The Minnesota Wild wasted no time giving Maxim Shabanov a real shot to make his mark.
On the opening day of training camp in St. Paul, the Russian newcomer skated on a line with Kirill Kaprizov, instantly dropping him into the conversation for a top-six role. For a team that spent the offseason reshaping its forward group, the first camp look offered a clear clue about where Shabanov stands in the mix.
That kind of assignment doesn’t lock anything in for the regular season. Camp combinations can flip fast, and Minnesota still has choices to sort through. But the opportunity is obvious, and if the pairing starts to click, it may be the kind of look the Wild won’t want to break up.
General Manager Bill Guerin made the team’s thinking clear when Minnesota signed Shabanov: "We see him in that top-six role," General Manager Bill Guerin said when the Wild signed Shabanov. "But we have to see who he's going to have the best chemistry with."
Shabanov’s first chance came at a time when the Wild are looking for answers around Kaprizov. Marcus Johansson’s departure leaves Minnesota searching for a new offensive combination, while the second line on the opening day featured Blake Coleman with Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy, a group built around two players who already know how to work together.
The initial NHL forward group also included Yakov Trenin, Bobby Brink, Danila Yurov, Marcus Foligno, Michael McCarron and Nick Foligno.
For Shabanov, the path is simple: make the most of the opening, and make it hard for the Wild to look elsewhere. One of the biggest questions coming into camp was whether Minnesota truly saw him as a legitimate top-six option, and the first answer points in that direction.
We will see if this sticks or not. But when you look at the rest of the roster, it seems like the only move.
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For Minnesota, Reaves was part of the roster for one season, bringing edge, energy and a loud personality to a team that always knew what kind of player it was getting. In his message, he reflected on being grateful for the career he had and for the role he played along the way, a fitting finish for a player whose value was never measured only on the scoresheet. [Read more 🡒]