By Luke Sims -
The Minnesota Wild will rely on a wave of prospects to fill out their roster this season. With Zeev Buium, David Jiricek, Jesper Wallstedt, Liam Ohgren, and Danilla Yurov set to play roles on the NHL team this season, it’s time to look back at recent history and see how other hyped top prospects have fared.
I’m not talking about established players like Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov. Those guys were well on their way to stardom. Buium is Minnesota’s most hyped prospect and debuted in the playoffs, but their other prospects are bigger unknowns. The others are good prospects whose development hasn't been as linear as the other stars.
We still don’t know how Minnesota’s most hyped prospects will pan out. Still, a look back at some recent high-profile busts may give us some indication.
While the jury is still out on whether Khusnutdinov can score at the NHL level, there’s no doubt he belongs there. Once a prospect with Kaprizov-like numbers in the KHL, Khusnutdinov was one of the players the Wild hoped could become a building block.
Khusnutdinov’s defensive metrics were solid with the Wild, but he was one of the worst offensive players in the NHL. Even on a better line, he didn’t show that he could elevate his game to the level that he’d need to be a meaningful offensive contributor.
The Wild traded him to the Boston Bruins for a player the Wild no longer has on its roster. There’s still time for Khusnutdinov, but he may never become a scorer in the NHL.
Beckman is another recent example of a player. He’s a former third-round pick who tore up (107 points) the WHL with the Spokane Chiefs but struggled to find his footing as an NHL player. He was always a solid offensive contributor for the AHL club, just never able to put those skills to use in the NHL.
Beckman logged only three assists in 23 NHL games. The Wild traded him to the New Jersey Devils, who sent him to the New York Islanders. Minnesota acquired Graeme Clark, who’s no longer with the team.
You could make the argument that he didn’t get a real chance, but the most likely case is that he just doesn’t have it. He’s a really good AHL player whose game hasn’t translated to the NHL.
Acquired in the Jason Zucker trade, Addison was hailed as a future power-play quarterback. However, because Bill Guerin acquired him in one of his first transactions, Addison had a greater opportunity to prove that he belonged in the NHL.
Addison had a solid start to his career, scoring 29 points in 62 games. Still, disagreements over defensive ability with former Wild head coach Dean Evason led Addison to the press box. He never regained Evason’s trust, and Minnesota traded him to the San Jose Sharks. He has only played in the AHL since.
Addison’s offensive upside could not keep pace with his defensive deficiencies, which led the Wild to remove him from the lineup. Now at 25 years old, it looks like Evason might have been right about Addison.
Kunin was supposed to be the solution for Minnesota up the middle. A homegrown, American leader who played college hockey at Wisconsin, the Wild took him 15th overall in 2016. Kunin was going to be the best center to come through Minnesota since Mikko Koivu, but his 31 points in his third season were a career-high.
The Wild traded Kunin for the draft pick that they used on Khusnutdinov. Kunin has been unproductive since the trade, not eclipsing 30 points in any of his following seasons, playing for non-competitive teams in Nashville and San Jose.
Kunin was another low-floor, low-ceiling player who had his chance but didn’t develop the offensive skills the team had hoped he would. He’s got the chops on the defensive side of the game to stay in the league, but he’s a fourth liner at best.
There are only a few individuals who walk this earth who can do the things that Greenway can do. At 6’6”, 231 lbs., Greenway is a massive addition to any forward group. His intangibles gave him a shot with the Wild. Throughout five seasons, he never truly showed what he was capable of and was never fully healthy. The Wild traded him to the Buffalo Sabres in (year), and he’s continued to be the same player.
So what can we learn from all of this?
Besides the fact that the Wild apparently knows when it’s time to move on from a prospect, there’s a common thread. Production matters. All of these prospects were expected to deliver more, but they all fell short of expectations.
Minnesota’s current prospect group still has time. Still, if production doesn’t materialize, they’ll be off to San Jose or Nashville sooner than we might think.
All stats and data via HockeyDB unless otherwise noted.
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