Prospect Info: Wild Prospect Thread 2023-2024

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Just posted this on main forum thread - not trying to hijack this thread, but here is how I'd rank our prospects now that we are passed WJC. If I missed someone big, feel free to call me out. Doing this to kill time while waiting on laundry, and tried not to overthink it.

1. Danila Yurov - Was a huge fan when he was drafted and this year has certainly reinforced that excitement.
2. Wallstedt - Have been a huge believer in Wallstedt since the draft and still think he is probably the best goalie prospect outside of the NHL. He could easily be number 1 but I've seen more of Wallstedt the last two years, which is probably unfair, and have a minor concern about his athleticism/quickness from side to side.
3. Heidt - Little concerned he doesn't have the skating or grit for the NHL but can't deny the season he is having. He also didn't look out of place as an 18 year old with Haight and Walker in exhibition games.
4. Khusnutdinov - having a rough year but hoping its an aberration and can't put someone above him at this point.
5. Bankier - He's looking better and better when I see him. Still has to fill out, get better defensively, but his frame and offense (looks better than anticipated) look good to me.
6. Hunt - Looks to have speed, size, some offense - has been up and down this year so it's been hard to get a read, but he has a leg up on all the other D prospects. Prior to the year, I thought there was a lot more potential on the back end but they have looked pretty bad in Iowa.
7. Ohgren - Not impressed with his WJC performances but I will give him a break due to coming back from injury. Looks more like a good third liner.
8. Haight - every year I think he's going to break out and looks great from an eye test perspective, but doesn't improve that much statistically. Looked great with Heidt during exhibitions, so I am hopeful that his game is more mature and will be one of those prospects that comes out of nowhere when playing with smarter/more structured players.
9. Kumpulainen - seems to have a knack to score and has a good frame with good puck possession. Needs work on his skating though.
10. Lorenz - like his size and offense - much better this year than last year.

11. Lambos - his decision making has been terrible this year and defense doesn't look great; however, I have to put him above the other Dmen due to his skating. Iowa has been so bad - perhaps if he plays on a team that has some structure, he would look better...
12. Milne - I think he is for sure an NHLer at some point, but is it as a 4th liner that you can pick up on the waiver wire, or will he be a 3rd liner, great pker, with some offense to chip in? He's been hurt this year, so hard to say. At the end of last year, I would've said 3rd liner with great PK.
13. O'Rourke - finding out how to play simple and within himself - probably another year away but likely a 5 or 6th D-man.
14. Stramel - Size and some tools but I am not overly excited about him at this point.
15. Petrovsky - big fan of him two years ago - I know he had a decent WJC but it was against lesser teams. If he has a better second half in juniors, then may start to believe can be a middle 6er.
16. Beckman - small glimmer he can carve out a middle 6 role but he will have to play with someone who can set up his shot. Has improved positonally, passing wise, a little stronger on puck, but starting to look like he is what he is - a minor leaguer. I can see him being moved for another prospect similar of age/potential where both need a change of scenery.
17. Spacek - wow, if you would've asked me a few months ago, I'd have argued for him near the top of Wild D prospects due to watching him last WJC and in juniors. Like the other D in Iowa, looks lost, weak on pucks...and misses passes and can't get shots on net.
18. Peart - haven't seen him much this year but he looked like a smart, mobile Dman in years past.
19. Masters - Looks to be a bigger RHD with good reach, good on PP, but has foot speed issues. Been in and out like Spacek and used on last D pairing, but I've seen him make less mistakes...but possible due to being sheltered minutes.
20.Parker/Pionk/Healey - have seen a few games of Parker this year and none of Pionk or Healey, so they are my last ones.

Have not seen Jimmy Clark, although has produced more than I thought he would for his first year in NCAA. Walker - he will be a tweener like Nic Petan. Johansson - don't see him having that much more potential and if he is better than the other Iowa D, it ain't by much. Novak - he's in ECHL and didn't even get a call last week when they needed 5 or 6 bodies (if he's hurt, apologies). Firstov is just never coming back overseas, at least for the Wild.
 
I can't tell if Hunt is better than the other LD prospects, or if he's just lucky to be the getting out of the mess of an AHL team.

Kumpulainen was the one I was most interested in seeing this year. The CHL is fine for him this year, as an adjustment year, but I'd like to see him at a higher level next season.

Stramel and Ohgren I'm giving to the end of their seasons to make any hard observations. They've both had some adversity this year. I want to see how they finish the season.

Wallstedt and Yurov have been good. Heidt is having a great season. The rest has been meh to me (some stats watching and some watching games).

Firstov (he's cooled off) is a wildcard to me, the whole situation with him is weird.
 
I can't tell if Hunt is better than the other LD prospects, or if he's just lucky to be the getting out of the mess of an AHL team.
This is a fair point. I will say that when he returned after one of his first stints with the big club, he stood out in a good way, and was a difference maker statistically. At the beginning of the year, I would say I had him slightly at the top, only because the Wild brass seemed to put him there. But with what I saw in the Iowa games in which he played, I'd say it's warranted. By how much, who knows since its a shitshow in Iowa. I hope Franson is what they needed down there...
 
Post WJC Top 10

1. Wallstedt
1A. Yurov

3. Khusnutdinov
4. Ohgren
5. Peart
6. Heidt

7. Stramel
8. Hunt

9. Kumpalainen
10. Lambos

***forgot Bankier. He would slot in around 6
 
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Looking like maybe 2.5 future top 6/top 4/1G's at the moment.

Was really hoping that Lambos would've hit the AHL running this year.
 
Post WJC Top 10

1. Wallstedt
1A. Yurov

3. Khusnutdinov
4. Ohgren
5. Peart
6. Heidt

7. Stramel
8. Hunt

9. Kumpalainen
10. Lambos
For a team that has had a ton of draft picks in the top 60...that's pretty meh in terms of talent. Huge drop off between Heidt and Stramel and Peart and Lambos.
 
For a team that has had a ton of draft picks in the top 60...that's pretty meh in terms of talent. Huge drop off between Heidt and Stramel and Peart and Lambos.
I agree. A lot of depth but looks like almost none will be difference makers but rather younger versions of the veterans they will replace. The saving grace is that Faber & Rossi have established themselves and are just barely graduated so the young core is better than this list portrays.
 
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When your number 3 prospect is an slightly built, average scorer in the KHL, going to be 22 and likely re-signing in Russia, and your most recent first rounder is a third-line left winger as a sophomore... I'd say yeah that's pretty meh.

Confused why someone would have Peart over Lambos... same draft, but one guy is a pro. No doubt he's struggling at times, but he's definitely ahead.
 
When your number 3 prospect is an slightly built, average scorer in the KHL, going to be 22 and likely re-signing in Russia, and your most recent first rounder is a third-line left winger as a sophomore... I'd say yeah that's pretty meh.

Confused why someone would have Peart over Lambos... same draft, but one guy is a pro. No doubt he's struggling at times, but he's definitely ahead.
Where did you see that Marat is re-signing in Russia?
 
Confused why someone would have Peart over Lambos... same draft, but one guy is a pro. No doubt he's struggling at times, but he's definitely ahead.
It’s not like Peart couldn’t be playing in Iowa if he wanted to. I’ve always been high on him, as have many actual prospect experts. Lambos seems like he can’t process pro game quick enough
 
When your number 3 prospect is an slightly built, average scorer in the KHL, going to be 22 and likely re-signing in Russia, and your most recent first rounder is a third-line left winger as a sophomore... I'd say yeah that's pretty meh.

Confused why someone would have Peart over Lambos... same draft, but one guy is a pro. No doubt he's struggling at times, but he's definitely ahead.
Faber was playing in college last year while O'Rourke was playing in the AHL. Are you saying that O'Rourke is, and was, a better prospect?
 
When your number 3 prospect is an slightly built, average scorer in the KHL, going to be 22 and likely re-signing in Russia, and your most recent first rounder is a third-line left winger as a sophomore... I'd say yeah that's pretty meh.

Confused why someone would have Peart over Lambos... same draft, but one guy is a pro. No doubt he's struggling at times, but he's definitely ahead.

Put them in a hat and pick out a name for the LD rankings. I'd usually put the AHL players ahead of college, but Iowa defense is just a tire fire so playing there and being meh isn't a positive. MN picked what, 7(?), d-men from the '20 and '21 draft (eligible) classes.
 
Faber was playing in college last year while O'Rourke was playing in the AHL. Are you saying that O'Rourke is, and was, a better prospect?
Uh huh. My general thinking when ranking prospects takes into account 1) upside 2) pro readiness 3) age 4) draft pedigree 5) etc. So when you have two players with similar upside, but one is already a pro, seems like a no-brainer to rank him ahead. Peart is smaller, and hasn't really stuck out in a positive way when I've seen him. Surely not writing him off or anything. But you have to admit that smallish, not overly skilled, left-handed defensemen are rarely equated with "NHL impact player."
Where did you see that Marat is re-signing in Russia?
Speculating, but based on his performance this season and other factors, I'm not sure that the Wild or the player are rushing him to Iowa. I've liked Khustnudinov's game on the occasions I've watched him but he doesn't project as an NHL player.

It seems like a pretty weak pool to me, and I was really enthusiastic about Brackett initially. Watching Perreault excel made me feel worse about Stramel. Watching Snuggerud (wouldn't say he's bound for stardom) made me feel worse about Ohgren. Sure, it's limited samples, but Kaprizov and JEE were standouts at the WJC and are standouts now.
 
Lambos has all the tools and no tool box. He's like Addison
I think Addison is just not strong enough to play defense in the NHL, but thanks to his skill level he never really had to worry about it much. Scoring just under half a point per game as he did last season is actually --- pretty good! at the NHL level for a guy with no tool box.

As for Lambos, he's a 20 year old rookie on a bad team in a tough pro league. He's actually getting pucks on net and putting up a few points. Probably too soon to say the game will never slow down for him, but maybe you're right.
 
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It's a crapshoot after Wallstedt and Yurov at this point, coming down to what traits you value more than others. I have Peart at 5 and Haight at 16, wouldn't have a problem with someone having them reversed, I just see traits in Peart that translate to a 3-5 defenseman and I don't see traits in Haight that get him to the NHL over the 15 guys in front of him. Low on Milne too because I see a 4th line winger that ends up in the pressbox if the team wants to play big.
~3-17 feel like a group of players that would be players in the 5-12 range of an average prospect pool.
 
Milne and Kumpulainen are my favorite prospects, I couldn't even give a reason why. They aren't the "best" prospects on the team, but they are the ones I'm rooting for a bit more than the others.
 
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Better than Peart? Very possibly.
I havent watched Peart much so I dont know what to think tbh,

As far as stat-watching (which is all most of us do since none of us have time to watch everything) sure its a down year but prior to this he was out-producing Faber's NCAA career.

As far as tools I think he's pretty damn smart and he's a hell of a skater. He's not big - goligoski or addison sized but that's big enough to play if paired up with the right guy.

Lambos vs Peart is a tough call for me right now. Lambos is a higher ceiling but I generally prefer the smarter player. Even if thru rote repetition Lambos learns idk that he'll ever have the stick skills or reaction-time of a reliable NHL defenseman.

In my own rankings of Wild prospects I have Lambos significantly higher than Peart bc I want to believe there could be something that could change that could result in him being just smarter in all aspect on the ice. Like just load the kid up on caffeine and smelling salts before the game and suddenly he becomes another unicorn like Faber. Realistically Peart is prob the better player bc maybe he can make it to the NHL as like a better version of Goligosi/Addison.
 
I havent watched Peart much so I dont know what to think tbh,

As far as stat-watching (which is all most of us do since none of us have time to watch everything) sure its a down year but prior to this he was out-producing Faber's NCAA career.

As far as tools I think he's pretty damn smart and he's a hell of a skater. He's not big - goligoski or addison sized but that's big enough to play if paired up with the right guy.

Lambos vs Peart is a tough call for me right now. Lambos is a higher ceiling but I generally prefer the smarter player. Even if thru rote repetition Lambos learns idk that he'll ever have the stick skills or reaction-time of a reliable NHL defenseman.

In my own rankings of Wild prospects I have Lambos significantly higher than Peart bc I want to believe there could be something that could change that could result in him being just smarter in all aspect on the ice. Like just load the kid up on caffeine and smelling salts before the game and suddenly he becomes another unicorn like Faber. Realistically Peart is prob the better player bc maybe he can make it to the NHL as like a better version of Goligosi/Addison.

Goli was pretty dang good in Dallas. The Goli we see in MN is a shell of what he used to be as a player.
 
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Milne and Kumpulainen are my favorite prospects, I couldn't even give a reason why. They aren't the "best" prospects on the team, but they are the ones I'm rooting for a bit more than the others.
I can appreciate this. Sometimes you just enjoy watching the way a dude plays or his personality or whatever. I think Milne is prob a skilled AAAA player that can play a valuable role in making Iowa less dogshit for guys like Heidt and Haight to play with in the near future or maybe even the Wild in the event of another rash of injuries like currently.

Kumpulainen seems to me like another result of the Wild having a policy of like... whenever they're not sure or cant agree about who to draft they just ask themselves "which of these players available most resembles Joel Erikkson Ek?" - which I'm not opposed to. The talking heads around the team often talk about the identity of the team, and the identity is pretty damn clear - its Ek.

Goli was pretty dang good in Dallas. The Goli we see in MN is a shell of what he used to be as a player.
Ya, fair. Its a very loose comp. Just meant the combo of size, skating, and smarts. Like Alex is actually pretty smart and good skater. Just old AF. I have no idea if Peart reaches that level but that seems like the sort of defensemen he would be.
 
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