Kirill Kaprizov made an immediate impact for the Minnesota Wild when he had two assists and then scored in overtime in his NHL debut, a 4-3 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 14, 2021. The forward became the first player in NHL history with three points, including an overtime goal, in his first game.
He scored his 37th point April 19 to break Marian Gaborik's Wild rookie record of 36 points set in 2000-01.
Kirill Kaprizov made an immediate impact for the Minnesota Wild when he had two assists and then scored in overtime in his NHL debut, a 4-3 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 14, 2021. The forward became the first player in NHL history with three points, including an overtime goal, in his first game.
He scored his 37th point April 19 to break Marian Gaborik's Wild rookie record of 36 points set in 2000-01.
Kaprizov led NHL rookies in goals (27), points (51), power-play goals (eight) and shots on goal (157) in 55 games and won the Calder Trophy voted as NHL rookie of the year. The following season he scored 47 goals to break the Wild single-season record of 42 previously owned by Marian Gaborik (2007-08) and Eric Staal (2017-18) and became the first player in Wild history to score 100 points in one season (108). He also helped Minnesota set team records for most wins (53) and points (113).
The forward was chosen by the Wild in the fifth round (No. 135) of the 2015 NHL Draft.
Prior to joining the NHL, Kaprizov played six seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League. His best season was 2019-20 when he led the league with 33 goals and was third with 62 points. He also helped Olympic Athletes of Russia win the gold medal at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics by scoring five goals, tied with teammate Ilya Kovalchuk and Ryan Donato of the United States for the tournament lead.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- NHL All-Rookie Team (2021)
