By Bekki Antonelli -
It looked like Kirill Kaprizov cancelled the Minnesota Wild’s offseason “Christmas” when he reportedly rejected what would’ve been a record-breaking contract. Still, the front office may have delivered depth for a team in need of it instead.
The Wild have played well in two preseason games with a bench full of young players. Minnesota came back from a 2-0 deficit against the Winnipeg Jets last Sunday to win 3-2 in overtime, and narrowly lost to the Dallas Stars’ mostly NHL-level roster on Tuesday night, 3-2.
In both games, the Wild capitalized on the power play, which they struggled with last season, finishing the season with a 20.9% success rate on the power play.
On Sunday against the Jets, both rosters were predominantly made up of players who aren’t on one-way NHL contracts. The speed was a little slower, and there were more mistakes from both sides, which is typical of a preseason game. Minnesota had a couple of moments where they seemed to lack communication and awareness.
With 17:36 to go in the second period, David Spacek overskated a dumped puck in the defensive zone, which Danil Zhilkin quickly picked up and passed around Spacek to a wide-open Samuel Fagemo out front. Kevin He was also able to walk in, pick up the rebound uncontested, and get a shot off.
Defensively, they had issues filling the gaps. However, it felt like the newer players were still adjusting to the time and communication needed at the NHL level, rather than lacking in talent.
The Wild overall played with confidence and looked cohesive. 4:20 into the second period, Vinnie Hinostroza picked up the puck behind the net and almost immediately backhanded it out front to Yakov Trenin, who one-timed it into the net to score the Wild’s first goal.
Hinostroza doesn’t appear to fully look at Trenin. At most, Hinostroza may have seen Trenin in his peripheral vision, yet he pulls off a tape-to-tape pass. They either practice this play deliberately or have a strong sense of how each other moves and good hockey sense.
Minnesota’s power play goal also showed strong control of the puck and clean, deliberate passes. Spacek was carrying the puck and felt pressure from Brayden Yager. Instead of panicking and sending it up to Tyler Pitlick, who Walker Duehr likely would have stepped up on, he sends it back to Caedan Bankier.
Bankier and Hunter Haight pass it back and forth through the neutral zone, and Bankier makes a precise saucer pass over three Winnipeg sticks to Haight for the final pass. Haight picks up the pass, drives in, and goes top shelf.
The decision-making was smart and quick, and every move had strong execution.
Minnesota’s depth players arguably looked better because they were playing Winnipeg’s depth players.
On Tuesday, Minnesota mostly played against the Dallas Stars’ NHL roster, who reached the Western Conference Finals last year. Bankier, Hinostroza, and other bottom-6 players faced off against Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Jake Oettinger through a close, competitive game.
On the power play, David Jiricek, Danila Yurov, and Hinostroza passed the puck in an umbrella formation in the offensive zone while patiently waiting for a strong opening. Eventually, Jiricek saw an opportunity and one-timed the puck into the net from near the blue line, against defenders Matt Duchene and Benn.
Patience on a power play is crucial because if you shoot into an opposing player, it can bounce out in front of them, and they can get a breakaway or just ice it. Jiricek, Yurov, and Hinostroza showed the confidence and patience needed to be a strong addition to the regular-season secondary power play unit.
Later in the game, Bankier won the faceoff and kicked the puck back to Ben Gleason, who picked it up and scored from the top of the circles.
Carson Lambos picked up the puck and walked it deeper into the zone, moving around Esa Lindell and getting a shot off, again exhibiting confidence and skill.
The Wild made mistakes, but they did not feel devastating. Jiricek and Ben Jones both dived to stop Benn, yet the net post was the only successful defender.
Jones and Jiricek don’t communicate in the clip above, nor did they approach at the right angle for the speed Benn was moving on the play.
Matt Kiersted also throws himself on the ice to block a pass and fails, but Cal Petersen blocked the shot.
The effort is there in both moments, but they need to adjust their angles and approach to match NHL speed.
The Wild was notably missing Zeev Buium for these games due to an upper-body injury he sustained during training camp. Buium, who had 48 points for the University of Denver in the 2024-25 season, debuted for the Wild during the 2025 playoffs and also looks to be a promising part of the lineup.
Minnesota’s preseason goals haven’t been the result of luck or scrappy play; they are a result of smart positioning, clean passes, and quick shots on net. Contributions came from multiple non-rostered players. While the Wild's lineup still needs to improve its communication and adjust to NHL speed, they have demonstrated that Minnesota has players beyond their top line who are capable of scoring and being effective on the power play.
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