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Russo's Rants much of the Wild's offense runs through him. He led the league in ice time last season and should pile up plenty of points on a power play with Kaprizov, Boldy and Eriksson Ek. Yurov – Yurov broke Tarasenko's under- 21 KHL scoring records three years ago and came to Minnesota full of promise after being drafted in the first round in 2022. He scored 12 goals and 15 assists in 73 games and showed flashes of being a really good player. He can shoot, he goes to the net, he can skate and he's strong defensively. The Wild are hop- ing for a leap offensively and significant improvement in the faceoff circle, where he was one of the worst centers in the league last year. It'd be nice if he got the spot on the top line next to Kaprizov instead of Hartman, but for the number of offensive-zone starts Kaprizov's line gets, Yurov would need to be much better in the faceoff circle so that line starts with the puck. Shabanov – After wanting a change of scenery, Shabanov wasn't signed by the Islanders in June and became a free agent July 1. He was basically hand delivered to the Wild by Kaprizov's agent. While he's smaller at 5-foot-9, he's known to be skilled and a player who can support good players in a scoring position. He's quick and shifty, can make plays and will get to the hard areas. A left-handed shot, Shabanov can skate on both wings. In 2025-26, his first NHL season, he registered five goals and 18 points in 44 games. Shabanov spent four seasons (2021 to '25) with Traktor Chelyabinsk in the KHL, scoring 67 goals and 150 points over 207 games. He ranked third in the KHL in regular-sea- son scoring in 2024-25 with 67 points across 65 games and earned a spot on the KHL's first All-Star Team. He scored 20 points in 21 games during the 2025 KHL playoffs, leading the league with 10 goals. He played in the 2025 and 2024 KHL All- Star Games. WHAT MUST HAPPEN FOR THE WILD TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS? Besides the obvious—health—the Wild are going to need Wallstedt to follow last season's solid season with another. But they're also going to need players like Shabanov, Brink and Yurov to step up and not just be supporting cast members. The Wild have a road-heavy start to the sea- son and will need to gain a cushion, not play catch-up with a tough start. It will be interesting to see if Guerin can pull off the Larkin trade once Detroit hires a general manager after Steve Yzerman stepped down or if he can find another center in-season. Remember, the opening night lineup doesn't necessarily mean the opening night lineup in the playoffs. That was proven last year with Hughes' acqui- sition. Michael Russo writes for The Athletic. This is his 22nd season covering the Wild and 32nd covering the National Hockey League after previously covering the Florida Panthers. He co-hosts the Worst Seats in the House podcast on talknorth. com, which can be heard wherever you get your podcasts. Russo can be heard weekly on KFAN (100.3-FM) and seen through- out the hockey season on NHL Network. Follow Russo on X and Instagram at @ RussoHockey and Facebook at /michael- russohockey. To subscribe to The Athletic, go to nytimes.com/athletic/author/ michael-russo and click any article for a discount. M H J ON L I N E . C O M | O C T O B E R 2 0 2 6 30 Quinn Hughes will quarterback a star-studded ower play including Matt Boldy, Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek. Photos / Minnesota Wild/Bruce Kluckhohn, Getty Images RUSSO'S PREDICTED LEADING GOAL SCORER: RUSSO'S PREDICTED LEADING SCORER: KAPRIZOV BOLDY P R E S E N T E D B Y