Winter Classic could be a stage for Wild's Kirill Kaprizov

The Winter Classic at Target Field won't count as Kirill Kaprizov's first game outdoors, let alone the first time he's skated outside in Minnesota.

The native Russian, who practiced outdoors with the Wild last month in St. Louis Park, recently stopped by the John Rose Oval in Roseville and shared the ice with teammates Jonas Brodin, Kevin Fiala, Victor Rask and Mats Zuccarello.

"I love it," Kaprizov said. "It's always a lot of fun."

But the New Year's Day showcase against the Blues could act as Kaprizov's official introduction as one of the NHL's rising stars in one of the league's most unique settings when the puck drops on Saturday night somewhere in the Twins' infield.

"I've been fortunate enough to do this in the past in Russia with a few different teams," Kaprizov said in Russian through a translator. "I've done it in a soccer stadium, as well. Overall, it's a great atmosphere. It's super special for the team, the fans, the players. Depends, though, when it's really cold. It's obviously very tough.

"But overall, it's a great, fun experience and a lot of fun for everyone."

Until recently, the Winter Classic was the first of probably two opportunities for Kaprizov to perform on a prized stage.

He was expected to represent Russia at the upcoming Beijing Olympics, which would have been his second appearance at the Winter Games. In the 2018 Games in South Korea, Kaprizov scored the game-winner in overtime to clinch gold and he finished the tournament tied for first in goals (five) and tied for second in points (nine).

Just last week, though, the NHL yanked its participation in the Olympics because of the number of postponements caused by COVID-19. Instead, the league will use what was supposed to be the Olympic break to make up games.

"It's always a dream to go to the Olympics," Kaprizov said. "It's once every four years, so you work hard. You want to show yourself. You want to help your team win. It's tough not being able to go, but of course it's something we always dream of doing."

Kaprizov hasn't been in action at all lately, with the Wild on hiatus since last playing Dec. 20, but the 24-year-old winger was capitalizing before the layoff.

He scored in each of his past two games and remains the runaway scoring leader on the Wild with 36 points in 30 games. His 12 goals trail only teammates Ryan Hartman (14) and Marcus Foligno (13), but league-wide Kaprizov is one of the NHL's top scorers.

Only four players have more points than him but since mid-November, nobody has topped his 25 points in 15 games.

"Me personally, I don't like time off," Kaprizov said. "It's too much time in between games. I like to get out there, keep getting in the rhythm, keep playing."

His results so far are in line with the impact he made last season when Kaprizov won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's best rookie. His splashy debut reinforced the hype leading up to his arrival from Russia where he remained after the Wild drafted him in the fifth round in 2015.

What makes his encore impressive, though, are the new circumstances: an 82-game schedule against the entire league with travel across North America instead of a shortened, division-only slate.

So, while Kaprizov's skill may not be surprising to those who have watched his entire journey with the Wild, he could be entertaining a much larger audience come Saturday when the NHL shines the spotlight on the Winter Classic.

"We've lost a couple in a row, and this is a super important game," Kaprizov said. "So sometimes these long breaks are helpful, and sometimes it's better to get out there and just play as many games as possible, just to try get back on the right track. Overall, very important game and one that we definitely want to win."