(Editor’s Note: Mariah Holland has joined the Patriot as a contributing columnist for 2021. Her writings will appear on a monthly basis.)

Kirill Kaprizov — or “Kirill the Thrill” as his teammates have affectionately nicknamed him —  has been all Wild fans can talk about these days. His nickname is sure to stick as the season moves along and his play continues. He’s shown how truly talented he is and now that the Wild are more than 10 games into the season, it’s time to do a little check in with how Kaprizov is doing.

By looking at his play, you’d never guess he was a rookie playing his very first season in the NHL. He’s very composed and doesn’t seem to show any nerves when he’s on the ice. He always looks like he’s either deep in concentration looking for that next play, or just having a good time. 

Speaking of that next play, one of Kaprizov’s greatest skills is his ability to read the situation and find the open ice or the open player. He’s even good at using himself as a decoy by carrying the puck around the offensive zone waiting for the perfect shot to open up or one of his teammates to have found an empty spot in front of the net. 

Creating open spaces is just one of his many talents. He’s easily one of the fastest, if not, the fastest skater on the Wild roster. He can go end-to-end multiple times in the same play and not seem winded or worn down. I, personally have not seen a player with this kind of talent since the days when Marian Gaborik first played for the Wild. 

Kaprizov’s energy level is nonstop, his feet are always moving and he’s seldom standing still. When he’s watching for the puck and might be able to stop for a second, his feet are doing cross-overs and just continuously moving. He’s always ready to catch a pass and be on the move up the ice. 

Kaprizov is also probably one of the most versatile players on the Wild lineup. He can play with just about any combination Wild Head Coach Dean Evason can put together. Originally he started out on the top line with Zach Parise as his wing partner and Nick Bjugstad as his center. A few games in Evason juggled the lines a bit and Kaprizov was still paired with Parise but had Victor Rask as center. 

Once again things went well with that combination but the lines were juggled again. Their power play has struggled off and on all season but the last few games there were flutters of hope including their third game of four against the Colorado Avalanche. Kaprizov managed to score on the power play from none other than line-mate Parise and also newcomer Gerry Mayhew. Kaprizov and Fiala are dynamic on the power play they just have to find their groove and they’ll start scoring goals. 

After their 2-1 loss against the Avalanche on Tuesday night, Kaprizov was sitting on top of the rookie standings, just one point ahead of second place and averaging just shy of one point per game. If he can keep it up he’ll have nearly 50 points at the end of the season which would be even more than Gaborik in his rookie season with the Wild. 

There’s still plenty of time left for Kaprizov to really unleash his talent and I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us this season and his hopeful run for rookie of the year as well as maybe a Stanley Cup for the Wild. My goals may be a little farfetched but I’ve definitely become a Kaprizov fan.