Danila Yurov Is Earning A Bigger Role in the Wild Offense

While developing young players has been a bit rocky in the Minnesota Wild organization over the past few years, give them credit where it's due: They seem to have nailed it with Danila Yurov.

One of the Wild's two first-rounders from the 2022 Draft, Yurov made the trek overseas this summer for his first pro season in North America. It's a massive transition to go halfway across the world, and Minnesota was determined to ensure he didn't experience too much, too soon. Coach John Hynes held him out of the first two games of the season, then gave him three-straight healthy scratches at the start of November.

When he did play, he played sparingly. Yurov played 10 or more minutes just six times in his first 14 games. There was speculation about whether the Wild would better serve Yurov by sending him to the AHL for seasoning.

But his 15th game appears to be the turning point, for not just Yurov, but Hynes's trust in him. Yurov assisted on Yakov Trenin's first goal of the season while playing a then-career-high 13 minutes and nine seconds. Three days later, Yurov notched his first multi-point game, and he hasn't looked back since. 

From November 16 to January 17, Yurov has played in 28 of 30 games (a day-to-day injury kept him out of the two missed games), averaging 15:35 per night. He's played 12 or more minutes in 25 of his 28 games, and hasn't played under 10 minutes in a night during that stretch.

The Wild dipped Yurov's toes in the NHL waters, but now he's in it, and better yet, he's producing. Perhaps 16 points in 28 games doesn't jump off the page, but since November 16, Yurov is seventh on the team in scoring. That's a nice role carved out for the rookie. Still, look under the hood, and there is much more to be excited about.

Again, using November 16 as our cut-off, here are the top-five players in 5-on-5 scoring in Minnesota:

1. Matt Boldy, 19 points
2. Kirill Kaprizov, 17 points
3. DANILA YUROV, 15 points
4. Mats Zuccarello, 14 points
5. Brock Faber, 13 points

Yurov's production is especially notable when measured in points per hour, putting him on an even playing field with the rest of the NHL. Among 316 forwards with 250-plus 5-on-5 minutes since November 16, Yurov is tied for 47th (with David Perron and Elias Lindholm) with 2.37 points per hour. That's not just second on the Wild, behind only Boldy, but it's also out-pacing many forwards the Wild could be linked to in trade deadline season, such as...

Steven Stamkos (2.36)
Alex Tuch (2.32)
Ryan O'Reilly (2.23)
Robert Thomas (1.93)
Nazem Kadri (1.75)
Vincent Trocheck (1.69)
Brayden Schenn (1.35)

Of course, none of that means the Wild shouldn't be aggressively pursuing another forward. They feel at least a top-six forward away when healthy, and recent injuries are testing their depth up front. But it does mean that Minnesota probably has something to gain by giving Yurov even more leash and an even more prominent role. 

The Wild are already on the right track, as Yurov centering Kaprizov and Zuccarello is Minnesota's second-most-used line at 5-on-5 (185 minutes) this year. Still, it might be nice to see a stronger commitment to that trio. Or at least, until there's a trade that can displace Yurov from that spot.

With the Wild's lineup in tatters, most notably because their entire second line is hurt, Hynes has turned to Ryan Hartman in that top line spot. Hartman has had success against those two players, especially in his career year back in 2021-22, but there's really no question that Yurov is currently the better player.

Even as a rookie adjusting to the NHL, Yurov is already showing an ability to drive play on both sides of the ice. Meanwhile, this season, Hartman is nondescript everywhere except on the power play. It feels like there shouldn't be too many games when Hartman is playing more even-strength minutes than Yurov, as it was on Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres.

The power play is another place Hynes can stand to get Yurov some added experience and the confidence that comes with it. Especially now, with two-fifths of the Wild's regular five-man unit out. Yurov got a taste of man-advantage action on Saturday. Still, his 1 minute, 13 seconds was eclipsed by Vladimir Tarasenko (3:35), Marcus Foligno (2:39), and Vinnie Hinostroza (2:12). There's an argument to make that Yurov should be on the top unit with Boldy out. Still, at the very least, he should be the first player over the boards to relieve the Wild's PP1.

But in fairness to Hynes and his staff, they've pressed the right buttons with their Russian rookie. The fact that he's pushing for more ice time and adjusting quickly isn't just a credit to Yurov's skills and hockey smarts; it's a feather in the cap of Minnesota's development program. Still, just like he did in mid-November, Yurov is showing us that he can handle an even larger role than he's had, and Hynes would be smart to find a way to give him another chance to prove himself.