When someone has been at the core of a team’s identity for as long as Kirill Kaprizov has for the Wild, it can be easy to forget their more humble roots with an organization.
So I enjoyed the reminder in Sarah McLellan’s story about Kaprizov and his record-breaking $136 million contract, which featured good insights from an interview with Wild owner Craig Leipold.
Kaprizov was on the Wild’s radar during the 2015 draft, but they had already passed on him three times. When Boston wanted to deal a fifth round pick that year for the Wild’s fifth-rounder the next year, Minnesota jumped in and took a chance on the young Russian.
It turned out to be, arguably, their best pick in franchise history — as I talked about on Thursday’s “Daily Delivery” podcast.
And it got me thinking further about 2015. Was that the best draft year in Minnesota sports, at least in recent memory? Let’s dig into that question at the start of today’s 10 things to know, showing how 2015 drafts altered the course of three local franchises for the better:
- Getting Kaprizov in the fifth round was a steal, but the Wild also took Joel Eriksson Ek in the first round and longtime regular Jordan Greenway in the second. Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek remain cornerstone players for the Wild, and it’s hard to imagine where they would be a decade later without them.
- The Vikings in 2015 had a massive draft haul that included Trae Waynes (first round), Eric Kendricks (second round), Danielle Hunter (third round) and Stefon Diggs (fifth round). None of those players are still in Minnesota, but all of them played huge roles in the team’s success.
- The Wolves in 2015 picked Karl-Anthony Towns No. 1 overall and later made a trade to land local point guard Tyus Jones later in the first round. Again, those were franchise-altering moves even if neither player is still on the Wolves.
- The Twins and Lynx did not have similarly impactful 2015 drafts, but three franchise-changing drafts is a lot.
- The only other recent year that might compare: 2020. The Vikings picked Justin Jefferson, Josh Metellus and several other NFL regulars. The Wolves picked Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels. The Wild took Marco Rossi. The Lynx took Crystal Dangerfield, who won WNBA Rookie of the Year.
- Speaking of big decisions, the Twins’ Derek Falvey has a lot on his plate right now. Is it too much for him to run the baseball and business sides of the organization, neither of which were a success in 2025?
- La Velle E. Neal III, who will join me on Friday’s podcast, wrote about Twins managerial candidates.
- Three of baseball’s four wild card series are headed for deciding Game 3s on Thursday: Detroit at Cleveland (2 p.m.), San Diego at Chicago Cubs (4 p.m.) and Boston at New York Yankees (7 p.m.).
- Wolves beat writer Chris Hine was my guest on Thursday’s podcast. We talked a lot about how Minnesota will divide up point guard minutes and which young players will crack what has typically been a tight rotation.
- Don’t read this if you are sitting down to eat: The state of the Vikings offensive line at Wednesday’s practice.
