Prospect Info: Kirill Kaprizov lll

[AKL]

Not that it changes anything, but Kaprizov plays in Moscow, not St. Petersburg

And yes, I’d move out some wingers to make room for Kaprizov before I moved Kaprizov because we have too many wingers right now.

And no, I’d never consider trading Kaprizov. If he asks for a trade, I’d say tough luck. If a team is willing to give us a top 15 league wide prospect for him, sure, but if not, come on over and earn your trade.

 

[Bazeek]

Not that it changes anything, but Kaprizov plays in Moscow, not St. Petersburg

Does that mean he prefers playing in M to St.P? Quick, move the rink to Target Center!

 

[TaLoN]

 

[chchelseII]

Yay! KK playing again. Picked up an assist in today's game.

 

[SupremeNachos]

The Spittin Chiclets interviewed a Russian hockey reporter who says that KK is for sure coming over next year and he thinks 50pts is the minimum we should expect.

 

[57special]

tough to score 50 pts. as a rookie in the NHL, especially playing with an untalented forward group.
Maybe they need to play him on a line with Hunt and Dumba/Spurgeon?

 

[TaLoN]

Kap banks it off the goalie's back

 

[2Pair]

Kid just has that "it" that goalscorers have.

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

Watching this guys highlights right now. He’s gonna be so good. The way he thinks the game when he’s entering the zone and how well he protects the puck is so incredible.

 

[Wild11MN]

Kid just has that "it" that goalscorers have.

Watching this guys highlights right now. He’s gonna be so good. The way he thinks the game when he’s entering the zone and how well he protects the puck is so incredible.

He just scores in so many different ways. That's the most impressive thing in my opinion.

 

[Nsjohnson]

Yeah that is true. He scores in a million different ways, many of them very creative. Shows a high IQ.

He will for sure be an offensive driver when he plays. Don't know if he will score 15, 25, 35, etc but I do see him as an offensive catalyst.

 

[DANOZ28]

his first year i would guess only 15- maybe 20 getting adjusted to north America . a Russian speaking C would help out ALOT!

 

[fentonsbrainchild]

his first year i would guess only 15- maybe 20 getting adjusted to north America . a Russian speaking C would help out ALOT!

Who would fill that role? Khovanov?

 

[Bazeek]

Who would fill that role? Khovanov?

To the extent that a Russian center is that much of a plus Khovanov is absolutely our best shot at adding one. If you look around the league at Russian-speaking top-6 centers you can probably count them on one hand.

Edit: Just to list the candidates...

Kuznetsov - Obviously not
Malkin - Obviously not
Namestnikov - Actually plays wing (I think)
Barbashev - Actually plays wing
Anisimov - Injured... but maybe?
Kemenev - Still pretty young and had some decent AHL numbers, but he hasn't played much the last few seasons
Prokhorkin - Good KHL numbers, but has only played 8 NHL games. Interesting...
Vorobyov - Appears to play wing in the AHL
Rubstov - Does appear to play center in the AHL

Not exactly a Muderer's Row of options there.

 

[DANOZ28]

i just don't think khovanov is ready , but he wouldn't be the first player the wild rushed.

 

[Bazeek]

i just don't think khovanov is ready , but he wouldn't be the first player the wild rushed.

I meant more long term. He definitely doesn't look like a player that'll be ready for the NHL next year.

 

[57special]

Get Brodin on it;

Google Image Result for https://www.fluentin3months.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/russian-listening-resources.jpg

 

[Al Lagoon]

The need for another Russian to center him is overblown imho. He's a grown man fer chrissakes, not a teenager leaving home for the first time.

He can communicate with his stick and his hands.

 

[DANOZ28]

its called chemistry.

 

[TaLoN]

its called chemistry.

Just because a player speaks the same language doesn't mean they will automatically have good on ice chemistry.

Look at all the good Russian wingers in the league... virtually none of them have Russian speaking centers.

In fact, in Washington, Ovechkin skates with a Swedish center even though the Caps are one of the few teams with a real option at center who speaks Russian.

 

[DANOZ28]

so you don't want him to be comfortable after moving halfway around the world? hmmmm since hes possibly the future star of this team i'd want to help him to succeed any way i could, it sounds like you would just throw him in the meat grinder and hope he survives.

 

[Bazeek]

so you don't want him to be comfortable after moving halfway around the world? hmmmm

There are other, and probably more important ways to do that, than a Russian-speaking center. The more day-to-day stuff, like where to live, transportation, food, etc. is probably more of a worry than the hockey, and that's all stuff the team can help with pretty easily.

There are a few tidbits in Craig MacTavish's rundown of his KHL time that were interesting, like that (at least for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv) all of the players and coaches lived at a "Team Base" for 10 months out of the year. I have no idea if that's the norm in Russia, but things like that seem like they'd take much more of an adjustment than the hockey stuff.

Not that having another Russian-speaking player on the team would be bad. I just don't think it's a big deal in terms of on-ice chemistry.

 

[AKL]

so you don't want him to be comfortable after moving halfway around the world? hmmmm since hes possibly the future star of this team i'd want to help him to succeed any way i could, it sounds like you would just throw him in the meat grinder and hope he survives.

Dude, how many ways does it need to be explained that there simply aren’t Russian centers, certainly none that are any good, for us to go get?

You can make him feel comfortable here without a Russian center, or even a Russian linemate. Plenty of teams have done that before, and we wouldn’t be the last either.

 

[DANOZ28]

WELL DUDES i was around when gabby first came over and when i got his autograph at har mar mall he had to have an interpreter because he could speak any English. his first season he had 18G i think and looked like a lost puppy on ice. i don't want that to happen to kaprizov, do you?

 

[Bazeek]

WELL DUDES i was around when gabby first came over and when i got his autograph at har mar mall he had to have an interpreter because he could speak any English. his first season he had 18G i think and looked like a lost puppy on ice. i don't want that to happen to kaprizov, do you?

No, but Gaborik was 18 when he came over and played his first NHL game. Kaprizov will be 23. It'll take adjusting, but he's a lot more well-seasoned than Gaborik was.