The wait for Russian forward Kirill Kaprizov to arrive in the NHL was one that many Minnesota Wild fans felt was far more extensive than it needed to be. Well, the wait is officially over and it appears to be worth it, regardless of the length. By all appearances, Kaprizov has the potential to become Minnesota's next Marian Gaborik.
Kaprizov did not disappoint in his NHL debut on Thursday night. In the first period of the Wild's opener against the Los Angeles Kings, he recorded his first NHL point on a sweet dish to streaking defender Jonas Brodin. He carried the puck into the offensive zone drawing three Kings to him, before distributing the puck to to Brodin, who made no mistake, firing it past Jonathan Quick for the first goal of Minnesota's season.
During the second period, Kaprizov appeared on the first power-play unit, and he injected the powerplay way with some extra energy, much to the delight of all the Wild fans watching from home. He won puck battles, and was making passes that only some of the best players in the league possess the skills to complete.
The 23-year-old tallied his second point of the night in the third period, when he dished out a beauty to Victor Rask, who then fired a shot that deflected off of a Kings defender and past Quick.
The game was sent to overtime tied at 3, and the Wild were in need of a hero. Kaprizov stole a pass from Dustin Brown at the Kings blue line and flew into the offensive zone alone, where he stuffed in a breakaway goal, his first in the NHL and the OT winner. His 3 point performance, while burying the OT winner was the first time in NHL history that this had occurred, interestingly enough.
After the game Kaprizov went on to say that he didn't even tie his own tie because he never really has tied a tie. Minnesota Wild staff member Andrew Heydt had to rush up to the youngster and tie it just hours before he made his debut. After his 3-point game last night, Kaprizov confirmed that Heydt would now have to continue tying his tie before games for good luck.
Kaprizov confirms Andrew Heydt will have to tie his tie before every game from now on, but he also decided not to untie it after last night's game and keep it tied for future games.
He said he's never really tied a tie
See story to understand>>>https://t.co/iXItmDUiAJ— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) January 15, 2021
The Wild have been waiting for a player like this since the departure of the aforementioned Gaborik, who recorded seven 30-goal seasons and three 40-goal seasons in his career. Kaprizov was an absolute stud back home in the KHL, recording 230 points (113 goals, 117 assists) in 293 career games. He led the entire league in scoring last season prior to jumping ship to join the ranks of the elite players in the NHL. It is now apparent that he can perform at a high level in the best hockey league in the world as well.
Welcome to the show, Kirill.
