Minnesota Wild: Top 10 Prospects Entering the 2018 Season

6. Dmitri Sokolov, RW [20] (7-196, 2016)

Stats (Sudbury Wolves/Barrie Colts, OHL): 64 gp, 50 g, 46 a, 96 p, 18 PPG (12 A), 9 GWG, 268 SOG, 1.50 pts/g (12 pgp, 8 g, 7 a, 15 p, 5 PPG (2 A), 46 SOG, 1.25 pts/g).

Sokolov put up truly impressive numbers in the OHL this past season, even while being moved at the deadline. In the regular season, he was fifth in scoring, tied for first in goal scoring, tied for 16th in assists and eighth in points per game.

In the playoffs, however, Sokolov sunk and was tied for 15th in goal scoring and 18th in points per game, the only categories where he got above 20th. He went from 1.5 points per game in the regular season to 1.25 in the playoffs, the opposite direction of what a team wants to see.

He’s an excellent scorer with an excellent shot and proved it this season with 50 goals in the regular season and eight in the playoffs.

Dmitri Sokolov was a prominent power-play threat throughout the season, coming up with five power-play goals in the playoffs and 30 points in the regular season. He’s an excellent scorer with an excellent shot and proved it this season with 50 goals in the regular season and eight in the playoffs.

So why is he this low on this list? Well, he was an overager in the OHL (his second post-draft season) and those types of numbers should be expected. He’s playing against 16-year-olds at times.

Sokolov is also not NHL-ready quite yet and will need a year to prove himself against professional competition. He’s got a moderately high ceiling (he should be a middle-six goal scorer, which is a great thing) and he should play with the Minnesota Wild should he reach that ceiling. But he’s played just two professional games and isn’t on an NHL level yet.