Are you ready for some hockey? We know we are. We have spent the better part of two weeks analyzing the Minnesota Wild prospect system. If you are unfamiliar with the concept of a prospect pyramid, See: Sportsnet’s Steve Dangle. TL;DW, the purpose is to rank prospects, without the need for arbitrarily subjecting the prospects to specific number ratings.

One may say, “Hey Dorkass, why is the top tier empty??”. The reason the top tier is empty is plainly because the Minnesota Wild do not have a superstar level prospect. You may think Kirill Kaprizov is a good/great/amazing prospect but, does he more closely resemble a McDavid, Laine, Dahlin etc. type player or more of a M. Tkachuk, Heiskanen, Suzuki, Keller type of player? It’s okay to not have a top tier player and, being in the second tier is not a bad thing.

Let’s discuss our decisions.

Tier Two:

Kirill Kaprizov:

W, 5’10, 192, 21, 135th Overall ‘15

Olympic Gold Medal Winner, 2-time WJC medalist

Alternate Captain Russia U18, Captain Russia U20

1st Overall KHL Draft ‘14

Ranked 55-161 in draft year

Arrival: 20-21

The gem of the Wild prospect pool, Kaprizov is already dominating in the KHL. He scored at a 15-25=40 clip in 46 games as a 20 year old playing for CSKA Moskva in the KHL. The Olympic hero was drafted in the fifth round. He has an elite shot, and has shown that at all levels. The one thing that could stop him from being the Wild’s new face of the franchise is him wanting to stay at home and play in the KHL. He is currently under contract through the 19-20 season.

Tier Three:

Jordan Greenway:

LW, 6’6”, 229, 21, 50th Overall ‘15

3 USA Gold Medals, 1 Hockey East Championship

Alternate Captain, Boston College

16th Overall ‘13 OHL Draft

Ranked 31-71 in draft year

Arrival: 18-19

Greenway is a big power forward with a slight scoring touch. Made hockey history by being the first player to play in the Olympics, an NCAA tournament and the NHL. Could work on hockey sense and getting to the dirty areas more. The Shattuck St. Mary’s product has a ceiling of a Chris Kreider or Blake Wheeler type of player and he could slot into the second or third line. It sounds like BBQ Bruce and Fenton have him in to make the team this year.

Luke Kunin:

C, 6’0, 192, 20, 15th overall ‘15

2-time WJC

Alternate Captain USDP, Captain USDP, Captain Univ. of Wisconsin

229th Overall ‘13 OHL Draft

Ranked 11-20 in draft year

Arrival: 18-19

Luke Kunin is a leader. The former Badger and USDP captain was a first round draft pick (19 overall) in 2017. A torn ACL unfortunately ruined his 2017-2018 campaign where he went 2-2=4 with Minnesota and 10-9=19 in 36 games with Iowa. He’s shown he has a great shot, however he needs to get going and staying in the play. Kunin could resemble a Nazem Kadri type player without the red-mist. My bet is he’ll be a reliable second line center someday. He’ll compete for a spot this year, but coming off of that torn ACL, he probably will at least start the season down I35.

Mason Shaw:

C, 5’9, 180, 19, 97th Overall ‘17

No notable championships

Alternate Captain Medicine Hat Tigers

32nd Overall ‘13 WHL Draft

Ranked 55-169 in draft year

Arrival: 22-23

After tearing his ACL in Traverse City last year and missing all of last year, Shaw looks to bounce back. The playmaker had 27-67=94 in 71 games in his draft year causing the Wild to pounce on him with their fourth round pick. The 19 year old definitely needs to grow, as he stands just 5’9”, but he has a really good sense to find the open man. He was the captain of the Traverse City team this year, who got third place. His ceiling is one like second or third line playmaker.

Filip Johansson:

RD, 6’1, 175, 18, 24th overall ‘18

U18 WJC medalist

No captaincy

No Major Junior draft

Ranked 39-68 in draft year

Arrival: 20-21

Okay, Okay, yes; the decision to draft Filip Johansson at 24th overall this past draft was very controversial with names like Sandin, Veleno, Noel, Woo, McCleod, and McIsaac still on the board but, if there is anything that Paul Fenton knows, it’s how to develop star defensemen. The facts are this: Johansson is a right handed shot, big body guy who plays a responsible game with a monster shot. Couple this with a great Development Camp and you have a 3rd tier prospect.

Ivan Lodnia:

RW, 5’11, 183, 19, 85th overall ‘17

OHL Champion

No captaincy

20th overall ‘15 OHL

Ranked 36-107 in draft year

Arrival: 21-22

Lodnia was the first selection by the Wild in the 2017 Draft. Taken in the third round, Lodnia played for the Erie Otters and came over to the Iowa Wild once the OHL season ended. He’s a two way player with room to grow on defense. He could grow into a Tyler Bozak type of player.

Dmitri Sokolov:

W, 6’0, 210, 20, 196th Overall ‘16

No notable championships

No captaincy, OHL rookie goal leader 15-16, OHL goal leader 17-18

3rd Overall ‘15 OHL Draft

Ranked 88-150 in draft year

Arrival: 22-23

Sokolov has some nifty mittens and a wicked shot. He’s looking like a steal at 196th, and his ceiling is one of a Nino Niederreiter or Gustav Nyquist. Sokolov put up great numbers with the Barrie Colts and was signed last year. He will start this year in Iowa and probably spend a few years there, but once he comes up I35 he’ll be pretty damn good. Dropped in draft year due to conditioning concerns but still puts up tonnes of points.

Tier Four:

Nicholas Boka:

RD, 6’1, 210, 21, 171st Overall ‘15

B1G Champion, WJC Gold

Alternate Captain USA U17

103rd Overall OHL Draft ‘13

Ranked 98-172 in draft year

Arrival: 20-21

Boka was drafted in the sixth round in 2015. The 21 year old right handed defenseman is attending the University of Michigan. The Wolverine had 7 points in 39 games, and amassed 56 penalty minutes. He could be a defensive defenseman who could crack the top 4, but I wouldn’t place any bets.

Louis Belpedio:

RD, 5’11, 195, 22, 80th overall ‘14

2-time WJC medalist, one-time NCHC champion

2-year Captain Univ. Miami (Ohio)

168th overall ‘12 OHL Draft

Ranked 84-126 in draft year

Arrival: 20-21

Belpedio is a right handed shot defenseman, picked in the Third round (80th overall) out of Miami (Ohio). He was picked one pick removed from Tampa Bay All Star, Brayden Point. After putting up decent numbers in college, Belpedio signed with the Wild last year and played 10 games in Iowa, picking up 2 points. He matched that point total in his lone NHL game against San Jose; picking up two assists. He has the ceiling of a Trevor van Riemsdyk. He could crack a top 4, but is probably a top 6 defenseman at best.

Dante Salituro:

RW/C, 5’8, 176, 21, undrafted

No notable championships

Alternate Captain Ottawa 67’s

18th Overall ‘12 OHL Draft

Ranked 80-167 in draft year

Arrival: 21-22

Salituro is small and fast. He went undrafted, but was scooped up by Columbus in free agency. He came to Minnesota in a trade that sent Jordan Schroeder to Columbus. If he grows a bit and plays with a more physical edge, he could be a solid third liner for the Wild.

Jack Sadek:

RD, 6’2, 195, 21, 204th Overall ‘15

No notable championships

No captaincy

119th Overall USHL Draft ‘14

Ranked 85-169 in draft year

Arrival: 20-21

Sadek is a seventh round pick, the same round as Gustav Bouramman, in 2015. The former Lakeville North Panther is a right handed shot, who is 21. He plays for the Gophers, putting up a 9 point, 38 PIM season. He’s a defensive defenseman, who plays a 200 foot game. He, like Boka, has the potential to be a top 4 defenseman, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

Brennan Menell:

RD, 5’11, 183, 21, undrafted

No notable championships

No captaincy, Most assist by Defenseman WHL 16-17

304th Overall ‘14 USHL draft

Unranked in draft year

Arrival: 21-22

Another 21 year old, right handed defenseman; Mennell was an undrafted free agent pickup for the Wild. The Woodbury Native put up 71 points in 70 games in the OHL, and came over to Iowa and had 25 points in 72 games last year. He played in the top 6 in Iowa last year and could make a run to be a top 4 defenseman someday.

Jack McBain:

C, 6’3, 200, 18, 63rd overall ‘18

Hlinka Gold Medal, WHC Silver

Captain Bantams, Captain Minor Midget, Alternate Captain Canada U17

20th overall OHL Draft ‘16

Ranked 35-54 in draft year

Arrival: 21-22

Boston College commit with an absolutely domineering presence. Needs a lot of work skating and basically just finding his feet. A playmaker with great awareness and elite skill. 58 points in 48 games in the OJHL, could be a solid 3rd line center and Penalty Kill specialist.

Simon Johansson:

RD, 6’2, 170, 19, 148th overall in ‘18

No notable championships

Alternate Captain Djurgaardens J20

No MJ draft

Ranked 88 in draft year

Arrival 23-24

According to Brent Flahr, the 19 year-old swede is a late bloomer who brings fantastic offensive upside, having led all defenseman in the Swedish Junior League in goals and points. Perhaps the ability to be a 4-5 guy. Unfortunately, there are a lot of RHD in the system in his way.

Andrei Svetlakov:

C, 6’0, 205, 22, 178th overall ‘17

WJC silver

Alternate captain Russia U20

80th overall KHL Draft ‘13

Ranked 126-199 in draft year

Arrival: 21-22

Kaprizov’s teammate in Moscow, Svetlakov has a good body and silky gloves. Could use some help in terms of consistency. Svetlakov apparently has had issues making Moscow due to a difference in coaching styles. Either way, if Andrei makes it here alone, I’d put him as a bottom 6 forward but if Kirill comes with? The sky might be the limit.

Alexander Khovanov:

C, 5’10, 200, 18, 86th overall ‘18

WHC Bronze, Russia U15 Champion

No captaincy

2nd overall CHL Draft ‘17

Ranked 37-87 in draft year

Arrival: 21-22

Now this pick may have been some kind of genius by Fenton. Khovanov was drafted before Andrei Svechnikov and before Filip Zadina in the CHL Draft because of a great showing in Russian Major Juniors. After contracting Hepatitis A in the Dominican Republic, Khovanov was not able to join the Moncton Wildcats until late into the season. In the last 15 regular season games, Khovanov scored 18 points. This season, Khovanov will start with Moncton, keep an eye out to see how he performs. Could potentially be a top 6 center but, is only tier four due to uncertainty about his ability to fully recover.

Tier Five:

Jacob Golden:

LD, 6’0, 170, 19, 147th overall ‘17

No notable championships

No captaincy

295th Overall OHL Draft ‘15

Ranked 184 in draft year

Arrival: 23-24

Golden is a responsible defenseman from the London Knights. He had 14 points and only took two penalties in all 63 games with the Knights. The former fifth round draft pick could slot into a top 6 role with the Wild someday.

Carson Soucy:

LD, 6’5”, 207, 24, 137th Overall ‘13

1 NCHC Championship

Alternate Captain, Univ. of Minnesota-Duluth

Undrafted CHL

Unranked draft year

Arrival: 19-20

Soucy is a two way defenseman who made his NHL debut last season. Like a few prospects listed on here, Soucy made his debut and picked up a few points with the Wild last year. He’s aggressive, but not overly so. He has good positioning in general and has some room to grow. He’s getting a bit old, but he’s not the oldest of this group. His ceiling is probably a Brayden McNabb or Greg Pateryn. I doubt he makes the team this year because of all the people ahead of him on the depth chart.

Eric Martinsson:

LD, 6’0”, 185, 25, undrafted

2-time SHL champion,

Alternate Captain, Rogle BK J20

Undrafted CHL

Unranked draft year

Arrival: 19-20

Eric Martinsson was the first signing Paul Fenton made a GM of the Wild. He’s the oldest of the group and coming off a season where he scored 3-15=17 in the SHL, he looks to come over to North America. He’ll probably play in Iowa and if he comes up it’ll be in a seventh dman role. I’m not too optimistic.

Justin Kloos:

C/RW, 5’9, 180, 24, Undrafted

One-time B1G champion

2-year captain Univ. of Minnesota, 11-12 MN Mr. Hockey

Undrafted CHL

Unranked in draft year

Arrival: 19-20

Kloos doesn’t have the upside that some other prospects here, but he could slot into a third or fourth line role soon. He’s a speedy forward who plays a 200 foot game. While his days scoring 21-17=38 in 18 games at Lakeville South High School may be over, he still plays on the first line downstairs with a statline of 19-31=50 in 76 games.

Gustav Bouramman:

RD, 6’0, 187, 21, 201st Overall ‘15

No notable championships

Alternate Captain Lulea J18

49th overall ‘14 CHL draft

Ranked 89-162 in draft year

Arrival: 22-23

A seventh round pick, Bouramman is a right handed shot who played in the ECHL last year, potting 5 goals and 23 assists for 28 points. Some development in his physicality will lead to bigger and better things for Bouramman, who should slot into the Iowa Wild top 6 this year. He’s an excellent passer who projects to be a top 6 defenseman someday.

Sam Anas:

C/RW, 5’8, 154, 25, undrafted

ECAC Champion

Alternate Captain Quinnipiac Univ.

22nd Overall ‘11 USHL Draft

Unranked in draft year

Arrival: 19-20

The AHL star scored 26 goals and 61 points for Iowa last year on the first line. He’s older, but he could get a look this year, depending on injury. He won’t have much more development, but there is still some more upside. He could come into a third line role this year if someone gets hurt.

Hunter Warner:

RD, 6’4, 225, 23, undrafted

No notable championships

No captaincy

235th Overall ‘12 USHL Draft

Unranked in draft year

Arrival: 20-21

Warner is an older right handed defenseman who plays in Iowa. The Eden Prairie native will play in Iowa for the foreseeable future after a season where he had 3 points in 37 games. He is a physical defensive defensemen who should look to get a little bit more offense in his game. He could be a bottom pair/depth defensemen.

Kaapo Kahkonen:

G, 6’2, 225, 22, 109th Overall ‘14

2-time WJC medalist

53rd overall KHL Draft ‘13

Ranked 51-91 in draft year

Arrival: 21-22

The top Wild goaltending prospect, Kaapo Kahkonen is set to make his first season in North America. The Finn had a save percentage of .922 and a Goals Against Average of 2.20 in Liiga. The 22 year old was playing in a league of men and dominated in 56 games he played. He was drafted 109th overall in the fourth round and looks like a steal. He could be a starting goaltender for the Wild sometime soon, and hopefully can be Dubnyk’s replacement when he deteriorates.

Ales Stezka:

G, 6’4, 190, 21, 111st Overall ‘15

USHL Champion

172nd Overall USHL Draft ‘15

Ranked 112 in draft year

Arrival: 22-23

Stezka is an intriguing prospect. He has size, but like many young goalies, positioning needs to be polished. Stezka posted an abysmal .858 save percentage and a 4.85 in Czech 2. Most goalies don’t start to really develop to 25, so there’s still hope.

Brandon Duhaime:

W, 6’1, 200, 21, 106th Overall ‘16

USHL Champion

No captaincy

115th Overall USHL Draft ‘15

Unranked in draft year

Arrival: 22-23

Duhaime is a 21 year old winger who attends Providence College. He put up 7-19=26 last year in the NCAA. He has moderate size, and could afford to throw his weight around more. He could slot into the third line one day with the Wild.

Connor Dewar:

C, 5’10, 175, 19, 92nd overall ‘18

Bantam Championship

Alternate captain Everett Silvertips

107th overall WHL Draft ‘14

Ranked 153-158 in draft year

Arrival: 23-24

Dewar was the last of three third round picks. In 68 games with the Everett Carter Hart’s, Dewar had a point in every one of them. 38 goals and 30 assists. I have a good feeling about him, as he could potentially be a top six guy, but he has to prove his mettle first. Will be the Captain for the Silvertips this upcoming season.

Damien Giroux:

C, 5’9, 177, 18, 155th overall in ‘18

Minor Midget champion

Captain bantam, captain minor midget, alternate captain Saginaw Spirit

44th overall OHL Draft ‘16

Ranked 180-190 in draft year

Arrival: 24-25

Giroux plays for the Saginaw Spirit in the OHL where he put up a 19-24=43 line in 68 games. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2018 draft. He’s a center with a bit of potential, maybe a bottom 6 or top 9 role for him is reachable.

Tate Olson:

LD, 6’2, 190, 21, 210th Overall ‘15

Midget AAA Champion

Alternate Captain Lethbridge Hurricanes

24th overall WHL Draft ‘12

Ranked 132 in draft year

Arrival: 21-22

The last of the Tiered bunch, Olson is the only one whose NHL rights are not owned by the Wild. Olson garnered an invite to the Wild’s training camp this year. Olson has great size in a position that the Wild’s prospect depth chart is rather dry in. Was recently cut from the Wild’s Camp but will report to Iowa.

If you would like to know more about the prospects in the “Everybody Else” Tier, do some research, read some articles. The likelihood of these players making it is very slim. If it starts to look better for some of them, we’ll write about them in the next one.

How did we do? is Kaapo Kahkkonen the best goaltender in the history of the world and we got it all wrong? Is Filip Johansson a bad defender with popsicle stick legs? Let us know in the comments and reddit threads. We would love to know what you folks think.