The Minnesota Wild had a hot start to the season and are currently the second seed in the Western Conference’s Central Division. Kirill Kaprizov has been one of the top scorers in the league at the start, and it looks like he’s not going to slow down anytime soon. In this translated interview, Kaprizov talked about his fast start, his summer preparation, having Russian players in the Wild lineup, and his trip to Norway to play with Mats Zuccarello in a summer charity game.
*You can read the original talk with Kaprizov in his native Russian, by Igor Rabiner, on Sport-express here.*
The Wild have had an excellent start to the season so far. “We’re playing well defensively,” Kaprizov explains. “We may not be scoring a lot, but we’re solid in the back, and Gus (Filip Gustafsson) and Flower (Marc-Andre Fleury) are doing great. Plus, we’re constantly scoring the first goal in games, which makes it easier. That’s how we’re winning. As for my own play — there’s always room for improvement,” he admits.
Especially at the very start of the season, Kaprizov had way more assists than goals, then he finally started to find the back of the net. “Yeah, this is classic for me at the start of the season — goals come a bit harder,” the forward says. “But I’m glad we’re winning and getting some goals from my line. Just look at how many Zuki (Mats Zuccarello) have already scored! We need to keep playing like this, and I think the goals will come. Just need to drive to the net more, and the goals will follow.”
Kaprizov’s Summer Preparation
Minnesota’s head coach, John Hynes, said that the forward came to training camp in excellent shape. But Kaprizov didn’t change anything in his preparation. “Everything is pretty much the same,” he admits. “This summer, I was even home for a long time, stayed nearly two and a half to three months in Novokuznetsk without going anywhere. Just stayed in my village, Kuzedeyevo, with my parents, with family, all together. I did a bit of training there, kept up with my exercises regularly, and went into town for ice time. About two months before the season started, I went back to Moscow to work out with my trainer at the gym.”
The second half of last season was spectacular for Kaprizov, unlike the first. There, instead, something changed for the Russian forward. “I changed a few things…
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