Kaprizov leads the league in scoring

[ThatGuy22]

Guess who's back ... 2 goals, 1 assist tonight.

Should put him at 27 points to MacKinnons 25 in equal games.

What's interesting is it's almost all primary points. Only 5 secondary assists in there.

9 goals, 13 first assists(another thing he's leading the league at).

 

[Paul4587]

Great story but he’s riding a 15% on ice shooting percentage and the Wild have had an incredibly weak schedule so far so I don’t think he’s staying a top the league in scoring for too long.

That being said, I think he has propelled himself into the conversation for best winger in the game now. I have him second behind Kucherov.

 

[Sports123]

I don't see any schedule factor. They had good opponents in previous games and they have weak opponents in the future games. 15% shooting percentage is quite average for a good team and good line

 

[Obvious Fabertism]

Great story but he’s riding a 15% on ice shooting percentage and the Wild have had an incredibly weak schedule so far so I don’t think he’s staying a top the league in scoring for too long.

That being said, I think he has propelled himself into the conversation for best winger in the game now. I have him second behind Kucherov.

They have been on the road 9 times already, so the opponents, who haven't been that bad prior to the last two, have had ample opportunity to line match him, but not many have been successful. Kaprizov has just been very very good at driving play, and his passing and vision have been otherworldly, lots of fun to watch!

The Wild have the 3rd easiest SOS remaining based on opponent win percentage, so its not like things are going to get much more difficult, and the close the season out with 14 of 19 at home mostly against the Pacific. NHL Remaining Schedule Strength | Tankathon

 

[NotCommitted]

It's a bit crazy if you look at the team mates he has compared to other top scorers in the league. MacKinnon has Makar and Rantanen, Draisaitl and MacDavid have each other, Kucherov usually has quite a bit of separation to his team mates but even he has / have had Point, Stamkos, Hedman, in Florida there's Reinhart, Barkov, Tkachuk, Toronto forward group is full of offensive potential etc.

Kaprizov has / has had Zuccarello, Boldy and Fiala... now gotta admit I have watched barely any Wild hockey over the past several seasons, and nothing to take away from those guys, but I can't help but think Kaprizov's numbers would get a huge boost from having another star player in the team.

 

[Calderon]

On Kaprizov's player page in NHL.com it says the following:

Then during Kaprizov's third NHL season (2022-23), his goal and two assists in Minnesota's 4-2 win against the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 18 gave him 200 points in his NHL career. Only three players active that season reached the mark in fewer games: Sidney Crosby (142 games), Alex Ovechkin (165 games) and Evgeni Malkin (166 games).

They've dropped the ball by omitting the actual number of games in said feat. It's 167 games.

I was suspicious but it did take McDavid a little longer, namely 173 games.

As for other active players, not sure if there's anyone else besides Cale Makar (195 games) to reach 200 points in 200 or fewer games. Pretty awesome for Makar.

 

[keglu]

I don't see any schedule factor. They had good opponents in previous games and they have weak opponents in the future games. 15% shooting percentage is quite average for a good team and good line

15% is definietly not quite average. Also according to hockey reference he is at 18.6% oish% currently.

 

[Reindl87]

Best Player in the League at the Moment.

 

[CanadienShark]

Does anyone think this guy is elite yet?



Super fun player to watch. He's part of that "next wave" that you basically expect 100 points from.

 

[Regal]

15% is definietly not quite average. Also according to hockey reference he is at 18.6% oish% currently.

I think they’re referring just to 5v5. It was at 14.66% heading into tonight, and the highest so far in his career has been 11.9%.

 

[Prior]

Kaprizov has been on these sorts of extended runs several times before in his tenure just not something we have seen at this time of the year. He’s absolutely capable of sustaining it just yet to be seen. Rossi is a better center than he’s ever had to this point outside of a run with JEE last year. That helps but there’s some room in Rossi’s game and it comes and goes to some degree.

Contrary to some perspective on this team, they do have firepower that will help Kaprizov continue to pile up points. Specifically Boldy who’s emerging as a star level player with an extremely uncommon skill set at this level. Not many have played the type of game he does and he’s still very young and improving himself.

 

[Romang67]

I don't see any schedule factor. They had good opponents in previous games and they have weak opponents in the future games. 15% shooting percentage is quite average for a good team and good line

No single player in at least the past 10 seasons (I didn't care to go past that, but it's many more than that) has eclipsed 14% on-ice sh% 5v5 over a full season.

 

[Zalos]

Please slow down, Kirill.

 

[The Hockey Tonk Man]

And I remember he was still 17 yo, and nobody gave a f*** for him outside Russia. But in Russia he was considered a future superstar. And then they picked him in the 5th round, lol. With a pick they got from Boston for I don't remember who or what.

I could be wrong, but think they just swapped 5th round picks
You’re welcome haha

 

[JPT]

Please slow down, Kirill.

No I need him to pick up the pace, actually

 

[CutOnDime97]

Cool to see him and Minnesota do well

 

[BagHead]

It's a bit crazy if you look at the team mates he has compared to other top scorers in the league. MacKinnon has Makar and Rantanen, Draisaitl and MacDavid have each other, Kucherov usually has quite a bit of separation to his team mates but even he has / have had Point, Stamkos, Hedman, in Florida there's Reinhart, Barkov, Tkachuk, Toronto forward group is full of offensive potential etc.

Kaprizov has / has had Zuccarello, Boldy and Fiala... now gotta admit I have watched barely any Wild hockey over the past several seasons, and nothing to take away from those guys, but I can't help but think Kaprizov's numbers would get a huge boost from having another star player in the team.

I think people are going to have a different opinion of Boldy after this season.

 

[ThatGuy22]

Even sti

I think people are going to have a different opinion of Boldy after this season.

True, but they only play PP together. Each drive their own line 5v5

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

On Kaprizov's player page in NHL.com it says the following:


They've dropped the ball by omitting the actual number of games in said feat. It's 167 games.

I was suspicious but it did take McDavid a little longer, namely 173 games.

As for other active players, not sure if there's anyone else besides Cale Makar (195 games) to reach 200 points in 200 or fewer games. Pretty awesome for Makar.

A great accomplishment to be sure, but when they do these comparisons, they always leave out ages. His 23-26 years aren't exactly the same as their 18-21 years.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I could be wrong, but think they just swapped 5th round picks
You’re welcome haha

We traded a 2016 5th rounder to Boston for their 2015 5th round. Boston drafted Cameron Clarke in 2016.

We had already traded our original 2015 5th rounder for Jordan Leopold.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Best Russian scorers used to be Ovi (1OA), Geno (2OA) and Kovy (1OA). Now it's Kuch (2nd round), Kap (5th round) and Bread (undrafted). What a regress!

 

[BagHead]

We traded a 2016 5th rounder to Boston for their 2015 5th round. Boston drafted Cameron Clarke in 2016.

We had already traded our original 2015 5th rounder for Jordan Leopold.

18 games of Jordan Leopold almost cost us Kirill Kaprizov? I did like him with Dumba, though, so six in one hand, half dozen in the other?

 

[Paul4587]

I don't see any schedule factor. They had good opponents in previous games and they have weak opponents in the future games. 15% shooting percentage is quite average for a good team and good line

Over the past 10 years a 15% on ice shooting percentage has never been sustained by any player over a full 82 game schedule. The highest over that period was Travis Boyd at 13.4%. Kaprizov has never been above 11.9%.

As the year goes on that percentage is going to come down, it’s inevitable.

 

[State of Hockey]

He's off to a roaring start with his team's usual playoff-like intensity in the regular season, but statistically the only significant difference this year in his individual and team on-ice shooting percentage. His possession stats are the usual spot just over 50%. His shots on goal are actually well down from the past three years. He's making great plays and that helps the shooting percentage, but what he's doing will fade at some point this season.

His hot start is probably the worst case scenario for us as a franchise. If you believe he's the guy to keep for the long-term, and he wants to stay, his price is skyrocketing. Could be the dangerous contract year bump happening right now.

 

[Statto]

I’m a Kings fan and watched MN beat the Oilers in ‘23, in MN. Kaprisov was the best player on the ice and outworked the big two by some distance. I was disappointed as I was looking forward to seeing McDrai as it may be my only chance (I’m in the UK) but Kaprisov was box office. I should emphasise I’m talking about a specific game. I’m not saying he’s better that McDavid…