Prospect Info: Kirill Kaprizov II: (LW) - CSKA Moscow - 135th Overall, 2015

[Ban Hammered]

I don't really disagree with any of this, but still stand by the point that Fletcher certainly has not done enough on his end. And, in this situation I would expect a GM to be out in front of all of this moreso than a teenager from a foreign country.

To me, this seems like ripping on the hot chick for turning you down, before you've even asked her out. She may certainly end up being a *****, but you still have to give her the chance to prove it.

What im ripping is people saying Fletcher had not done enough without knowing for sure what he has or has not done.
Does the GM have to personally meet with every player we draft? Does he have to fly halfway across the world to do it? Personally...I say no.
I also do not care that he is the "hot chick"...until he plays in the NHL...I don't care what his stats or "talent" say. Plenty of guys have ripped up lower leagues and done squat here. Until he does...for me he is still a 5th round pick and a 5th round pick is not worth losing sleep over.

 

[2Pair]

What im ripping is people saying Fletcher had not done enough without knowing for sure what he has or has not done.
Does the GM have to personally meet with every player we draft? Does he have to fly halfway across the world to do it? Personally...I say no.
I also do not care that he is the "hot chick"...until he plays in the NHL...I don't care what his stats or "talent" say. Plenty of guys have ripped up lower leagues and done squat here. Until he does...for me he is still a 5th round pick and a 5th round pick is not worth losing sleep over.

Yeah, an NHL GM kinda has to care about those things. His job is entirely dependant on the caliber of player he can put on the roster. I would bet if your career was riding on it, you wouldn't see this kid as nothing more than a 5th rounder.

To answer your other question, Yes in this particular situation he does in fact need to fly halfway across the World and do it personally. Drafting Russian players is a different situation. Drafting players out of the KHL is a different situation. Dealing with a top 5 prospect in the world is a different situation.

 

[Ban Hammered]

Guess you see it your way and i see it mine...and right now regardless of stats or hype...this kid isn't worth the hassle for me.

 

[hirawl]

Crapping on Fletcher and saying he has not done his job is pretty childish.

Both parties wanted the same thing, what is/was to be negotiated is the timeline. Pretty straight forward if you ask me.
But suddenly we are in a situation where the parties seem to be speaking different language altogether. Literally and figuratively.

In these circumstances I would definitely take a close look at all the middle men and other meddlers and their roles in all this. That's where the phone has gotten broken. Some of it could even be deliberate.

 

[Nharris31]

Russo said in the Athletic article sources saying he may get this guy as an agent
Dan Milstein-Hockey (@HockeyAgent1) on Twitter Which could be a positive for the Wild. He is also Wild draft pick Ivan Lodnia agent.

 

[Dickie Dunn]

Seems pretty likely that if the draft were re-held today, Kaprizov would be a top 10 pick or darn close too it. Suddenly makes him seem much more "worth it" I would think. And given that he is rated as a top 25 or so prospect calling him just another 5th round pick is a bit silly. But I agree, we have no idea what GMCF has or has not done so we can't judge him from the sidelines.

 

[gphr513]

The issue here is also that we don't know how the communication was going on during those two years. I mean, all those talks about being blocked at the WJC - ok, I believe those, but what were they doing all the other time?

If it's true that Kaprizov's agent told them that he would come over after his contract, why would they feel the need to do anything else?

If I'm Fletcher, and I'm told by the player's agent that they intend to come here, why would I fly around the world just to meet the kid and "make sure" he's coming? I heard right from his agent that he already intends on coming over. I'll meet him when he gets here.

 

[DANOZ28]

i believe fletch on this issue, why would you bother to draft a player and then never attempt to reach him? answer you wouldn't! there is a reason kaprizov fired his north american agent. common cents was he kept trying to setup contact between wild mgmt & kaprizov but got stonewalled. its that simple. see fletch mn state fair interview. he said they tried to contact kaprizov , why would they lie?

 

[57special]

He would lie to cover up his failure to sign him, so others would hold him blameless.

Sounds like neither side tried hard enough.

It's not like the Wild have never dealt with an international player they have drafted before with success. It's obvious that Russian players who stay in Russia are not like most other internationals, though, and it seems like the Wild have been slow to realize this. Basically, the "Russian factor" is real, and must be accounted for when you draft one.

 

[AOSC]

My question is, how did this dude go from 66 PIM in 49 games to 4 PIM in 28 games?

 

[DANOZ28]

sure wish you had some shred of proof fletch lied.

 

[ThatGuy22]

If it's true that Kaprizov's agent told them that he would come over after his contract, why would they feel the need to do anything else?

If I'm Fletcher, and I'm told by the player's agent that they intend to come here, why would I fly around the world just to meet the kid and "make sure" he's coming? I heard right from his agent that he already intends on coming over. I'll meet him when he gets here.

This is kind of where i'm at. Kaprixov ghosting his NA agent is the crux of the breakdown i'm sure.

Fletcher dealt with him like all our internationals, through their agent. Let them play in their home leagues without much pressure, until they were ready to come over. I'm sure Luit wasn't extremely forthcoming when Kaprizov stopped returning his calls, no agent wants to be like "My clients don't answer my calls", so who knows how long Luit was re-assuring them while the rumors were flying May-August about a 3 year extension, when he probably hadn't talked to him in months.

I imagine after this recent interview Fletcher will indeed step up his recruitment game.

 

[BagHead]

My question is, how did this dude go from 66 PIM in 49 games to 4 PIM in 28 games?

Last season he got a "spearing" call, which was very suspect by the refs, and included a game misconduct. It was a total of 27 PIMs in that one game. Would have been a heck of a fantasy hockey night, though: he also had a goal, two assists and a +3 rating to go with it. Also had a 25 PIM game, that season. That one was checking from behind, and I don't know how vicious it actually was, but I'm betting not too bad. but the point is that he's a pretty clean player, and doesn't take many minor penalties. 50 of 66 PIMS from two major misconducts, the calls of which were a bit dubious.

 

[57special]

My question is, how did this dude go from 66 PIM in 49 games to 4 PIM in 28 games?

His last year PIM were inflated by a major(spearing, i think?...it was pretty tame) that came with a match. So, somwhere around 15 minutes alone for that, I think?

Oops, should've scrolled down further before i posted. BH has the right of it.

 

[57special]

sure wish you had some shred of proof fletch lied.

No one has stated that. We are talking hypotheticals here. I was responding to you, who asked why he would/could/should lie, and implied that there was no reason that he would. I disagree.

 

[2Pair]

Something else that has come to light in all of this. The Wild have not had anybody from the organization go to Russia in at least the last two years? How is that a good idea? There's some pretty decent hockey players over there that they might want to take a look at, no?

 

[Wabit]

Something else that has come to light in all of this. The Wild have not had anybody from the organization go to Russia in at least the last two years? How is that a good idea? There's some pretty decent hockey players over there that they might want to take a look at, no?

They hired a scout for Russia this offseason. Babysteps I guess?

 

[Saga of the Elk]

Seems pretty likely that if the draft were re-held today, Kaprizov would be a top 10 pick or darn close too it. Suddenly makes him seem much more "worth it" I would think. And given that he is rated as a top 25 or so prospect calling him just another 5th round pick is a bit silly. But I agree, we have no idea what GMCF has or has not done so we can't judge him from the sidelines.

No, not close. Are you kidding? 2015 was a great draft class. Kaprizov, as talented as he is, we'll see if he has a better NHL career than fellow 5th round picks like American hero Troy Terry, or a solid prospect like Adam Gaudette, or a kid like Ethan Bear, and Dominik Simon is already scoring NHL points. Skill means nothing if not tested against the best in the world.

McDavid, Eichel, Marner, Provorov, Barzal, Connor, Rantanen, Werenski, Hanifin, Boeser, Konecny, Aho, JEE ... are NHL players already... to say nothing of younger guys on their way.. Kaprizov is nothing at this point but a solid KHL player, way behind Linden Vey in scoring.

 

[gphr513]

Something else that has come to light in all of this. The Wild have not had anybody from the organization go to Russia in at least the last two years? How is that a good idea? There's some pretty decent hockey players over there that they might want to take a look at, no?

I don't think this is necessarily concerning. There's decent hockey players all over the world, just an organizational strategy on deciding where to find them.

 

[GaboriklessWild]

Detroit's superscout Hakan Andersson visited Datsyuk shortly after he was drafted. Andersson asked Datsyuk do he need anything... sent him a pair of skates....

This is the difference between first-class organization and shitshow.

 

[Bazeek]

Detroit's superscout Hakan Andersson visited Datsyuk shortly after he was drafted. Andersson asked Datsyuk do he need anything... sent him a pair of skates....

This is the difference between first-class organization and ****show.

Communicating with a player through their appointed representative, getting messages back saying that things are on track and taking them at face value is a pretty low bar for "**** show." It's like tech support: you don't get mad because something went wrong, you get mad because the response was bad. Fletcher's still in the "response" phase at this point.

 

[Dickie Dunn]

No, not close. Are you kidding? 2015 was a great draft class. Kaprizov, as talented as he is, we'll see if he has a better NHL career than fellow 5th round picks like American hero Troy Terry, or a solid prospect like Adam Gaudette, or a kid like Ethan Bear, and Dominik Simon is already scoring NHL points. Skill means nothing if not tested against the best in the world.

McDavid, Eichel, Marner, Provorov, Barzal, Connor, Rantanen, Werenski, Hanifin, Boeser, Konecny, Aho, JEE ... are NHL players already... to say nothing of younger guys on their way.. Kaprizov is nothing at this point but a solid KHL player, way behind Linden Vey in scoring.

Ok, fine. Where do you put him in a "normal" draft class factoring in his growth since being drafted? Still 5th round??

 

[DANOZ28]

peter i respectfully disagree. exception mcdavid who has set any records? just because kaprizov isnt in the nhl doesnt make him a bad player. he should be in top 10 pick discussion if we knew he was coming to the nhl. as good as some of those players listed are , how many have tarasenko potential like kaprizov does?

 

[Wabit]

peter i respectfully disagree. exception mcdavid who has set any records? just because kaprizov isnt in the nhl doesnt make him a bad player. he should be in top 10 pick discussion if we knew he was coming to the nhl. as good as some of those players listed are , how many have tarasenko potential like kaprizov does?

I don't see Tarasenko at all in Kaprizov. Panarin is a much closer Russian imo. Panarin is good, but without Kane he's in the 20-25g, 50-60p range.

 

[nickschultzfan]

In Fletcher's defense, something doesn't smell right with Kaprizov.

In Kaprizov's defense, Fletcher seems like a GM that hits on big matters but it pulled down by letting all the little, simple stuff get away from him. For example, I was just thinking how dumb it was to let Brodziak walk to St. Louis and how we have been searching for a 4th line center who can kill penalties ever since. I'm not even a Brodziak fan per se, but its been strange to see the Wild so many times spend assets acquiring roster players while letting go of perfectly good ones that were already in the organization.