Kirill Kaprizov for the second year in a row finished the regular season as the team leader in points. Completely changing the organization by himself, the young Russian has many more years coming with the wild to keep making the team something special. The stats he produces on the ice as well as his inviting character off the ice gives Minnesota fans a rare gem to cheer for.

Kirill Kaprizov was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the 5th round (135th overall) in the 2015 draft. As it is often difficult to get certain Russian players over to the NHL, the organization took a chance by drafting him and then waited many years. Finally in the 2020-21 season, Kaprizov took the ice in his first game with the Wild. He lived up to the hype built around him and scored the game-winning goal in overtime to beat the Los Angeles Kings. Kaprizov carried the Wild with 51 points in 55 games during the Covid-19 season, where they eventually fell to the Vegas Golden Knights in game seven of the first round. His flashy performance earned him the Calder Memorial Trophy that year, labeling him as the best rookie that year.

 During the off season, all Wild fans could think about was signing the Russian. It was a long process, but finally the organization signed him to a 5-year $ 45 million contract. The team finally had a clear super star that they had lacked for over a decade. In his second year with the team, he broke many franchise records by putting up 108 points, 47 goals and 61 assists. Kaprizov displayed amazing chemistry with his line-mate Mats Zuccarello throughout the season, allowing his line-mate to also have the best season of his career. Kaprizov even attended the annual NHL All-Star game and competition with his goalie Cam Talbot. As many were worried about a sophomore year slump, Kapriozov had other plans.

Kirill Kaprizov has proven to be one of the current day NHL elites. As a surprise fifth round draft pick, the young Russian became the Minnesota Wild’s number one superstar in franchise history. And who knows, Kaprizov could still have much more to show.

https://www.nhl.com/player/kirill-kaprizov-8478864