- Kirill Kaprizov opened Wild camp without Mats Zuccarello for the first time since 2020
- Zuccarello assisted on 93 of Kaprizov’s 230 career goals before signing in Los Angeles
- Read below for Kaprizov’s full comments and the new line he skated on at TRIA Rink
Kirill Kaprizov opened Minnesota Wild training camp Thursday without Mats Zuccarello on his wing for the first time since 2020.
Zuccarello signed with the Kings in free agency this summer. Asked at TRIA Rink about running it back without his best friend and longtime linemate, Kaprizov called it “just part of the hockey.”
“It’s just part of the hockey. It happens. Somebody signs. Somebody don’t sign and change teams. It’s a lot of business and a lot of times it happens. I just want to talk with him in the future and stay good friends, and just I hope he play good there and want to watch him this year.”
Joe Smith of The Athletic posted the scrum. Watch Kaprizov on day one:
Few pairs in the league produced like those two did. Zuccarello set up 93 of Kaprizov’s 230 career goals, and that number climbs to 102 of 249 once the playoffs get added in.
Kaprizov also talked about what Zuccarello meant to him away from the scoresheet, going back to his arrival from Russia in 2020.
“Zuccy was one of biggest guys who helped me so much. It’s tough practices in the camp every year, especially us. We have so many battles and skating. With him, he just sometimes do some jokes or something, and you don’t think about you so tired and you just keep playing.”
Michael Russo pointed out that Zuccarello was not the only one. Kaprizov named Ryan Hartman, Matt Dumba and Jordan Greenway as teammates who reached out the moment he got to Minnesota.
Hartman is still around, and he lined up with Kaprizov again on the first day of camp. Newly signed Russian winger Max Shabanov took the other side. Somebody asked Kaprizov if he would be fine without Zuccarello, and he laughed before answering.
“Oh yeah, of course.”
Minnesota is coming off a first-round series win, its first in 11 years, and nobody in the room is treating that as the finish line. Brock Faber laid out the mood on day one:
Year one of his eight-year, $136 million contract starts now, and he is coming off 45 goals, tied for fourth in the NHL.
Free agency ended five years of one line. The Wild find out this fall what Kaprizov does with a different one. Our < href="https://www.ginohard.com/wild-outlook-2026-27-quinn-hughes-contract/">2026-27 Wild outlook has the rest of what Minnesota is working with.
