Kirill Kaprizov has spent the first stretch of training camp in a very different setup than the one he grew into with the Wild.
For six seasons, Mats Zuccarello was the constant beside him - the winger who helped turn Kaprizov’s early years in Minnesota into a partnership built on timing, touch and an almost uncanny feel for where each other would be. That bond went beyond hockey, too. Zuccarello, from Norway, helped Kaprizov adjust to life in the United States, and the language barrier got handled in a pretty unusual way: Zuccarello sent texts in English, and Kaprizov used an app to translate them into Russian.
Even his teammates still shake their heads at that setup.
“He went to a Norwegian to learn English,” Marcus Foligno said. “I don’t know about that.”
Now Zuccarello is with the Los Angeles Kings after signing a one-year deal over the summer. The contract is worth $1 million, with an additional $5 million bonus if he plays 10 or more games. He missed the first month of last season but still put up 54 points in 59 games, and at 39, the Wild clearly weren’t going to commit that kind of money to a forward at that stage of his career.
That leaves Kaprizov looking for a new rhythm.
On the opening day of camp, the Wild put Russian newcomer Maxim Shabanov on his wing with Ryan Hartman at center, and coach John Hynes said he had already discussed the idea with Kaprizov.
“I did talk to him about, you know, let’s look at Shabanov with you, and he was good with that,” Hynes said after the team’s opening day intrasquad scrimmage. “I think as we move forward, he and I will have some conversations about how he feels, how he thinks things are coming, and how he feels now, being back here.”
Hartman, meanwhile, is doing his own part to make the new arrangement work.
“It’s all Russian. I’m learning.
I’m getting there,” Hartman joked. “It’s a complete 180 from when Kirill got here.
We’re all speaking Russian.”
Kaprizov came back to Minnesota in early September after spending much of the summer in his small-town home in Russia. The first NHL skate of his career without Zuccarello alongside him felt off to him, and he didn’t hide that.
“For me it’s sad a little bit. We’re good friends, and everyone know that.
We really good friends. We talk in the summer, and it’s just part of the hockey,” said Kaprizov, who led the team with 45 goals and 89 points in 78 games last season.
“It happens. Somebody signs.
Somebody don’t sign and change teams. It’s a lot of business, and a lot of times it happens.
I just want to talk with him in the future and stay good friends. And just I hope he play good there and want to watch him this year.”
There’s already at least one encouraging sign with Shabanov. After the first official practice, Kaprizov liked what he saw from the 25-year-old, who starred with Traktor Chelyabinsk in the KHL before making his NHL debut with the New York Islanders last season. Injuries limited Shabanov to 44 games, but he still managed five goals and 13 assists for an Islanders team that missed the playoffs.
“I understand him; it was up and down. I think just have confidence, feeling the game.
Get some more time on the ice and have more chances, stuff like this. He can be a really good player,” Kaprizov said.
“He’s already a really good player, because he was one of the best players in KHL two years in a row. He’s really good in skill and good skater, smart, nice vision.”
Shabanov probably won’t replace what Zuccarello meant to Kaprizov away from the rink. But if he can help create anything close to that old on-ice chemistry, the Wild will take it.
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