LW/RW Kirill Kaprizov - CSKA Moscow, KHL (2015, 135th, MIN)

[Atas2000]

Yep!
Was hoping there was a grand conspiracy!

I've also come to the conclusion that the only conclusion we can draw from this is that the KHL website is terrible. Here's another Kaprizov player page with no contract info: [6url]http://en.khl.ru/players/21131/[/url]

It is the english version. Less information than in Russian is okay with me. Ever tried nhl.com's russian version? See?

The KHL site is getting better by the year and is much better than the NHL one for following games and or highlights. North American obsession with stats obviously nearly dictates a great stats section on the NHL site. That's where KHL has a lot of work still.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Kaprizov 0+2 and the best CSKA player by far vs SKA. But CSKA lost 4-2, because as always, the team is full of grinders (Lyubimov, Telegin, Andronov, Petrov, Nichushkin), while skilled players are healthy scratches.

 

[Caser]

His first assist of the game was pretty fancy:

 

[Kshahdoo]

His first assist of the game was pretty fancy:

Grigorenko looked good too, btw. But Kaprizov was totally astonishing. Pity, he decided to stay in the KHL.

 

[johna2626]

His first assist of the game was pretty fancy:

Here's the full play. Picks the puck up deep in his own zone, fails on an outlet pass, gets the puck back and skates the puck through the neutral zone. Finishes it with that toe drag. Beautiful.



He also had an assist on the second goal

 

[kp61c]

Grigorenko looked good too, btw. But Kaprizov was totally astonishing. Pity, he decided to stay in the KHL.

no, it's not a pity but a blessing

 

[BagHead]

no, it's not a pity but a blessing

Depends on your point of view I guess. I'd like to be able to watch the kid both play for my favorite team, and against the best players in the world, because he's fun to watch and I'm curious to see how good he can get. If you're a CSKA fan, it's awesome for you that he stayed, sure!

Either way, I'm glad to see him doing well. Special player.

 

[Atas2000]

Depends on your point of view I guess. I'd like to be able to watch the kid both play for my favorite team, and against the best players in the world, because he's fun to watch and I'm curious to see how good he can get. If you're a CSKA fan, it's awesome for you that he stayed, sure!

Either way, I'm glad to see him doing well. Special player.

The thing is - it's a good thing if you are a russian fan, not only a CSKA fan. How many Wild fans are there?

And I don't care aout the NA narratives about their league. I want to see him play in Russia, not overseas. "Playing against the best" is utter nonsense to me with the current decline in talent, entertanment value and level of play the NHL is going through while Gary is succesfully selling you the lies about how great his product is of course.

 

[57special]

I wonder if he would have come over right away if he was drafted by the
Pens or the Oilers? Playing with Crosby or McD would have to be a wet dream for a scoring winger. Wild have good players up front, but nothing flashy, though it might be fun to see Granlund and KK play together.

 

[johna2626]

I wonder if he would have come over right away if he was drafted by the
Pens or the Oilers? Playing with Crosby or McD would have to be a wet dream for a scoring winger. Wild have good players up front, but nothing flashy, though it might be fun to see Granlund and KK play together.

Or maybe even a team with more Russians on it (Tampa, Washington, New York)

 

[Kshahdoo]

I wonder if he would have come over right away if he was drafted by the
Pens or the Oilers? Playing with Crosby or McD would have to be a wet dream for a scoring winger. Wild have good players up front, but nothing flashy, though it might be fun to see Granlund and KK play together.

I think he would have come, if Minnesota had been more aggressive and persistent. I remember, Panarin used to say, he chose Chicago, because the Hawks really wanted him to come. And Kaprizov said lately, he didn't feel Minnesota wanted him badly...

 

[57special]

Or maybe even a team with more Russians on it (Tampa, Washington, New York)

It's possible that Sokolov will be on the team in three years. He has one more year of junior, then probably at least one in the AHL before he'll be ready for NHL time.

 

[57special]

I think he would have come, if Minnesota had been more aggressive and persistent. I remember, Panarin used to say, he chose Chicago, because the Hawks really wanted him to come. And Kaprizov said lately, he didn't feel Minnesota wanted him badly...

I would've got that attitude if the Wild still had Tuch and Haula.

 

[snipes]

Too bad he's staying in the KHL

 

[Kshahdoo]

And Kaprizov scored.

 

[Caser]

 

[ThatGuy22]

jeebus, that D play...

Nice shot, kind of a tough angle/redirect shot.

 

[Fantomas]

According to Russian news outlet Sovetsky Sport, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock and general manager Lou Lamoriello recently travelled to Russia to meet with CSKA Moscow defenceman Igor Ozhiganov.

The Wild couldn't do this with Kaprizov? Ay.

 

[Jugitsu]

The thing is - it's a good thing if you are a russian fan, not only a CSKA fan. How many Wild fans are there?

And I don't care aout the NA narratives about their league. I want to see him play in Russia, not overseas. "Playing against the best" is utter nonsense to me with the current decline in talent, entertanment value and level of play the NHL is going through while Gary is succesfully selling you the lies about how great his product is of course.

Gary's lies or not, the fact remains that the best hockey players in the world play in the NHL. Even the best Russian born players in the world play in the NHL. So whether you think it's utter nonsense or not, Kaprizov definitely would face tougher competition overseas.

To the actual topic at hand: I think the Wild screwed this up. Kaprizov is easily the best prospect in the Wild. And I quite frankly would've loved to see him come in sooner rather than later. Why? While the Wild certainly doesn't possess the top end talent in the middle unlike some other teams, they still have some quality centers. Good enough to be a playoffs team at the very least. Wild's cup window is closing fast and they would really benefit having their best winger prospect playing with the center depth they have right now, rather than 3 years from now. Since the Wild doesn't even really have anything down the pipeline to replace their current centers.

From everything that I have seen, Kaprizov is easily NHL ready - probably even top 6 ready.

 

[Tripod]

That is some awful defense.

 

[Kshahdoo]

That is some awful defense.

It was probably a single mistake for Lokomotiv's defense in the game. And even then the shot wasn't that easy to perform, but Kirill has magic hands.

 

[Kshahdoo]

I think, without NHLers Kaprizov is a lock for the Olympic team.

 

[Atas2000]

That is some awful defense.

So let me do this remark on every NHL goal scored. Every goal is somebody's mistake.

This one wasn't on the D. How should the D-men expect their goalie(and it was one of his very rare brainfarts. He is a top notch goaltender) make that stupid play that caught them all out of position ultimately?

 

[monsieurthibz]

I think, without NHLers Kaprizov is a lock for the Olympic team.

with or without*

He's without a doubt making the team, especially after "the KHL" proudly signed him 3 years. They'll want to show him off as a trophy lol

 

[Kshahdoo]

with or without*

He's without a doubt making the team, especially after "the KHL" proudly signed him 3 years. They'll want to show him off as a trophy lol

Znarok actually doesn't care about, what KHL wants. He gotta win the Olympic, or else...