Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
'His ceiling is pretty high': Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov records third straight 40-goal season
With four goals in the past two games, Minnesota Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov became just the fourth player in the NHL to hit the 40-goal mark in each of the past three seasons — joining the company of Auston Matthews, David Pastrnak and Leon Draisaitl.
In addition to Kaprizov, Marian Gaborik (2007-08) and Eric Staal (2017-18) — who both scored 42 times — are the two other players in franchise history who have hit the 40-goal mark.
Kaprizov, who has led the Wild in scoring each of the past four seasons, scored 47 goals over 81 games in 2021-22, 40 last season in 67 games and now 41 this season with five games left.
Wild coach John Hynes believes Kaprizov, who is 17 days shy of his 27th birthday, hasn't reached his ceiling yet and will continue to grow and evolve.
“To be in that company, (he) is obviously (with) some of the elite in the league,” Hynes told the media Sunday in Chicago postgame. “He’s such a good player and has so much potential.
“I think that the upside for him in the next couple of years is gonna be really impressive just as he continues to mature and gain confidence. His ceiling is pretty high. And I think over the next couple years, we’re gonna see that.”
Kaprizov recorded his 10th three-point performance of the season (matching his own franchise record) in the Wild's 4-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday by scoring goals No. 40 and 41 in addition to assisting on Marco Rossi's second-period tally. The three-point showing moved Kaprizov’s career point total to 323, which moves him past Andrew Brunette (321) for seventh in scoring in franchise history.
Kaprizov's 40th goal in Chicago Sunday marked his 22nd game-winning goal of his career, which ties Jason Zucker for the fifth-most in Wild history. Kaprizov, who has 41 goals and 89 points in 70 games this season, also found the back of the net twice a night earlier in the Wild's loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
“His fitness level is really impressive, but to me, (it's) more his ability to recover,” Hynes told the media Sunday. “He can come on (the bench) after a shift, and I can look down 20-25 seconds later, and he's not breathing heavy at all, and he's ready to go. That's nice to have, when you have a player like him who has the engine he has to be able to play big minutes. And we all see the way that he competes. It's not like he's out there floating around. He's in the game.”
Earlier this season, Kaprizov became the fastest player in franchise history and fifth fastest active NHL player to hit the 300-point milestone. “He’s a beast,” Freddy Gaudreau said of Kaprizov in March. “He’s double-shifting sometimes, (and) you can’t even notice. He doesn’t seem tired. He does everything.”
Since Jan. 19, Kaprizov has a league-leading 28 goals in 33 games. And he has found the scoresheet in 15 of the past 16 games and heads into the Wild's matchup versus the Colorado Avalanche Tuesday with a seven-game point streak.
“I would say how competitive he is,” Hynes said in March of what he’s learned about Kaprizov since taking over as coach on Nov. 27. “I’d say two things. He’s an extreme competitor and the other part is just his love of the game.
“He loves to be on the ice, whether it’s practice, games. He loves the game of hockey and the thing that I really respect about him (is) sometimes guys just like to play the games, but Kirill’s in great shape. He’s a coachable guy. He’s a great teammate. Practices really well, and he’s an extreme competitor.”
All data via Wild PR and NHL.com
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