Selected by Minnesota in the fifth round (No. 135) in the 2015 NHL Draft, Kaprizov has led the Wild in points in four of his five NHL seasons and won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 2020-21. He has 386 points (15th in the NHL), and 185 goals (tied for eighth) in 319 games since entering the League.

The warmer months will be spent with friends playing video games, hanging out on the water and occasionally fishing – something Kaprizov admitted he has never done in Minnesota.

Since he was hired as general manager, Bill Guerin has wanted to build the Wild into a championship team. Almost six years on the job, Guerin finally has his best chance to do that. “This is the first time we’ve had real flexibility in a long,