Kirill Kaprizov is 2-for-2 in invites to the NHL All-Star Game.
Kirill Kaprizov named to NHL All-Star Game as one of 32 team representatives
The Russian winger is the Wild's leading scorer and also played in the All-Star Game last season in Vegas.
January 6, 2023 at 1:42AM
The Wild winger was named to his second Central Division team in as many years on Thursday when the league unveiled the initial rosters for each division.
Former Wild forward Kevin Fiala was Los Angeles' representative among the first 32 players named — one from each team — and Warroad's Brock Nelson was chosen from the Islanders.
This year's event will be in Florida at the home of the Panthers on Feb. 3-4.
One player from each team was selected by the NHL Department of Hockey Operations, and the rest of the rosters (two skaters and one goalie per division) will be decided by a fan vote that began Thursday and will run through Jan. 17. The remaining players will be announced Jan. 19.
Through 37 games, Kaprizov leads the Wild in goals (22), assists (25) and points (47) while tied for eighth in league scoring and tied for ninth in goals. Kaprizov is also tied for first in the NHL in shootout goals (4) and his 10 power play goals are tied for fifth.
Already this season, the 25-year-old has set franchise records for the longest point streak (14 games), assist streak (nine) and goal streak (seven) and is the only player in the NHL to hold the team record for all three scoring streaks.
He's also on a 14-game home point streak that's tied for longest in Wild history.
Drafted in the fifth round in 2015, Kaprizov has 96 goals and 110 assists for 206 points in 173 games with the Wild since his debut in 2021. He went on to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie and signed a five-year, $45 million contract.
Kaprizov is the fifth Wild player to be picked for multiple All-Star Games.
Last season, he scored in the breakaway challenge while paying tribute to fellow Russian Alex Ovechkin before tallying three assists for the Central Division in the 3-on-3 tournament in Las Vegas.
The first 32 players named to the All-Star Game
Central Division: Forwards Kirill Kaprizov, Wild; Jason Robertson, Dallas; Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis; Clayton Keller, Arizona. Defensemen Seth Jones, Chicago; Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg; Cale Makar, Colorado. Goalie Juuse Saaros, Nashville.
Pacific Division: Forwards Kevin Fiala, Los Angeles; Elias Pettersson, Vancouver; Troy Terry, Anaheim; Nazem Kadri, Calgary; Connor McDavid, Edmonton; Matty Beniers, Seattle. Defenseman Erik Karlsson, San Jose. Goalie Logan Thompson, Vegas.
Metropolitan Division: Forwards Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh; Johnny Gaudreau, Columbus; Kevin Hayes, Philadelphia; Jack Hughes, New Jersey; Brock Nelson, N.Y. Islanders; Alex Ovechkin, Washington; Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina. Goalie Igor Shesterkin, N.Y. Rangers.
Atlantic Division: Forwards Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay; Dylan Larkin, Detroit; Mitchell Marner, Toronto; Nick Suzuki, Montreal; Tage Thompson, Buffalo; Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa; Matthew Tkachuk, Florida. Goalie Linus Ullmark, Boston.
The star forward came back from a brief injury absence, and two goals from Frederick Gaudreau helped Minnesota to another road victory.
