One of the Minnesota Wild’s top prospects, Dmitry Sokolov, has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Minnesota.
Sokolov, 20, has a chance to be a potent scorer for the goal-thirsty Wild, although it’s unclear how much more seasoning he’ll need before he reaches the NHL.
In 2017-18, Sokolov led the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with 50 goals while adding 46 assists, not to mention a league-leading 18 goals on the power play.
Minnesota drafted Sokolov, a native of Omsk, Russia, in the seventh round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
The Hockey Wilderness blog raved about Sokolov’s ability to be a big-time goal-scorer in the future for the Wild, and they actually undersold their bold prediction for the skilled forward.
“I’m predicting Sokolov to increase his goal numbers again this year. His assists numbers will likely stay around the 25-30 range but I would like to see him score 55 goals this year. We may not see him in a Wild jersey as quickly as we’d like but as long as he can develop his speed, strength, and work on his defensive game, he may surprise some of us when he gets his shot to impress the Wild staff and crack the lineup.”
Hockey Wilderness also said Sokolov fell to the Wild in the seventh round of the 2016 draft because teams questioned his work ethic, so maybe his 96 points in 2017-18 are a sign that he played with max effort all season.
