Wild rookie Danila Yurov quickly adjusting to the NHL, gets big thrill from first goal

NEW YORK – Danila Yurov called it.

While he was out to dinner Sunday night with his agent, who also represents Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin, Yurov made a prediction.

“I told him that I [will] score on Igor,” Yurov said.

As if netting his first NHL goal against a fellow Russian in Shesterkin at Madison Square Garden wasn’t memorable enough, Yurov’s third-period tally Monday night was the game-winner in a 3-1 comeback for the Wild that ended their three-game skid.

“Finally it happened,” said Yurov, who capitalized on a net-crashing shot that the Wild lacked during their dip.

After Marcus Johansson’s wrap-around was denied by Shesterkin, Yurov spotted the rebound and poked at it with his backhand. The puck bounced off Shesterkin’s stick and rolled into the net, teeing off a glove-pumping celebration by Yurov, who was drafted by the Wild in the first round with the 24th pick in 2022.

“This is my [childhood] dream,” he said.

Their absence, however, didn’t dim his excitement.

“I’m so happy,” he said.

Kirill Kaprizov, who was in Yurov’s position five seasons ago when he made his NHL debut after joining the Wild from the KHL in Russia, can relate.

“He’s still smiling, all the time now,” said Kaprizov, who followed up Yurov’s goal with one of his own, into an empty net. “It’s good for him. I know it’s a pretty good feeling when you score your first goal. We’re so happy for him. It’s a big goal for us.”

Momentum for Yurov’s milestone had been building since training camp.

But he wasn’t chipping in on offense as he recalibrated to the NHL’s competitiveness, finishing with just one assist in the preseason despite appearing in all six of the Wild’s games.

By Opening Night, he was a spectator, and Yurov sat as a healthy scratch the next game, too.

Nico Sturm’s injury left a hole up the middle, but the Wild opted to have Hunter Haight make his NHL debut instead. Unlike Yurov, who spent the past two seasons exclusively in the KHL, where he won a championship and set the league record for the most points in a season by a player 20 years old or younger, Haight already had familiarity with the North American pro game since he suited up for Iowa in the American Hockey League in 2024-25.

Yurov finally drew in for the 4-3 shootout victory over the Kings on Oct. 13, but his opportunity was never more prominent than what it was a week later in his fifth game.

With Marco Rossi injured, Yurov centered the Wild’s second line, teaming up with Johansson and Vladimir Tarasenko, who’s been helping Yurov adjust.

“He’s just a player that continues to get experience, and he continues to grow his game,” coach John Hynes said. “He’s a smart player. He’s a good player. He’s just getting more and more comfortable and more experienced, and it was great to see him get his first goal tonight. I think that always helps, and he played a strong game.”

Off the ice, Yurov is settling in, too.

He chatted about his first goal completely in English, and working on his language is how he’s establishing a rapport with his teammates.

“It’s very hard to get personal and express what you think, how you feel and everything around you,” goaltender Filip Gustavsson said. “It feels like he’s trying a lot speaking English to us guys, and it gets easier to be around him and making him part of the group.”

Being a difference maker also accomplishes that.