Wild reward Kirill Kaprizov with an ‘A’ for his effort

Kirill Kaprizov opened another chapter in what is shaping up to be a legendary career on Tuesday when the Wild named him an alternate captain, presenting the young winger with a game jersey with the “A” stitched on it.

“I can tell you he wanted it,” head coach Dean Evason said.

That was just one of the reasons Kaprizov was chosen to replace longtime Wild defenseman Matt Dumba, who signed a free-agent deal with Arizona this offseason, as the Wild’s second alternate alongside forward Marcus Foligno.

Veteran defenseman Jared Spurgeon is the Wild’s captain but will be absent for the regular-season opener on Thursday because of an upper-body injury suffered in a preseason game Oct. 4 at Chicago. Puck drop for Game 1 is set for 7 p.m. at Xcel Energy Center.

“We have a lot of leaders on the team,” Kaprizov said Tuesday through a translator. “I feel very honored, and happy and proud that these leaders on the team selected me to represent the team today.”

Among those leaders were general manager Bill Guerin, Evason and his staff, and players such as Spurgeon and Foligno, who made the presentation before Tuesday’s practice at TRIA Rink.

Selected in the fifth round of the 2015 entry draft, Kaprizov played in Russia’s KHL, winning a Gagarin Cup with CSKA Moscow in 2019, before joining the Wild for the short 2020 COVID season. He scored 27 goals with 24 assists in 55 games as a rookie, and already is sixth on the franchise goals list with 114 — in just 203 games.

In 2022-23, he broke the single-season goals record shared by Marian Gaborin and Eric Staal with 47 and a franchise-best 108 points, but it’s Kaprizov’s work ethic that has earned him the respect of his teammates.

“His leadership stems from being on the ice and showing up for work every day,” defenseman Jake Middleton said. “He’s out there late every day, he’s always working on stuff. It’s well-deserved.”

Kaprizov will begin the season on the top line with Mats Zuccarello and Ryan Hartman, which last season combined for 77 goals and 179 points despite the fact Kaprizov and Hartman missed a combined 77 games because of injuries.

Kaprizov said he welcomes the new leadership responsibility on the ice and in the dressing room.

“The game doesn’t change,” he said. “Yeah, there might be a little more responsibility, but at the end of the day, it’s my role to kind of go out and do what I’ve been doing and to continue to get better. But, obviously, definitely excited.”

Still week to week

Spurgeon remains week to week after being hit from behind and into the boards by Chicago’s Reese Johnson in the Wild’s 3-2 shootout victory at United Center last week.

He has yet to resume skating, Evason said Tuesday.

“It will just be see how he progresses here,” the coach said. “I spoke to him and he’s a quick healer, is what he’s stated, so I don’t doubt he’ll be back sooner than later.”

So far, the Wild has resisted putting Spurgeon on the long-term injury list, which would offer the team some salary cap relief but would require the defenseman to miss at least 10 games and 24 days.

NHL bans

The Wild will hold its Pride Night on March 12, but players will not wear special jerseys during warmups and will not be allowed to show their support for the LGTBQ+ community in any visible way.

At the Board of Governors meeting in July, the NHL passed a rule forbidding players to show “cause messaging … while on the ice at the NHL team’s game and practice arena,” according to a memo sent to teams, a portion of which was obtained by the Pioneer Press.

That edict includes team “Pride” jerseys, many of which were worn in warmups, then autographed by players and auctioned to support LBGTQ+ organizations. Also included: equipment, which eliminates the possibility of players taping their sticks with rainbow-colored “Pride Tape,” which many did for the Wild’s game last March 6 when the organization made the decision not to wear the jerseys.

The new rules apply to all special promotional games, but it’s clear it is aimed at eliminating controversy over certain players refusing to wear pride jerseys over the past few years, including former Wild center Eric Staal.

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