So far this offseason, nothing substantial has happened on the roster building front, and Kaprizov hasn’t signed a new deal either. Minnesota is largely running it back, and they’ll need young talent to provide a boost.

Minnesota Wild youth ready for next step

While Kirill Kaprizov is unquestionably the Minnesota Wild’s best player, he is nowhere near their youngest. At 28 years old, he already has five NHL seasons under his belt. To get the franchise over the hump, the next wave must support him.

NHL prospects analyst Corey Pronman put out his top-players under 23 rankings for the upcoming season, and Minnesota makes their presence felt.

Although the Wild don’t have a player in Pronman’s top tier, only Macklin Celebrini and Connor Bedard reside there. Buium is among the Tier 2 talents which he describes as an NHL All-Star level.

Buium was one of the very best players in college hockey this season. He’s an extremely intelligent puck-mover who can run a power play like a top NHL player. He makes high-end plays routinely and can break shifts open with his puckhandling and passes. Buium is a strong skater who can activate off the blue line and create off the rush. He has very good edge work and is proficient at making checkers miss. His defense is good enough at the amateur level, but he isn’t very physically imposing. Buium is a gamer, though, who can be leaned on to play heavy minutes and projects to be decent enough defensively to go with impactful offense in the NHL. He has the potential to be a big-minutes, top-scoring defenseman.

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Minnesota got to see Buium very briefly in the playoffs. He’ll get much more run this season, and if the Wild are going to escape the first round, then he’ll be part of the recipe. The Denver product picked up his first NHL assist despite playing just four regular season games. He’s still seeking that first goal though.

Bucketless Zeev Buium’s rookie solo lap in advance of his NHL debut pic.twitter.com/wsMEQUMwHZ

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) April 21, 2025

We should see Yurov for the first time this season, and cracking the top six would be a good outcome for the young center. Ohgren doesn’t necessarily have a carrying trait, but is a strong sum of his parts. He made his stateside debut in the AHL last year.

Stramel would not have been on this list had his play with Wisconsin continued. He turned over a new leaf with Michigan State and the arrow is now point back upward.

Related: MN Wild: Kirill Kaprizov Return Timeline and Possible Salary Revealed

Last season was a rollercoaster for Jiricek. He wound up being traded to Minnesota after things went downhill with Columbus. The Wild believed in an ability to fix his skating, but it didn’t translate to production. He ruptured his spleen to end the year early and it puts him in need of a significant turnaround this year.

There’s a path for at least three of these players to help the Minnesota Wild this season. That will rely on them taking the next step, and earning coach John Hynes trust in a hurry.