The Wild drafted Kirill Kaprizov in the fifth round of the NHL Draft last season and he turned out to be a steal. While playing overseas in the KHL (a Russian hockey league) last season, Kaprizov set an under-20 record with 42 points in 49 games while scoring 20 goals.
He was Russia’s team captain at the World Juniors Tournament where he led with 9 goals. But according to the KHL’s Twitter account, Kaprizov won’t be coming over to the NHL for the next three years.
Looks like Kaprizov is not going across the pond in a near future. pic.twitter.com/fs6MAs5VMa
— KHL (@khl_eng) July 7, 2017
However, in an interview with a Russian News outlet – which was also published on Friday – Kaprizov was asked about how long he plans to play in the KHL and he said he didn’t know yet and that he’s thinking over the proposal.
It was believed that the 20-year-old would play one more season in Russia and then come over to the United States for the 2018-19 season.
Kaprizov has the makings of a superstar which is something the Wild desperately need. Plus with Alex Tuch traded to Las Vegas, Minnesota lacks legitimate forward prospects in their AHL system.
The Wild have yet to comment on the situation. Michael Russo of the Star Tribune reported the Wild have yet to physically meet the Russian prospect. Many Russian prospects take a great deal of pride in playing for their home country which means NHL teams can’t do much of anything but play the waiting game.
