy D. I think in a structured system, McTavish will play within the system. I don't think he cheated to get his points. But, while I do think Rossi will end up outscoring him in the regular season, I think McTavish's value will be in the playoffs. 

IMO, since a Tkachuk is unavailable, McTavish is about the next best thing. So, I'd be thinking of something like Rossi + Hartman for McTavish. Since I would see this as a pretty good paper overpay, I'd be looking for a 3rd rounder back too.

Edited Monday at 09:08 PM by mnfaninnc

[mnfaninnc]

3 hours ago, Scalptrash said:

This is interesting, since Joe just accepted a position with the Sharks in hockey operations and player development. San Jose has the money and the need, is this a clue? I would assume that since he's an employee of the Sharks, this would be a conflict of interests, but idk for sure.

Which should bring us to our next conversation: Is Brad Bombadir the right guy for player development for us?

[mnfaninnc]

2 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

I'm not sure how many ELC players get bonus options included at that level. It's a nice deal if you can get it as it nearly doubles his pay for last season.

I'm pretty sure Yurov has some, and I think OgZ does too.