Masters

ST. PAUL --With its fourth-round pick (No. 118 overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Wild selected defenseman Kyle Masters from Red Deer of the Western Hockey League.

Here is a look at Masters' stats:
Height:6-1
Weight: 175 pounds
Shoots: Right
Hometown: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
2020-21 team: Red Deer Rebels (WHL)
NHL Central Scouting rank: 93rd among North American skaters
FCHockey scouting report: "Masters is a strong skater, is engaged offensively and is always looking to create opportunities. He will need to work on defending the rush and adding a level of assertiveness to his game.
Masters has deceptive and agile skating abilities. There's a focus on hip flexibility, bounce, and unpredictability as opposed to power in that attribute. It's rare to see him traverse the ice with consistent straight-line strides, instead constantly opening up his body to the play, shoulder faking, taking lateral steps, and crossing over to create space. This agility is used to great effect both on the breakout and in the offensive zone.
"He has quick bi-directional lateral movement at the offensive blue line and neutralizes aggressive defensive structures very effectively just by his ability to keep incoming opposition guessing. He is very engaged offensively and is always moving to create lanes and opportunities. He never admires his passes as he looks to fill space for a return pass. As his confidence improves, the more layers of his offensive game present themselves.
His ability to win battles down low and protect the net-front have seen the most improvement and it stems from a noticeable growth and strength spurt since last season. One area of his offensive game that will need improvement to unlock his offensive potential is his shot. Masters puts himself in more high-danger areas than your average blueliner, however his ability to bury those opportunities needs work. There isn't much pace in either his wrist or slap shot and he doesn't seem to pay much mind to placement. His defensive game is still a work in progress but it's not a huge weakness either."