Minnesota Wild: Top 10 Prospects Entering the 2018 Season

3. Justin Kloos, C [24] (UDFA)

Stats (Iowa Wild, AHL): 76 gp, 19 g, 31 a, 50 p, 7 PPG (12 A), 5 GWG, 153 SOG, .66 pts/g.

Justin Kloos did incredibly well in the AHL, one of the very best players on the Iowa Wild’s roster, and a solid playmaker. He was good on the power play, posting 19 points, and scored five game-winning goals. He had solid shot production, averaging more than two shots per game, and had a .66 points per game pace at the professional level. All this indicates one very important thing – Kloos is a center with middle-six potential. While he’s aging, and at 24, needs to get into the NHL sooner rather than later, he has more than earned that chance.

Beyond Eric Staal and Mikko Koivu, nobody has earned a fixed spot in the center position for the Minnesota Wild. Eriksson-Ek is likely going to get another chance to prove himself as a center, and the Wild brought in Eric Fehr and Matt Hendricks to fight it out for the fourth-line center position. But Kloos could be better than all of these players. Putting him third with wingers like Eriksson Ek and Charlie Coyle could be a better solution to a depth problem for the Wild.

Kloos is more NHL ready than every other player on this list, and while his ceiling is not nearly as high as other players on this list, he’s earned a chance at playing in the NHL. The Minnesota Wild should give him that chance, and if they do, it could go well. Honestly, while the Wild are figuring out their roster, what’s the harm of putting in a talented player like Kloos?