The definition of “prime years” for a pro athlete can vary by sport and by who is doing the interpretation, but generally speaking it goes from the early-mid 20s to about age 30, with a peak around 26 or 27.
Athletes younger than that might have more raw talent that hasn’t yet been enhanced by repetition, strength and experience. Athletes older than that tend to start a gradual physical decline, though they can maintain elite levels of play by taking care of their bodies and outthinking younger opponents.
Prime-age athletes have an ideal mix of physical gifts and experience. As such, teams that have the most high-end prime-age talent tend to be the ones that have the best chance to compete for a championship.
After years of relying more on grit than prime talent, the Wild suddenly have vaulted ahead of their Minnesota men’s pro sports peers in this all-important area.
I talked about their latest display of dominance on Tuesday’s Daily Delivery podcast, and I’ll get into more of their elite prime-age talent accumulation during today’s 10 things to know.
- The Wild started the year with one unquestioned top-20 NHL player: Kirill Kaprizov, who at 28 is in his prime. If you’ll remember, it was only three months ago that Kaprizov quelled the nerves of an anxious fan base (and general manager ... and owner) by agreeing to an eight-year, $136 million extension. Before that happened, it was a distinct possibility that the Wild would need to trade their best player.
- Instead, two things have happened since then. First, after a sluggish start to the season, the Wild blitzed through November and December. Matt Boldy, an emerging very good player early in his career, has become arguably a top-30 player in the league. His 25 goals are tied for second in the NHL, and at age 24 he is just entering his prime years.
- GM Bill Guerin swung for the fences a couple of weeks ago and acquired Quinn Hughes, who like Kaprizov was an unquestioned top-20 player coming into the season. Hughes is 26 and is at his peak.
- Mix in Brock Faber, who is on the early edge of his prime at 23 but already qualifies as one of the NHL’s top defensemen, the valuable and still probably underrated two-way center Joel Eriksson Ek (28) as well as the goaltending tandem of Filip Gustavsson (27) and Jesper Wallstedt (23) and the Wild are absolutely stacked. They have among the most prime-age talent in the NHL.
- Among the men’s pro teams in this market, the Wild arguably have surpassed the Wolves in terms of prime-age talent. The Wolves still have a strong prime core of Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid, but they haven’t been able to supplement those three with high-impact players in their primes. It’s part of the reason the Wolves remain a good team but one that might have already peaked with their last two trips to the conference finals.
- The Twins’ inability to win more than one division title in the past five years in the weak AL Central can be blamed in part on payroll decisions in 2024 and 2025. But we also must look at the stalled progress of young players like Royce Lewis, Matt Wallner and others who should be thriving in their prime years.
- The Vikings likewise have a major deficit in this area as a result of poor drafts and stalled development in the past four years. While Justin Jefferson remains possibly the single best player on any of the men’s pro teams, he has had a down year by his standards (thanks in large part to dismal QB play). Zero Vikings players regardless of age were named to this year’s Pro Bowl roster. They need to win big in the 2026 draft and they are desperate for young players like J.J. McCarthy, Dallas Turner and Jordan Addison to become consistent high-end players.
- Andrew Krammer and I talked more about the Vikings during Tuesday’s podcast. There are some glimmers of hope among their young players, Krammer argues.
- There’s no questioning the talent of ex-Viking Kevin Williams, now a finalist in the Pro Football Hall of Fame voting.
- La Velle E. Neal III and I will get into a more subjective ranking of the talent on Minnesota teams during Wednesday’s podcast.
