‘It Factor’: Wild enter Year 2 of Kirill Kaprizov Era on Friday

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The raucous cheer inside Amsoil Arena in Duluth spoke volumes.

With the Wild hosting a practice 2 1/2 hours north of home ice earlier this week, hundreds of fans raced to the rink to catch a glimpse of the home-state team.

As the Wild filed out of the locker room and over the boards, the Iron Range crowd provided a nice ovation for each player.

And then Kirill Kaprizov stepped onto the ice. A tempered murmur quickly rose into a thunderous roar. You would think the Wild were playing in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, not hosting a practice days before the season opener

That’s the type of excitement the 24-year-old Russian brings to a franchise that has been waiting for a star player seemingly forever. The young forward finished last season with 27 goals and 24 assists on his way to winning the Calder Trophy.

“He’s kind of got that ‘It Factor’,” said general manager Bill Guerin, who signed Kaprizov to a new 5-year, $45 million contract last month. “It’s not something that we can teach. He’s just a very galvanizing person that’s brought our team together.”

What exactly is the “It Factor”? It’s a common cliche used — perhaps overused — throughout the sports landscape. It’s also a descriptor that has a different meaning to pretty much everyone.

As for how it pertains to Kaprizov specifically, the Pioneer Press has spent the past month asking various people throughout the organization, and the rest of the hockey world, for their definition of the “It Factor”.

Here’s what some of them said as the Wild prep for Friday’s season opener against the Ducks at Honda Center in Anaheim.

‘DIFFERENCE MAKER’

You better believe the man that pays Kaprizov’s salary believes he’s worth every penny of his current contract. Though it’s a hefty price tag on the surface, Wild owner Craig Leipold knows his best chance to win a Stanley Cup rests squarely on Kaprizov’s broad shoulders.

“He’s clearly a difference maker,” Leipold said. “There is no doubt about it. When he goes on the ice, we are expecting something to happen.”

The only player in franchise history to possess an “It Factor” similar to Kaprizov was polarizing forward Marian Gaborik. He was the face of the franchise in the early 2000s, but his time in Minnesota ended too soon — and shortly after Leipold bought the team in 2008.

Since then, Leipold has watched nearly every home game from the comfort of his owner’s suite, never once feeling like the Wild had a player quite like they do now.

“There’s definitely an attitude on the bench now that we can score goals and we’ve got a good team,” Leipold said. “I think he adds a lot of excitement to the locker room.”

‘AEROBIC CAPACITY’

For current coach Dean Evason, the “It Factor” stands out to him whenever he wants to double shift Kaprizov during a game.

As a former player himself, Evason remembers how gassed he felt every time he returned to the bench after a long shift on the ice. He said it would take at least 30 seconds for him to catch his breath.

That’s not the case with Kaprizov. In fact, he often extends his shifts, staying on the ice longer than usual, then hops over the boards barely a minute later with ease.

“The aerobic capacity is incredible,” Evason said. “We doubled him a couple of times (in an Oct. 4 preseason game) right after he had a long shift. I looked down at him, and there’s no heavy breathing. He’s ready to go. He’s in great shape.”

On many occasions, Evason has noted that Kaprizov’s ability to catch his breath so quickly reminds him of Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin. He helped coach Ovechkin years ago, and remembers how quickly he, too, could recover on the bench.

A VIDEO TREAT

While most superstars across the NHL can put the puck in the back of the net — and Kaprizov is certainly no different — the thing that impresses winger Marcus Foligno most is his willingness to go into the dirty areas on a nightly basis.

“He has the mindset of just wanting to come and be dominant and be noticeable every night,” Foligno said. “Is he flashy? Yeah. He also wins a lot of puck battles that we might think a third-line guy or fourth-line guy would want to be doing. He’s got that old-school, blue-collar work ethic along with the skill and the attitude.”

As for the “It Factor”, at least for Foligno, it manifests itself during video sessions with the team. There have been times where players simply watch in awe of what Kaprizov can do on the ice.

“Just his little forechecking highlights and things like that,” Foligno said. “He’s noticeable. You see No. 97 pretty quick on the video screen, and we’re excited to have him.”

‘BRINGS IT EVERY DAY’

Asked about the “It Factor”, defenseman Matt Dumba kept it short and sweet. There was no talk about Kaprizov’s goals or assists. No mention of his skill set in general.

“Just his competitiveness,” Dumba said. “He’s willing to hold himself to a standard that for a lot of guys is completely unattainable. He brings it every day. It’s really cool to watch.”

Was Dumba surprised how quickly Kaprizov gained traction in the league?

“Not really,” he said. “As soon as we saw him, we knew he was going to be special.”

‘GLAD HE’S ON OUR TEAM’

There might not be anybody on the Wild more qualified to talk about the “It Factor” than veteran defenseman Alex Goligoski. As member of the Arizona Coyotes last season, Goligoski remembers how much of an emphasis opponents placed on Kaprizov night in and night out.

That said, Goligoski didn’t get to fully appreciate Kaprizov until he started to work with him on a daily basis.

“I had no idea he was as good as he is, to be honest,” Goligoski said. ” I knew he was a really good player. I’d seen him enough last year. Just getting to see him every day in practice, though, he’s really, really good. I’m glad he’s on our team.”

‘A GAME-BREAKER’

As goaltender Cam Talbot put it, it’s not like Kaprizov pads his stats by scoring the final goal in a blowout.

“He’s just a game-breaker,” Talbot said. “He’s going to score the tying goal that sends the game to overtime. Or the winning goal with 10 seconds left like he’s done.”

That quality in and of itself screams “It Factor.”

Talbot noted how Kaprizov was proactive to make sure he was ready for the first day of training camp. While his contract still wasn’t finalized in the days leading up to training camp last month, Kaprizov flew to the United States to quarantine so he could be ready as soon as he put pen to paper.

“When he came in that first day, he was on time, and he was raring to go,” Talbot said. “That just gave us a huge boost as a team. Any time we have a guy like that in our lineup that’s a game-breaker, we know anytime he goes out there he can make a difference.”

‘HE DOMINATES’

As far as ESPN analyst Linda Cohn is concerned, for the Wild, everything starts and stops with Kaprizov.

“He is the most dynamic player in franchise history,” said Cohn, who is set to be between the benches for Friday’s game between the Wild and Ducks, and also hosts “In The Crease” on ESPN+. “There’s no question about it in my mind.”

For that reason, Cohn emphasized that there’s no reason for Wild fans to be worried about paying Kaprizov too much, too soon. There’s no such thing.

“There are some people out there that don’t like to see a good thing,” Cohn said. “They like to focus on the small sample size or whatever. How much of a sample size do we need to see? He dominates.”

Asked about the “It Factor” specifically, Cohn paused for a few seconds before replying, “You can’t take your eyes off him.”

She explained that it goes beyond fans simply being unable to take their eyes off Kaprizov because of his incredible skill set. His opponents literally can’t afford to take their eyes off him during a game.

“They are going to be sorry if they do,” Cohn said. “He forces the opponent to focus on him night in and night out. It’s the type of thing like, ‘OK, we can’t let this guy beat us.’ You’ve got teams literally saying, ‘Whatever we do, we can’t let this guy beat us.’ That says everything that needs to be said.”

‘SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING’

Maybe it’s not surprising that North Stars legend Lou Nanne focuses on the game itself when talking about the “It Factor.” While he understands and appreciates Kaprizov’s work ethic, for Nanne, the production on the ice is the most important thing.

That’s where Kaprizov consistently rises to the occasion.

“He’s always dangerous,” Nanne said. “No matter where he is on the ice, he can create something out of nothing, and he can produce a scoring chance in an instant.”

That might be more difficult for Kaprizov this season with opponents constantly scheming to take him out of the game. That’s the biggest reason players tend to go through struggles in their second year in a league.

Not that Nanne is worried about that happening to Kaprizov.

“He’s not going to have a sophomore slump,” Nanne said. “He’s definitely going to have attention every night he’s out there. There’s going to be a steady diet of tough checkers and physical play directed his way because nobody wants to get embarrassed by him. But the skill players play on a different level night in and night out, and he’s still going to have a big impact.”

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