Prospect Info: Kirill Kaprizov lll

[Dr Jan Itor]

They kind of do. The world's best hockey players are often playing in the NHL at age 19. Kaprizov will be 23 before he ever gets an official NHL jockstrap (if ever). Why? If he were truly one of the world's top ten prospects - such as teens Kaapo Kakko and Jack Hughes are - he would have been drafted earlier, signed sooner and been able to prove it against the best players in the world. He's a good prospect but he's not as good as many others, the proof being that he is playing in a worse league, against worse players, and doing ok at it. I'd rather have the guy who is capable of NHL performance, on NHL ice, against NHL-calibre athletes. Among the reasons he isn't one of those at this time is a relative lack of skill and upside.

Because he signed a contract to play in the KHL that he can't get out of until the end of this year.

And, technically, Hughes and Kakko haven't proven anything against the "best players in the world" yet.

 

[TaLoN]

They kind of do. The world's best hockey players are often playing in the NHL at age 19. Kaprizov will be 23 before he ever gets an official NHL jockstrap (if ever). Why? If he were truly one of the world's top ten prospects - such as teens Kaapo Kakko and Jack Hughes are - he would have been drafted earlier, signed sooner and been able to prove it against the best players in the world. He's a good prospect but he's not as good as many others, the proof being that he is playing in a worse league, against worse players, and doing ok at it. I'd rather have the guy who is capable of NHL performance, on NHL ice, against NHL-calibre athletes. Among the reasons he isn't one of those at this time is a relative lack of skill and upside.

You do realize the only reason he's not here now is because of a lack of a transfer agreement between the NHL and KHL, right?

The Wild wanted him here 2 years ago, but they made a mistake in not showing it to him personally and just assuming he'd come over when his last contact was up... they didn't show him the love, so he signed a new deal in the KHL.

Nothing even remotely close to "not here because he's not good enough".

In the end, yes it's possible he may not be good enough, but top 10 picks often prove the same along the way themselves too. What he HAS proven, his upside is FAR higher than people thought it was on draft day, and in a redraft he would definitely be a 1st round pick.

 

[DANOZ28]

funny how some people think if a player wasn't drafted high hes worthless. phffft no player comes with a guarantee (see yakupov or aj thelen) kaprizov HAS been putting up similar #s to tarasenko now even if kaprizov is only 2/3rds as good as tarasenko we hit the jackpot with a 5th rnd pick. kaprizov has a shot at being the best offensive player ever to wear a wild uniform. amazing how some people still doubt his ability. (including pronman)

 

[thestonedkoala]

Tolvanen: 35 points in 58 AHL games isn't bad for a 19 year old. Definitely not struggling. And I don't know how 7 games shows anything about adapting to the NHL.

Gusev: has played 0 NHL games.

15 goals, and he had a pretty rough start. He was also 0 points in the playoffs with a -2.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

15 goals, and he had a pretty rough start. He was also 0 points in the playoffs with a -2.

15 goals isn't bad either.

 

[DANOZ28]

i really hope gusev flops in nj and we grab him for next year to center kaprizov & possibly sokolov. how fun would it be to have the best 3rd line in the nhl?

 

[Saga of the Elk]

You do realize the only reason he's not here now is because of a lack of a transfer agreement between the NHL and KHL, right?

The Wild wanted him here 2 years ago, but they made a mistake in not showing it to him personally and just assuming he'd come over when his last contact was up... they didn't show him the love, so he signed a new deal in the KHL.

Nothing even remotely close to "not here because he's not good enough".

In the end, yes it's possible he may not be good enough, but top 10 picks often prove the same along the way themselves too. What he HAS proven, his upside is FAR higher than people thought it was on draft day, and in a redraft he would definitely be a 1st round pick.

Nah. He would definitely be a higher than fifth round pick.. but check out that 2nd round sometime... plenty of guys you'd take today over Kaprizov to say nothing of the first round basically being 25 good to amazing players playing real hockey in the world's best league. I'm not sure every GM would take Kaprizov over even fellow 5th rounder Troy Terry, an American hero who has actually scored in the NHL. No big deal, right? Help me understand.

Again being good with a legit talent like Grigorenko on his line (or being good with Datsyuk and Kovalchuk on Team Russia when other countries are fielding the likes of Ryan Donato) ...playing cheesy crap teams when the team he's on is dominant.... does not equal even the upside of 2nd round guys like Greenway - who has proven himself in the NHL while this guy skates around dudes like Anton Belov. It's just... not that impressive. And if he were some dominant talent, he would have been here. It speaks to his character, his readiness, and his upside.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

i really hope gusev flops in nj and we grab him for next year to center kaprizov & possibly sokolov. how fun would it be to have the best 3rd line in the nhl?

If he flops in NJ, what would make you think he'd be any part of a good 3rd line? And playing center at that, when he's not a center.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I trade Kaprizov for exactly 1 player taken in the 2nd round of the 2015 draft (Aho).

And ahead of roughly 11 taken in the 1st round pretty easily (Zacha, Crowse, Gurianov, Zboril, Senyshyn, Svechnikov, Eriksson Ek, Juulsen, Larsson, Carlsson, Merkley).

 

[Saga of the Elk]

I trade Kaprizov for exactly 1 player taken in the 2nd round of the 2015 draft (Aho).

And ahead of roughly 11 taken in the 1st round pretty easily (Zacha, Crowse, Gurianov, Zboril, Senyshyn, Svechnikov, Eriksson Ek, Juulsen, Larsson, Carlsson, Merkley).

In other words you'd trade the car you're driving for two cars that might be built someday and probably will be able to fly. Happy trails!

 

[Bazeek]

In other words you'd trade the car you're driving for two cars that might be built someday and probably will be able to fly. Happy trails!

If the car I'm driving is Pavel Zacha and the two future cars are Kirill Kaprizov, then yes. Even if that means taking the bus for a few months.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

In other words you'd trade the car you're driving for two cars that might be built someday and probably will be able to fly. Happy trails!

No, but I'd sure trade in a heavily used Chevy Nova for a >50% chance of a brand new Lexus. Your analogy is nonsense.

Most of those guys on that list have played fewer than 20 NHL games anyway. Pretty far from "proving themselves against the best in the world".

 

[57special]

Then there was another Russian, 6th rounder, who didn't play in the NHL till he was 23yo, and even then he only scored 35 points. Had very mediocre Russian stats. Far worse than KK's. He did all right for himself, though. His name was Pavel Datsyuk.

 

[DANOZ28]

If he flops in NJ, what would make you think he'd be any part of a good 3rd line? And playing center at that, when he's not a center.

its all about who hes matched up with , maybe he doesn't click with anyone on the devils roster but hes pure magic when paired with kaprizov (birds of a feather) i thought i read somewhere he was a center , my bad if hes not.

 

[Saga of the Elk]

So I learned today that Kaprizov is not only the next Datsyuk and a better player than Parise, Gaborik, and Staal, he's also 100% definitely better than a bunch of guys his age who have been in the NHL and producing while he fiddles around in B league?

also people would rather ride a bus than drive a car?

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

So I learned today that Kaprizov is not only the next Datsyuk and a better player than Parise, Gaborik, and Staal, he's also 100% definitely better than a bunch of guys his age who have been in the NHL and producing while he fiddles around in B league?

also people would rather ride a bus than drive a car?

Nobody said that he's the next Datsyuk.

Nobody said that he's a better player than Parise, Gaborik or Staal. You're the first and only person to mention any one of those 3 names in this thread.

Nobody said he's 100% definitely better than guys his age producing in the NHL.

You're making a hell of a lot of things up in your own head.

 

[TaLoN]

So I learned today that Kaprizov is not only the next Datsyuk and a better player than Parise, Gaborik, and Staal, he's also 100% definitely better than a bunch of guys his age who have been in the NHL and producing while he fiddles around in B league?

also people would rather ride a bus than drive a car?

If your choice is to ride the bus for a couple months while a brand new Lexus is being built that you can then drive for the next 10 years vs driving a ford focus starting right now for the next 10 years... all for the same overall price, most people would take the Lexus and the short term bus rides.

Yes, the Lexus could turn out to be a lemon, but so could that Focus as well... but at least that Lexus has the chance to be something much better!

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

If your choice is to ride the bus for a couple months while a brand new Lexus is being built that you can then drive for the next 10 years vs driving a ford focus starting right now for the next 10 years... all for the same overall price, most people would take the Lexus and the short term bus rides.

Or Uber. Or bike. God this analogy sucks.

 

[P10p]

So I learned today that Kaprizov is not only the next Datsyuk and a better player than Parise, Gaborik, and Staal, he's also 100% definitely better than a bunch of guys his age who have been in the NHL and producing while he fiddles around in B league?

also people would rather ride a bus than drive a car?

You start by trying to compare buying cars to trading hockey players (??) and then you jump to the conclusion that we all believe KK is the next Datsyuk and better than Parise, Gaborik, and Staal?

Not sure what Kaprizov did to you, but I'm sorry.

 

[DANOZ28]

"has a shot" is way different than i guarantee you hes better than gretzky don't ya think? i cant believe you really think anyone who has scored a goal in the nhl is better than everybody who has or does play in the khl.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

You start by trying to compare buying cars to trading hockey players (??) and then you jump to the conclusion that we all believe KK is the next Datsyuk and better than Parise, Gaborik, and Staal?

Not sure what Kaprizov did to you, but I'm sorry.

From the looks of it, most of it seems to just be being born in Russia.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

its all about who hes matched up with , maybe he doesn't click with anyone on the devils roster but hes pure magic when paired with kaprizov (birds of a feather) i thought i read somewhere he was a center , my bad if hes not.

Possible, I guess, but if he doesn't click with Hischier or Hughes, I wouldn't have super high hopes for it.

 

[Uberdachen]

I'd rather take a bus and don't give a soft-boiled f*** about a Lexus. I hope this does not adversely affect Kaprizov's career.

 

[DANOZ28]

damnit janet! another apple today 6gms 1G 6A total 7 points. i prefer goals.

 

[Bazeek]

So I learned today that Kaprizov is not only the next Datsyuk and a better player than Parise, Gaborik, and Staal, he's also 100% definitely better than a bunch of guys his age who have been in the NHL and producing while he fiddles around in B league?

also people would rather ride a bus than drive a car?

And I learned that Grigorenko is a "legit talent" and guys like Zacha and Eriksson-Ek have "produced" in the NHL. The internet's a magical place.