Minnesota Wild rookie Kirill Kaprizov had another absurd night on Friday, scoring his fifth goal of the season in the Wild’s victory over the Los Angeles Kings.
Just looking at the scoresheet signals a ho-hum night for Kaprizov, but just 17 games into his rookie season, he’s becoming a must-see attraction for the Wild.
Kaprizov’s goal in the first period was a thing of beauty as he was perched behind the net. As Jonas Brodin sent a shot on Jonathan Quick, Kaprizov was stuffed on the rebound. Being no mere hockey mortal, Kaprizov twirled around the net while being taken down by Drew Doughty and tucked in the wraparound to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead.
Kirill the Thrill goes aaalllllllll the way around for the goal!!#mnwild take a 1-0 lead pic.twitter.com/s7Qr1UVpyP
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) February 27, 2021
The goal was the lone highlight of Kaprizov’s night, but it sparked a span of three goals in 3:03 for the Wild and earned praise from Kings head coach Todd McLellan.
Kings coach Todd McLellan on Kaprizov: "If he isn’t the top rookie in the league, he’s going to be one of the top two or three. This is game six or seven against him already and every night he’s gotten better. … Very slippery player."
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) February 27, 2021
McLellan isn’t the only one who has noticed Kaprizov’s play this season. Kaprizov left Colorado Avalanche announcers drooling over his skating ability in Thursday’s win and during the Wild’s five-game winning streak, Kaprizov has scored two goals and provided five assists.
This is the type of impact Wild fans have been waiting for since Kaprizov was selected in the fifth round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
If Kaprizov keeps playing like this, he could become the first player in Wild history to win the NHL’s Calder Trophy for the league’s top rookie.
