Kirill Kaprizov, Ricky Rubio and the power of anticipation

Kirill Kaprizov was introduced — such as that is these days — to local media Wednesday as a full-fledged member of the Minnesota Wild. On Monday, five years after the Wild drafted the Russian star, he signed with Minnesota.

And for all the on-ice comparisons that can be made to Kaprizov, who led the Kontinental Hockey League in goals each of the last two seasons, the one that might feel most relevant for fans across Minnesota sports is from a different sport.

Ricky Rubio.

The Spanish point guard was drafted by the Timberwolves in 2009, but he didn't arrive until two years later in June 2011. That two-year gap (which felt like five) allowed Wolves fans the time to let their imaginations run wild while scouring overseas highlights for any and all evidence that Rubio was going to save the franchise.

Kaprizov has an edge in age upon arrival (23 vs. 20) and by leading the KHL in goals he gains the upper hand in accomplishment over Rubio as well.

But the circumstances are still quite similar. Rubio was hailed as a savior for a Wolves franchise that had lacked both dynamic playmaking and personality as it bumbled through disappointing seasons. And he was a point guard, a position the Wolves had been searching to fill permanently almost from the outset of their existence.

You could insert Kaprizov and Wild into that above paragraph, change a few words (like "pure goal scorer" for "point guard") and tell pretty much the same story.

In both cases, the anticipation that built while waiting for the player's arrival might have created unfair expectations or clouded the lens through which we view that player.

Rubio was loved for everything he was during his time with the Timberwolves, but he was equally (at least) dissected and blamed for everything he was not. The Wolves, with other roster flaws exposed while playing in the brutal Western Conference, never made the playoffs during his six seasons in Minnesota.

Kaprizov will join a Wild team with a different type of baggage. Assuming the Wild doesn't go on some sort of lengthy run during the restart, Kaprizov will be viewed as the player who could finally help Minnesota get over the postseason hump. The playoffs often about premium goal-scoring talent, and Kaprizov appears to have that.

That Rubio's Wolves fell short of fans' hopes and dreams has no bearing on how Kaprizov and the Wild will fare, but it is a reminder: Anticipation is fun, but reality tends to be more complicated than the binary of absolute success or failure.