5 Wild players make The Athletic's list of top 125 skaters
The Minnesota Wild may be one of the most salary cap-pinched teams in the NHL but general manager Bill Guerin has put together one of the most talented rosters in the Central Division, according The Athletic.
Minnesota landed five players on The Athletic's top-125 skaters list ahead of the 2023-24 season, tied for most in the division. The rankings are linear, instead grouping players in four tiers: MVP, Franchise, All-Star and Top Line. Minnesota has one player in the Franchise tier (Kirill Kaprizov), one All-Star tier player (Jared Spurgeon) and three players in the Top Line grouping (Matt Boldy, Joe Eriksson Ek and Jonas Brodin).
Here's what The Athletic's panel of writers, as well as NHL front office officials, had to say about the Wild players who made the list.
11. Kirill Kaprizov
The Wild's 26-year-old winger landed just behind Penguins great Sidney Crosby at the top of the Franchise tier. Kaprizov came just short of 50 goals for the second straight season in 2022-23, finishing with 40 goals and 35 assists, leading the team with 75 points.
Kaprizov is described by the writers as a "rare breed that can control play from the outside" and "one of the league’s best with the puck on his stick — always dangerous."
60. Jared Spurgeon
Minnesota's veteran defenseman comes in as the second best skater on the Wild roster. Spurgeon lands near the bottom of the All-Star tier, with the panelists calling him "one of the top defensemen in the league" who "doesn’t allow many entries or rush shots back or goals against in his minutes against top competition."
The positivity on Spurgeon stops there, however, as the writers say a decline in his play is "probably coming soon."
64. Matt Boldy
Boldy comes in at the top of the Top Line tier, with the young winger coming in just four spots behind Spurgeon. In his first full season with the Wild, Boldy scored 31 goals and had 32 assists.
"It felt like a sign of things to come for the 22-year-old winger, though his impact goes beyond the scoresheet. On a strong defensive team, Boldy holds his own when it comes to limiting chances and goals against," his profile reads.
78. Joel Erikkson Ek
Rounding out the Wild skaters to make the top 100, Eriksson Ek comes in at No. 78 in the middle of the Top Line tier. Eriksson Ek was fourth on the Wild in points in 2022-23 with 23 goals and 38 assists.
The read on the center is that he is the definition of "tough to play against."
One coach told The Athletic that Eriksson Ek "is as good an all-arond player as there is in the league today" and one of the three best defensive centers in the NHl.
107. Jonas Brodin
Broding caps off the Wild skaters at No. 107 heading into his 12th season with Minnesota. The read on him is that he's a high-end defender and a "perfect No. 2" blue liner.
