By Nick Lenahan
I’ll be honest, I didn’t see the Wild playing as well as they have at the beginning of the season. Nothing against Minnesota at all, I think they have great pieces and a perfect mix of young and veteran talent. With that being said, Vegas, St. Louis, and Colorado alone have to be in the top 4 for that division. That leaves just one playoff spot open. Vegas winning the west in 2018, St. Louis winning the cup in 2019, and Colorado with the 3rd best odds this year to win the Stanley Cup all seems to lock 75 percent of the playoff spots in the Honda West Division.
I knew Kaprizov was going to stand out, but leading a team with Kevin Fiala, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Zach Parise has been very impressive. His most notable attribute has to be his skating. His edge work and ability to force defenders to respect his space is years beyond his age. When you pair that type of skating ability with good line mates, it’s great things happen.
Now, we’re 33 games into the season and unless stand-out goalie Kevin Lankinen really makes a big push with Chicago, the Calder should be Kirill Kaprizov’s to lose. Even with all that being said, the Minnesota Wild have even more to be thankful for.
Minnesota’s top 4 defenseman are all averaging over 20 minutes per game, their forwards have developed into a strong top 6, and their penalty kill is 3rd in the league at 85.9 percent. Their power play is operating at a staggering 9.7 percent, but if I was rooting for a team with a .667 point percentage, I’d learn to be pretty patient with it. Kaapo Kahkonen is having a phenomenal rookie campaign as well, posting a 16-12-5 record with a .921 GAA and a 2.29 GAA (23rd and 18th in the league in their respective categories).
All in all, I hope the Wild hold the line and stay in the playoffs because they have the grit and cohesiveness to upset a top seed in the first round and make a serious playoff run. Also, a big shout out to Jordan Greenway. He’s been with the Wild since the 2017-2018 season and in his best year, he had 8-20-28 (Goals-Assists-Points) in 67 GP. This year the kid has 21 points in 33 games (5-16-21). That’s a monumental jump in the point per game department, largely due to his top line LW role beside Eriksson Ek and Fiala. The 6’ 6”, 241 pound, 24 year-old left wing is becoming a consistent playmaker and it doesn’t hurt to have the ability to switch him out for Kaprizov if the circumstances call for it.
Written by Nick Lenahan
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