He's a keeper: Kaprizov dazzles with three-point night in NHL debut

When a guy has more nicknames than games played, you know the hype is real.
On this night, however, it wasn't 'Magic Man' or 'Kirill the Thrill' that was the most appropriate moniker. Perhaps the most fitting was the nickname bestowed by Matt Dumba, 'Dolla Bill Kirill,' because in his NHL debut in Los Angeles on Thursday night, Kirill Kaprizov was money.
The rookie forward tallied two assists then added the game-winning goal in overtime for good measure as the Wild rallied for a 4-3 victory against the Kings.

It was an ending fit for Hollywood.

The Wild and it's patient fan base have waited five long years for Kaprizov's entry into the National Hockey League. Ever since the club drafted Kaprizov in the fifth round of the 2015 NHL Draft, highlights of him have tantalized fans in the State of Hockey.
The wait was worth it.
"He was awesome tonight," said Wild forward Marcus Foligno. "I've been saying it day one since he's been here; his attitude, his work ethic is very special. For a guy with the hype around him, you worry that sometimes he might get lost in it. But not this guy. When he scores, it's natural and he expects himself to score every night."
It took Kaprizov just 16 minutes to find the scoresheet on Thursday, when he gathered in the puck near the red line, skated into the offensive zone along the right-wing board then zoomed to the middle of the ice. The puck rolled off his stick but right to Jonas Brodin, who whipped a shot past Jonathan Quick to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead.

The Kings would score the next three goals to take a 3-1 lead into the final period, but Kaprizov would play a big part in the Wild's rally.
The rookie forward corralled the puck behind the Kings' cage and managed to elude a defender, creating plenty of space at the bottom of the right circle before dishing to Victor Rask in the slot. He fired through a screen in front by Zach Parise to make it 3-2 just over three minutes into the final frame.

Foligno would tie the game 6 1/2 minutes later, setting up Kaprizov's overtime heroics.
But what may have made Kaprizov's night more special is that what he did seems sustainable. He isn't going to post three points every night, but his points were not created by super-human, highlight-reel offensive plays. Or by luck.
They were created by quality stick work, a willingness to battle for loose pucks, quality play without the puck on his stick and, on the overtime winner, high hockey IQ in the neutral zone, anticipating a dangerous pass near center and intercepting it, creating a prime scoring chance all alone with Quick.
The puck rolled off his tape at the last moment, but as linemate Zach Parise noted, "he earned it."
"Sometimes there can be that reputation for the Russians, and I think it's unfair ... but that they can focus a little too much on offense and leave the defense to other people," Parise said. "I thought that he did, and he's done a really good job all camp, but I thought once we got into the game, he did a good job of competing without the puck, doing what we could to get it back and not at all being a liability in our own zone."
It was the little things that had his coach tickled pink after the game.
"We'll all be talking about the offensive side of the puck, but the defensive side of the puck was awesome as well," said Wild coach Dean Evason. "When you have no fear as a staff to put someone on the ice who is special like that, it makes it a very easy decision."
At 23 years old and in his first NHL game, Kaprizov played in more minutes than any other Wild forward.
"His aerobic capacity is phenomenal," Evason said. "He comes off, there's no red face, no heavy, heavy breathing. It's like he could go right away the next shift. But when you have the ability to go back to somebody like that, then clearly they're going to get some more ice time."
It helps too when you make the kind of every-shift impact that Kaprizov did.
On more than one occasion, the 5-foot-10, 200-pounder outmuscled the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Jeff Carter, or 6-foot-3, 225-pound Anze Kopitar, digging out loose pucks and creating other quality scoring chances that didn't go in.
It was the kind of memorable performance that might earn someone a nickname, if he didn't already have one. Or three.
But if his teammates are going to come up with a new moniker every time the kid scores a point, they better start brainstorming now. He has the look of someone who could pile up the points in bunches.
"We'll just keep making them up because he doesn't understand any of them," Foligno said. "It's perfect, we'll just keep switching them up on him and he'll just keep laughing at it. Yeah, there's going to be al lot of nicknames