Lights, camera, action: Kaprizov re-takes center stage as season begins

Everything about Kirill Kaprizov's first season in the National Hockey League was unusual.
From the shortened season, to the COVID-19 protocols, to his life at home and the empty arenas, there was literally nothing about the 2020-21 hockey season that one could consider routine.
And despite all of that, Kaprizov put together one of the finest overall seasons in franchise history.

Kaprizov re-wrote the team record book, scoring 27 goals and 51 points as a rookie, en route to winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's top rookie player.
And the voting wasn't close.
Of the 100 ballots for the Calder, 99 of them had Kaprizov winning the award. One had him finishing second.
Kaprizov was also named to the All-Rookie team, and had there been an All-Star Game, he likely would have been a part of that too.
But hey, you gotta leave some things to check off the list for the future, right? The immense amount of success Kaprizov had in year one with the Wild begs the question: just what can this kid do as a follow-up act?

"He's gonna have a great season. He looks great out there and he wants to improve from last season," said Wild alternate captain Marcus Foligno. "I think the chemistry with him and Zuccarello has been fantastic and we saw a lot of great things in the preseason games and in training camp in general.
"We're just hoping he stays healthy and he's gonna do a lot of great things on the ice for us this year and we're gonna rely on him to do that too."
That's to be expected for a guy who earned the richest contract in franchise history, at least in terms of annual average value.
Starting this season and extending over the next five years, Kaprizov will be compensated to the tune of $9 million annually, a number that could look like a bargain if the 24-year-old left winger continues to build on the kind of numbers he had as a rookie in Minnesota last season, and reaches the kind of heights folks around here believe he can reach.
The good news for anyone made queasy by the thought of giving someone with 55 career NHL games that kind of pay day? Nobody will hold Kaprizov to a higher standard than himself.
He's the rare blend of immense God-given talent and a relentless pursuit of perfection in his own game. It's a mix boasted by a select few of even the best players in the League ... but the ones that do have it are among the very best at their craft.
Kaprizov has that level of ability and that high of a ceiling.

"There's no doubt in my mind," Foligno said. "He's physically ready, he's mentally ready and he's excited to get it going. He says he's not at 100 percent yet, which is scary. So we'll see what happens."
For all the hype surrounding his game and his contract and the expectations and the hopes of both teammates and fans in the State of Hockey, Kaprizov certainly doesn't seem like a guy who is bothered by all the attention.
After signing his new contract last month and arriving in the Twin Cities from Florida, Kaprizov had a simple message for fans.

"Of course, I'm so happy," he said. "It's good for me, it's good for the team. Now I just want to play hockey and to [be with] my teammates and just play hockey."
With the 2021-22 regular season about to get underway Friday night in Anaheim, Kaprizov and his teammates will have the opportunity to do just that: no more noise, no more distractions ... just hockey.
And maybe one other thing.
"Of course, I want to play," Kaprizov said. "And I want to win."

Up front

Kaprizov will make up 1/3 of the Wild's top line, re-joining Mats Zuccarello and adding Joel Eriksson Ek as the duo's center.
Eriksson Ek, who himself signed a long-term extension with the team over the summer, got the first opportunity to live in the Wild's version of the line chart penthouse - sandwiched between the duo that had instant chemistry a season ago ... a chemistry that rarely waned.
And the Swedish pivot has taken advantage of that opportunity during the preseason, looking like a natural between both Kaprizov and Zuccarello, using his size-speed combo to screen goaltenders, chase down loose pucks, win battles and his wheels to push the tempo of the group to new heights.
It's only been one preseason, but the line has the makings of a special one.

"We thought at the start of camp he'd be like, 'oh I'm playing with Kirill, I'm playing with Zuccy, what's my role?' He don't care. Like, Ek don't care, he's just going to go play. You put him anywhere with anybody, he's just going to play the same way," said Wild coach Dean Evason. "He never had a 'well, I'm playing on the No. 1 line, I'm playing with the rookie of the year.' It's just, 'I'm playing hockey. I'm playing hard. I'm playing the way that I know how to play the game, that's getting to the net. Let those other two guys do their thing, right?'
"I'm sure Kirill and Zuccy are happy he's there because it opens stuff up, right? If you're standing in front of the net, somebody else has to be there, so we've got a little 4-on-4 going, maybe there's some confusion, it's good, the ice is open for those guys. His face-offs, great through training camp he's really committed to that area. [He's] fit in great."
Between Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov, the Wild has a pair of young players who certainly look like they will be unfazed by their newfound wealth away from the rink.
Each are very proud players, but especially Eriksson Ek, who admitted he didn't do anything to treat himself after signing his new deal. Not only has Eriksson Ek gotten a reputation on the ice for a player who is difficult to play against, teammates and coaches have seen first hand that he's impossible to chirp because nothing fazes him.
"You can't get [words] out of his mouth, so how do you know?He just smiles," Evason said. "I joked about his haircut and he just smiled and looked at me like I had two heads and then walked away."
Taking Eriksson Ek's role between the wildly successful Foligno and Jordan Greenway line from last year is Ryan Hartman, who seems like the perfect successor to Eriksson Ek in that role.
He's hard to play against, chips in offense, can kill penalties and has some sneaky good skill. Like Ek, Hartman is no stranger to being an agitator as well.
It was almost a perfect fit.

"I think we all complement our games well," Hartman said. "We all play the same way and they were awesome for us shitting down top lines and ... that's kind of the role we've been playing. Especially at home where you can match lines, I imagine we're going to be that kind of line again."
Another young Wild player ready to take the next step in his career is Kevin Fiala, who signed a one-year extension with the club over the summer but is motivated to prove that he should be a long-term solution.
He's played that way during the exhibition season, and looks primed to have an impactful season, especially if he can find some stability on the line next to him.
"I'm very, very motivated," Fiala admitted during training camp. "I got my fire in my eyes. I'm looking forward to the season badly."

In that regard, Fiala is expected to start the year with former Milwaukee Admirals and Nashville Predators linemate Freddy Gaudreau as his center, and a mix of either Victor Rask and newcomer Rem Pitlick on the left wing.
Fiala, of course, also has the skill and ability to play up the lineup if Evason were ever in a position where he'd want to overload the team's top-6.
"I think it's a great opportunity for him," Guerin said in August after Fiala and the Wild came to terms on the current deal. [Signing a long-term contract] didn't work this year, but he's gotta be motivated. I do think Kevin's the type of guy that probably wants to prove me wrong and say, 'You screwed up.' That's what you want as a GM, too. That's what you want as a coach. You want these guys that are driven and hungry. I think Kevin's got the capabilities of doing that."

On the fourth line, newcomer Brandon Duhaime
made the club out of training camp
and will make his NHL debut in Southern California.
He'll join Nico Sturm and Nick Bjugstad, who not only look alike on the ice, but play a game that was complementary of one another in extended time together last season.

On defense

Change has been the name of the game on the club's back end, with Alex Goligoski's signing on the first day of free agency beginning a wave of newcomers along the team's blue line.
Dmitry Kulikov and Jon Merrill joined him early on in free agency, and Jordie Benn was added later in the offseason.
Wild captain Jared Spurgeon, new alternate captain Matt Dumba and Jonas Brodin are the very capable holdovers from years past, with Brodin and Dumba remaining as the only pairing unchanged from last season.

Goligoski will join Spurgeon on the top pairing while Kulikov will play with either Merrill or Benn, depending on who is in the lineup on a nightly basis.
It's a competition that will continually evolve, and hopefully bring out the best in both players.
"I mean, I've kind of been in that role for a while now, coming in and out of the lineup and fighting for jobs," Merrill said. "I think when you put your individual goals aside and just look at team success and whatever is best for the team and you come to work every day and put your best foot forward, whatever is right for the team is what you're willing to do ... I think that's the mentality that the three of us have and everyone on this team.
"We're willing to do whatever it takes to have team success, so we're going to continue to compete and work hard and the best man will play."
Overall, it's a group that Spurgeon says he's excited to lead.

"There's a different dynamic for sure," Spurgeon said. "The young guys and the new faces, they all bring something a little different from what we had. And that's not to say that what we had wasn't good, but you always need to change if you're not winning [championships].
"To be able to add the guys we did, and with the youth that we have pushing for lineup spots as well, it should be fun."

In goal

About the only place where there is true stability is in goal, where the Wild will return both Cam Talbot and Kaapo Kahkonen to the crease.
Talbot was outstanding in his first season with the Wild, overcoming an early-season injury and playing his best hockey for Minnesota during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
In limited preseason action, he appeared ready to pick up right where he left off.

"Last year I got here a little later, just because of when camp started, Christmas and travel and all that stuff," Talbot said. "Being here three weeks before camp this year will make it a lot easier to ramp it up and be ready."
Kahkonen saw plenty of ice time during the exhibition season and the hope is, he can build on his first full NHL campaign after playing sparingly the year before.
A former AHL All-Star and league Goaltender of the Year, Kahkonen has seemingly always lifted his level of play as he gradually becomes more comfortable in his surroundings.
Now immersed as a full-time NHLer and with no true threat behind him, Kahkonen can focus solely on making himself better and pushing Talbot as best he can as well.
"Just living in the moment, like last year, you never knew what was going to happen," Kahkonen said. "Hopefully things will be more normal this year, but it was a great experience [last year], getting to play against the best players in the world. To see that you can win games, and you can do that, I think that's the biggest thing."