Minnesota Wild: Top-8 prospects worth getting excited about
5. Kaapo Kahkonen
Wild fans finally got a chance to see their potential future starting netminder this season, as Kaapo Kahkonen made his NHL debut this past season, appearing in five games. It has been a long journey for the 24-year-old, who was selected way back at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft in the Fourth Round (No. 109 overall). He faired well in his very brief NHL showing, posting a 2.96 goals against average (GAA) along with a .913 save percentage (SV%) and a 3-1-1 record.
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The 2019-20 season was the second in North America for the Finnish netminder. While his rookie season with the Iowa Wild was nothing spectacular, the most recent certainly was. In 34 games, Kahkonen had a 2.07 GAA along with a .927 SV% and a ridiculous 25-6-3 record. He not only has a chance at beating out Alex Stalock as Minnesota’s backup for the 2020-21 season, but could challenge newly acquired Cam Talbot for starts.
4. Matthew Boldy
Another very intriguing college prospect the Wild have in their system is Matthew Boldy. The 19-year-old forward was selected 12th overall at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft after his 17 goal, 43-point performance with the U.S. National Under-18 Team in the USHL. Those totals came in just 28 contests. It was the second and final season in the USHL for Boldy, after he had put up 35 points in 34 games the season prior with the U.S. National Under-17 Team.
The 2019-20 season saw Boldy suit up in his freshman season for Boston College, where he impressed with nine goals and 26 points in 34 games. Like Firstov, he was able to do that playing the entire season at just 18-years-old. Barring a complete shocker, he will compete for Team USA at the World Juniors, and will likely be relied upon as one of the team’s top offensive threats.