Minnesota Sports Forum

https://www.skornorth.com/2020/07/top-prospect-kirill-kaprizov-signs-two-year-contract-with-wild/

I am not a hockey expert, but they have been talking about this kid for a few years. How good is he?

bleedspeed177 wrote:https://www.skornorth.com/2020/07/top-prospect-kirill-kaprizov-signs-two-year-contract-with-wild/

I am not a hockey expert, but they have been talking about this kid for a few years. How good is he?

From what I read on the Athletic he seems like a very good all around player. One guy that wrote a scouting report has been watching him for years raved about his hard work and competitive nature. Will he be amazing? Idk but it seems like everyone says they will be shocked if he isn't good. He will be fairly cheap for a few years too if he is even just good so that helps.

If I recall correctly he's led the KHL in goals the past couple years. From all I've read up on him (only seen a few minutes of highlights) it sounds like he may have the talent to give Marion Gaborik a run for his money as most talented Wild player ever. Kaprisov, Fiala, and Lafrenière/Byfield would be a good reload plan.

So what is everyone's takes on the flurry of moves the Wild have made? I hadn't been paying too close of attention but the shear numbers kinda drew me in to make me interested. I'd be curious what people who actually follow the sport think.

It all comes down to how the centers shake out. I don't think we've brought in really any top 6 centermen (Rossi may get there one day). Johansson isn't a center and he's gonna be the top line center. Bjugstaad is a third liner. Someone is gonna have to step up who we aren't planning on right now. We're solid defensively. Talbot should be good enough in net. I'm not sure how much scoring we'll have outside of the top line. I'd say overall we're in a weird place where we are trying to rebuild on the fly again and win. If some young guys like Greenway, Erickson Ek, and Rossi step up I think we are a playoff team and if not we'll be in the lottery again.

khans2k5 wrote:It all comes down to how the centers shake out. I don't think we've brought in really any top 6 centermen (Rossi may get there one day). Johansson isn't a center and he's gonna be the top line center. Bjugstaad is a third liner. Someone is gonna have to step up who we aren't planning on right now. We're solid defensively. Talbot should be good enough in net. I'm not sure how much scoring we'll have outside of the top line. I'd say overall we're in a weird place where we are trying to rebuild on the fly again and win. If some young guys like Greenway, Erickson Ek, and Rossi step up I think we are a playoff team and if not we'll be in the lottery again.

Did the Wild also save some money in salary or flexibility with all these moves?

The Talbot signing is something I wasn't sure about but if there is one thing in hockey I feel moderately comfortable assessing its goalies. Russo in his article laid out some Advanced stats that were pretty damning of Dubyk because the Wild were above average defensively. It seems like Talbot will be an upgrade there which could be a pretty big deal. It seems like the contract he got was fairly reasonable compared to what some other guys got especially since it was only 3 years.

I find what the Wild are doing somewhat fascinating because it seems like the franchise was sorta good but sorta stuck where they were for a while and they aren't just sitting around hoping what they had was the answer. That might be good or it might be a disaster and honestly I have no idea which it is going to be. Like I said it's interesting.

Gretzky who?

bleedspeed177 wrote:Gretzky who?

Let's not put too much pressure on the kid! LOL

He sure is fun to watch play though!