Prospect System Ranking – 8th (Previous Rank - 5th)
GM: Bill Guerin Hired: August 2019
COACH: John Hynes Hired: November 2023
The Minnesota Wild are saddled with nearly $15 million in dead cap space due to the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. This financial squeeze only intensifies the need for young, affordable talent to step up.
Despite holding McKeen’s eighth-ranked prospect system, there are limited names ready to make an immediate NHL impact. Marat Khusnutdinov (ranked 99th) is one of the few exceptions, having come over from the KHL and suited up for 16 games in Minnesota last season. Liam Öhgren (98th) also grabbed two points in four NHL games but will likely spend more time in Iowa before securing a full-time spot.
All eyes are on Jesper Wallstedt, the 11th-ranked McKeen’s prospect overall and the second-rated goaltender. Having spent two years in the AHL, Wallstedt will likely remain in Iowa for another season, with Marc-André Fleury signing a one-year extension. But make no mistake about it, Wallstedt is the future between the pipes at the Xcel Energy Centre.
The Wild were fortunate to land one of the more intriguing defensive prospects in the 2024 NHL Draft when Zeev Buium (ranked 25th) fell to them at 12th overall. Despite being projected as a top 10 pick by most, Buium slipped and instantly became Minnesota’s top defensive prospect. Coming off a stellar freshman season at the University of Denver, which included accolades such as NCAA (NCHC) Best Offensive Defenceman and a U20 WJC Gold Medal, expectations are sky-high in his sophomore year. The hope is that he signs his pro papers by season’s end.
Meanwhile, Danila Yurov (36th) continues to develop well in the KHL. Coming off a historic season, he posted 49 points in 62 games to mark the best season for a second-year player in KHL history. Expected to return to Metallurg Magnitogorsk to defend his championship, Yurov should provide a significant talent boost for the Wild if he makes the jump to North America after the 2024-25 season.
Although the Wild may lack youthful talent ready to make the leap, their core group of young players is already well established. Led by 27-year-old Kirill Kaprizov, the team features youngsters like Matt Boldy (23), Marco Rossi (22), and the recently extended Brock Faber (21), they will hold down the fort until the list of reinforcements are ready to make the jump.
Minnesota Wild Top-15 Prospects
1. Jesper Wallstedt
With the Wild re-upping Marc-Andre Fleury for one final, farewell season it looks likely that Wallstedt will be heading back to the AHL for his third tour of duty there. And really, that’s probably for the best. His game is steadily progressing down there, he’s going to get the lion’s share of the starts for Iowa once again, and the NHL can be utterly vicious to young goalies if they’re not absolutely, completely ready to face it. Wallstedt sure does seem like he’s close to being ready, though. The group of skaters in front of him throughout 2023-24 wasn’t very good, and the club easily could have sunk near the bottom of the league standings if it wasn’t for their star young netminder and team MVP keeping them afloat. Much like many of the world’s best goalies, his large frame, tight technique, and unflappable mindset help him make stopping pucks look simple.
2. Zeev Buium
The top of the 2024 draft was so crowded that Buium easily could have been selected a lot higher than he was, and some other teams surely would have done so if they were the ones picking, but the Wild certainly aren't complaining about how that worked out for them. He wrapped up a true dream season for himself right before that, which included winning both a World Junior gold medal as well as an NCAA Frozen Four championship, the latter of which occurred alongside his older brother, Detroit prospect Shai. His game revolves around doing everything at a high pace, and he's masterfully methodical and precise with how he drives the puck through zones and opens things up offensively. He doesn't quite have the skating of Quinn Hughes or the offensive vision of Adam Fox, but the best-case scenario for him would be to become something of a blend of the two.
3. Danila Yurov
Yurov has finally started to get the ice time in the KHL that he so clearly deserved, and lo and behold, the results so far have been magnificent. He led his entire Magnitogorsk Metallurg team in scoring during the regular season, and not content to stop there, he continued to play a key role for the club as they romped through the playoffs and captured the league championship. There are few forwards out there who can boast having a bag of tricks as deep as his, with smooth hands that can drive possession with care and then extend it through mazes of sticks and skates. The Wild must be thrilled by his progression, because they want to be more competitive as soon as possible, and Yurov, achieving professional success already, might be able to make an impact in the NHL immediately, whenever he crosses the pond.
4. Riley Heidt
The Wild were able to wait all the way until 64th overall in the 2023 draft to pick Heidt, and the organization must still be outright thrilled by that stroke of good fortune, especially with the work he’s done dragging the Cougars from the WHL basement up to being one of the best teams in the league. He's a monstrous offensive threat and point producer, thanks primarily to his exceptional hockey sense and playmaking ability. He's also intensely focused, biding his time patiently to read the play and pick his spots before striking with surgical precision. There's a certain aura about him offensively, where he always seems to be in control and a step or two ahead of his victims. He's also making a lot of necessary progress with his off-puck engagement and resiliency. Prior worries about his ability to translate his game to the NHL level are starting to fall away quickly.
5. Liam Öhgren
Ohgren has had to fight through two straight injury-plagued seasons, so it was a nice gesture when Minnesota called him up late in the year after they were eliminated from the playoffs. And then he returned the favour by scoring his first career NHL goal, which probably felt great for both parties. He is a stocky bulldog of a forward who is great at driving pucks into high-danger areas, and then he also has an aptitude for getting them across the goal in ways both dirty and clean. How he plays takes its toll on his body, but the results speak for themselves. He’s also a born leader who has worn a letter on multiple Tre Kronor sweaters, which he could very likely do again at some point in the future, and his trophy case is already occupied by a number of differently coloured medals.
6. Marat Khusnutdinov
Khusnutdinov had a rather muted opening trial with the Wild, but the franchise is hoping that him getting his feet wet this spring will be a valuable stepping stone that will make him just that much better in the fall when he embarks upon his first full campaign in North America. Make no mistake, though, he showed some flashes of the razzle-dazzle that he was well-known for over in Russia. He can be truly electrifying with how he flies through the neutral zone with the puck on his stick, and once he gets more accustomed to the smaller ice surface of the NHL, he should be able to resume doing this as a regular occurrence. How well will he be able to handle the physical grind of an 82-game season? That’s the big question, and the answer will heavily influence how much value he brings.
7. Ryder Ritchie
Ritchie must feel glad to be done with 2023-24, which was a season riddled with injury issues, inconsistency, and bad puck luck while playing for a bad Raiders team. At least he was able to end his playing time on a high note, walking away with a gold medal from the U18s as a member of the Canadian squad, while scoring at a point-per-game clip. He had entered his draft year as one of the top prospects to watch after a stellar rookie season and impressive showing at the 2023 Hlinka tournament, where he also won a gold medal for Canada, so Minnesota is betting that he can rekindle more of his previous fire moving forward. He's a slippery, skilled winger who loves to attack and can single-handedly create scoring looks for himself or his teammates, while also having a lot of smarts and commitment for his defensive duties.
8. Carson Lambos
Are there any other prospects out there whose stock has fallen as much as Lambos’s has in recent years? Once considered a possible Top 10 pick in the 2021 draft, he ended up sliding down to the 26th selection that year. Things haven’t gone much better since, with stagnated development throughout the remainder of his tenure in the WHL, getting snubbed by Hockey Canada for their 2023 World Juniors roster, and then a wholly pedestrian debut season in the AHL. While he’s certainly not a liability in any of the key areas of the defense position, he doesn’t really excel in any of them either. It’s almost like he’s a player without a clear identity, and that’s always a cause for concern. Luckily for him and for the Wild, there’s still a lot of time left for him to figure things out, and he won’t be rushed along.
9. Daemon Hunt
Hunt is the type of defenceman who has a knack for winning over his coaches, because he seems to always find a way to get the job done, even if it's not always pretty or exciting. If he needs to bear down and defend hard, he can do it. If his team needs a goal and he needs to ramp up the pace, he can do that, too. The best way to describe him might be "low maintenance," and every team needs at least a few guys who fit that description. He’s wise and mature beyond his years, and comes across as someone with natural leadership tendencies, too. It's easy to foresee him repeatedly earning roster spots over more highly-touted peers and grinding out a long and popular NHL career, even if he rarely draws in on a team's top two defensive pairings or becomes any kind of special teams specialist.
10. Charlie Stramel
The 2023-24 season is one that Stramel surely wants to forget. His draft year was strong, strong enough that he got selected 21st overall by the Wild, but he unfortunately followed it up by taking a step backward. His point production slowed down, his overall impact on games waned, his ice time was cut, and he was left off the American roster for the World Juniors despite being included the prior two times. Unsurprisingly, he opted to enter the NCAA transfer portal after it was all said and done, leaving the struggling Wisconsin program for the up-and-coming Michigan State and a reunion with his former coach Adam Nightingale, which might be a career-saving change of scenery for him. There's still enough of a foundation in place for him to eventually become a physical two-way forward in the NHL, but he'll desperately need to find some way to snap out of his funk.
11. Aron Kiviharju
At the start of last season, it would have been unheard of to think that Kiviharju would slide to the 4th round of the draft. However, his progression hit a roadblock, raising questions about his NHL upside. His hockey sense is undeniably great, but for a defenceman of his size, his skating and puck skills might not be as good as they need to be. Many past defenders who resembled him struggled to succeed. Will he be able to buck that trend?
12. Ryan O'Rourke
O’Rourke garnered a lot of fans during his OHL days with his no-nonsense, shutdown brand of defending. The concern that has surfaced, however, is whether his individual tools are good enough to be that kind of player in the pros. He’s not especially big, tough, or athletic, and now he’s much less able to neutralize opponents than he used to be. His character is high and he has experience being a leader, but can those traits help him turn the tide?
13. Hunter Haight
A trade from Barrie to Saginaw in 2022-23 helped provide a short-lived reset for Haight, but overall, he continues to look like a prospect who won't quite live up to his draft status. He plays fast and competes well, but his on-ice impacts and results don't always move the needle as much as they should. At this point it's tricky to envision what kind of role he would fill on an NHL roster.
14. Caeden Bankier
Bankier is a nice find for Minnesota coming out of the 2021 draft, as none of the players in the dozen picks immediately before him or after him are looking as impressive thus far. He protects pucks adeptly with his frame and hands, and he reads the play well enough to get pucks on his stick in offensive situations. There’s NHL potential here as someone who can dress as a checker while also being able to move up the lineup when called upon.
15. Rasmus Kumpulainen
Leaving Finland to go play in the OHL was the best thing for Kumpulainen's career, even though his progression as a player is still moving incrementally. He's a big body who's good at slowing things down and protecting the puck with his reach and strength. Unfortunately, he's a bit of a one-note kind of player. Could he become a 4th-line center who is heavy on the puck down low? Absolutely. Anything more than that, though, is doubtful.