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By Tony Abbott -
Hockey Wilderness is counting down the Minnesota Wild’s Top-11 Prospects, as voted by our staff. Today, we give you everything you need to know about our No. 2 prospect, Danila Yurov.
For the past four offseasons, Minnesota Wild fans have been keeping tabs on Danila Yurov. In the first year after the Wild drafted him 25th overall, Yurov established himself as a full-time player in the KHL. The following year, he set a scoring record for his age group, edging out Kirill Kaprizov for the honors. But instead of taking the step toward superstardom, as Kaprizov did at age-21, injuries held Yurov back.
That's three wildly different seasons for Yurov, which feels appropriate for a player whose ultimate role in the NHL is anyone's guess. Kaprizov came to the States two years later in his developmental curve than Yurov, but we had a good idea what kind of player he was early on. We might not have known that he was a potential Rocket Richard contender, but we knew he was a dynamic offensive winger.
We don't even know what position Yurov will play. Listed as a winger when drafted, Yurov has spent the past two seasons playing center in the KHL. It's difficult to make that transition to the middle and have it stick -- we saw Matt Boldy struggle with it as a freshman at Boston College -- but Yurov was the rare player to pull it off. Now, can that continue in the NHL? He'll try, and we'll see. However, until that happens, we cannot know.
That's just one piece of the puzzle. The other is Yurov's ultimate upside, which seems to be a toss-up, even to those in the know.
One thing we know for relatively certain is that his floor looks very high. Yurov's got some size (6-foot-1), skates well, and has great hands. He's always been a smart and willing two-way player. Unlike Marat Khusnutdinov, the Wild's last Russian prospect to cross over, Yurov doesn't have any obvious limitations.
It's difficult to see a future where Yurov isn't at least a reliable third-liner. An all-around skill set and defensive responsibility have resulted in exactly that sort of career for former Wild players Nino Niederreiter and Charlie Coyle. That seems to be the baseline for Yurov, depending on which position he lands.
But the Wild are looking for more, as they should. This is a player who broke Kaprizov's scoring record, after all. Yurov was considered a top-10 talent in the 2022 Draft, and if he lives up to that billing, then the Wild might have a top-six center on their hands. Maybe even the Fabled No. 1 Center they've spent their entire existence looking for. Saying the word "Kaprizov" is almost sacrilegious when talking about a prospect, but having a Boldy-type talent at center would be the dream.
There's the low and high end, and in just six weeks, we'll start seeing exactly where Yurov will settle on that spectrum. Hailing from the same country, speaking the same language, and both holding the KHL's U-21 scoring record ties Yurov to Kaprizov. Still, when you read the latest reports from scouts, his game sounds like a much different Wild star.
When putting together their Top 100 Affiliated Prospects list, Elite Prospects ranked Yurov 59th. The outlet helpfully listed how they graded his tools on a 2-to-9 scale, with him getting 6.0 (skating), 5.5 (passing, hockey sense, physicality), or 5.0 (shooting, puckhandling) scores across the board. They praised his two-way game above all else, saying, "Yurov [excels] as a defensive forward through a combination of high-end engagement rate, fantastic defensive stick work, and impressive instincts for reading attackers' intentions and intercepting their passes."
You read all that, and you're not thinking about Boldy and Kaprizov. What pops in your head are players like Mikko Koivu... or perhaps, Joel Eriksson Ek.
When Marco Rossi was reportedly on the trade block earlier this summer, it seemed like the Wild viewed Yurov and Eriksson Ek as their top-six centers going forward, with Rossi relegated to a third-line role. But that projection might end up being backwards. What if Rossi winds up the top-end offensive center, and Yurov is the better fit to either slot behind Eriksson Ek, or eventually take his spot as the tough-matchups top-six center?
Metallurg Magnitogorsk may have won the Gagarin Cup two years ago, but they're not exactly a star-studded offensive team. Their top-scoring forward was Roman Kantserov, who is a nice prospect, but not exactly a Vladimir Tarasenko. It's very possible that when playing with dynamic players like Kaprizov, Boldy, Rossi, and Mats Zuccarello, Yurov's playmaking chops will meaningfully improve.
But if they don't, then Eriksson Ek is a very good guess regarding his upside. Reading Dylan Griffing's scouting report of his February 3 game at Elite Prospects, he describes Yurov as a very Ek-like figure. "[He's not] a play driver, but he's rewarded for his hard work to get possession of the puck with those quick chances."
Then Griffing describes this goal, Yurov's 12th of the year:
Great positional awareness in the defensive zone as he covered the passing lane to the point while the opponent skated towards the top of the zone. Yurov stayed between the two green jerseys and gave neither any room, blocking the pass that finally came off and getting the pass from his teammate to exit the zone and score off the rush.
We hate to belabor the point so much, but yeah, that sounds like No. 14, all right.
No Wild fan needs to be reminded how valuable someone like Eriksson Ek is, given that they've been watching him for the past half-decade. But if that is indeed the player Yurov can turn into, then he's coming to Minnesota at the exact right time.
After playing 288 of a possible 302 games (95.4%) from the COVID-shortened 2021 season through 2023-24, Eriksson Ek suffered through an injury-plagued season that saw him miss 36 games and play hurt for many more. Eriksson Ek's too young to be considered a serious injury risk -- he won't turn 29 until January -- but his absence highlighted exactly how much the Wild depend on their best two-way center.
Eriksson Ek carries the load at even-strength, power play, and penalty kill minutes. He takes the toughest matchups, all while being counted on to score. "I think Ekky needs a little help," Bill Guerin admitted at his end-of-year presser in May. "He's in a battle every single night, and there's no easy nights [for him]."
Unless Nico Sturm is a big part of the plan to do that -- and it probably shouldn't be -- then Yurov must provide that help.
Every bit helps. If Yurov can handle tough assignments and bump Eriksson Ek to the third line at even-strength, then the veteran becomes a nightmare mismatch for opponents. If Yurov's speed and defense translate to the penalty kill, that's another burden off Eriksson Ek's shoulder. Either of those would translate to fewer minutes and less wear and tear from playing a hard game.
Maybe that isn't quite where Yurov fits in, and he does become that star-caliber, true No. 1 Center. But if he doesn't, there's no need to be disappointed. We don't know exactly where Yurov will wind up, but wherever it is, he has the tools to be a significant part of a Stanley Cup run in Minnesota.
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