Is Kirill Kaprizov the best player/sniper in the NHL?

[beowulf]

No, just no.

 

[Rob Brown]

Yeah he is one of the best snipers in the league. But one of the top ~10 to 15 best or so.

You think Kaprizov is a top 10-15 goal scorer? Even though he's 4th in goals the last three years? Okay.

 

[thestonedkoala]

His centers have been Victor Rask, Ryan Hartman and Sam Steele for most of his career in Minnesota. Behind them are Freddie Gaudreau, Joel Eriksson-Ek and uhh Dewar? I have no idea. Minnesota has only one top 6 center and he doesn't play with Kaprizov. He also got Zuccarello, a good player, to become an almost elite player.

With that said he isn't the top sniper or even goal scorer in the NHL. But to say he isn't top 5 is asinine given his supporting cast.

 

[Dickie Dunn]

As a Wild fan, I am thrilled he is in the discussion. 5th round pick, took years to come over from Russia and somehow has managed to out perform the hype despite the roster that the Wild have put around him. Many posters will take the time to stop by and drop their "obviously not" comments in here but the fact he is in the conversation is a minor miracle. For every Kaprizov there are a couple dozen Russian players who are barely ever heard from again.

 

[LemonSauceD]

As a Wild fan, I am thrilled he is in the discussion. 5th round pick, took years to come over from Russia and somehow has managed to out perform the hype despite the roster that the Wild have put around him. Many posters will take the time to stop by and drop their "obviously not" comments in here but the fact he is in the conversation is a minor miracle. For every Kaprizov there are a couple dozen Russian players who are barely ever heard from again.

Kaprizov is one of the best in the game for sure. Watching him in Canucks games, he’s an unreal talent. Doesn’t get enough flowers around the league like he should.

He’s easily a top 15, top 10 player IMO

 

[Unspecified]

He’s got a good case. He’s the best winger in the NHL.

Says who? You? He is NOT the best winger in the NHL.

 

[ICanMotteBelieveIt]

Nope, next!

 

[TGWL]

This thread seems like "goal scorer" rather than sniper, especially when tossing out stats for goals / game. A player like Brock Nelson has shot near 18% on wrist shots over the last 3 seasons but won't be viewed in the same category because he doesn't score as many goals.

 

[ViD]

He’s not a sniper, he’s an all around offensive beast

 

[ThatGuy22]

Says who? You? He is NOT the best winger in the NHL.

He's certainly in the conversation. ESPN surveyed 10 players, and 10 front office types just this week. Kaprizov finished 3rd behind Pasta and Kucherov.

He certainly doesn't have the offensive support those two have, especially down the middle.

He’s not a sniper, he’s an all around offensive beast

Ya, i've never considered him a Sniper. He's got a good shot. He's just ridiculously creative and just knows how to get the puck in the net from almost literally any place on the ice.

 

[stranger]

Great player. Top 20 in the league.

 

[westc2]

Not sure about the "sniper" aspect, but I'd probably put Kaprizov as a top 5 forward in the NHL right now. Ever since I saw highlights from him before he came to the NHL I knew he was going to be one of the best players in the league.

 

[blundluntman]

Nope

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Rantanen 102g in 182gp, I dont know how your math is, but both Rantanen and Ovqchkin have better g/gp than Kaprizov?

You also convienantly forgot Pasta - 101g in 176gp

So does Pastrnak with 101 in 176 for 0.57 GPG

 

[Maple Leaf]

You ever heard of Peter Bondra?

 

[kp61c]

It's impressive how much he scores indeed despite Minnesota's best efforts to surround him with subpar talent.

 

[GirardSpinorama]

He's certainly in the conversation. ESPN surveyed 10 players, and 10 front office types just this week. Kaprizov finished 3rd behind Pasta and Kucherov.

He certainly doesn't have the offensive support those two have, especially down the middle.



Ya, i've never considered him a Sniper. He's got a good shot. He's just ridiculously creative and just knows how to get the puck in the net from almost literally any place on the ice.

Ya he scored a beautiful backend against the Avs just recently. Exemplify his abilities.

 

[abo9]

He is next to #97 and you and I both know that.


It’s still Kucherov or Kane when he’s hot

Does Kane still takes over games? I think Kap is better today, but Kane is also like 10 years older and Kap in his prime lol

 

[Unspecified]

He's certainly in the conversation. ESPN surveyed 10 players, and 10 front office types just this week. Kaprizov finished 3rd behind Pasta and Kucherov.

He certainly doesn't have the offensive support those two have, especially down the middle.



Ya, i've never considered him a Sniper. He's got a good shot. He's just ridiculously creative and just knows how to get the puck in the net from almost literally any place on the ice.

You stated he was the best winger in the NHL and he is clearly not. So they surveyed 10 players? A whole 10 players?

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

Top 20, 15ish player. Idk what about all that other stuff though.

 

[GeeoffBrown]

I've personally got Matthews, Ovechkin, Pastrnak, since they've got the Rockets

A real contender is Tage Thompson. His 3rd year out was bad but he had 38 last season and he will have 40-50 this season

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

You stated he was the best winger in the NHL and he is clearly not. So they surveyed 10 players? A whole 10 players?

In a new survey of 10 Minnesota wild players, it’s concluded that KK97 is the best player in the NHL.

 

[ThatGuy22]

You stated he was the best winger in the NHL and he is clearly not. So they surveyed 10 players? A whole 10 players?

I didn't say that. Another poster did. I said he was in the conversation, and he is.

He's probably closer to 1 than 10.

 

[NickyFotiu]

Do people watch how much Kap and Zooks pass to each other? Some are really sleeping on how often Zooks looks for him.

 

[Connor McConnor]

He makes my 8-10 probably