The annual Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase took place last weekend at Tria Rink in Saint Paul, bringing together many of the best prospects from the Minnesota Wild, St. Louis Blues, and Chicago Blackhawks.
For players, it’s an opportunity to showcase how their game has grown since last season, and to spend time with potential future teammates. For coaches, executives, fans, and media, it’s an opportunity to assess players and envision how they might fit into team plans.
While college players and those playing in Europe are unable to attend this event, it remains an exciting gathering of blossoming talent. I was at both Wild games and compiled notes on each of the players that the organization has signed for this upcoming season. Here are my observations on each of them, starting with the forwards:
Danila Yurov – Age: 21 – C – Shoots: L – 6-foot-1, 176 pounds
When Yurov had the puck on his stick, the game felt in control. Things seemed to slow down a bit, or more, the game adjusted to his presence with the puck as he managed his options. Yurov wasn’t dynamic this weekend, but he was a steady and consistent possession driver and managed to get a lot of touches.
Yurov was great driving into the zone down the wall and either swinging the puck around the boards to an incoming teammate, or pulling up to allow the play to set up around him. He was able to get separation, not with speed or on straight lines, but in how he created space for himself to operate with the puck. Yurov doesn’t have any tells about what he’s planning to do, and so defenders respect him as a result. He was also solid in the faceoff circle and won a lot of draws cleanly.
However, Yurov occasionally struggled to handle the puck down low in his own zone. Still, it was often the result of him being in the right place and providing excellent support down low for his defensemen. I wonder how he’ll handle physical play down low, but he did mix it up several times in scrums and didn’t back down against bigger players.
I would have liked to see Yurov take charge more with the puck and challenge Chicago’s defensemen. Still, the fact that he usually chose to maintain possession rather than force plays is a sign of a mature player. His experience as a professional has instilled a sense of responsibility in him.
Overall, Yurov was a step above most of the players there this weekend and looked like a player who has a chance to play responsible minutes in the Wild’s middle six. He’ll have to demonstrate that when training camp starts next week. If he ends up spending some time in Iowa, fans shouldn’t worry. All told, this weekend was a good step for the prized prospect.
Adam Benak – Age: 18 – C – Shoots: L – 5-foot-8, 163 pounds
In many ways, Benak was the star of the weekend, and Tony Abbott wrote about his performance here.
What I saw from Benak this weekend was an extension of what I’ve seen when watching film of him; his first touch with the puck is often pristine, and he handles it with intention. He also displayed his marvelous hands this weekend, creating numerous chances with his puck handling in traffic, his ability to freeze defenders with his stickhandling on the wing as part of a cycle, or when directing the power play.
Benak understands how to use the pace of the game to his advantage and is not afraid to hold onto the puck while he waits for a lane to open up. He was a definite bright spot this weekend.
One question I have for his development is what his “B” game will be. A player of his stature has to find other ways to impact a game on nights when he doesn’t have his “A” game, and for Benak, it’s fair to wonder what that will look like. He’s not afraid to go to the net, and he handles himself well in puck battles. Still, there were several times this weekend and in other viewings I’ve had of him where he gets to spots too soon and gets completely neutralized by bigger players.
As Benak prepares for pro hockey, he will need to learn how he can engage physically while remaining a factor. But he’s a young, supremely talented player, and he has plenty of time to figure that out.
Lirim Amidovski – Age: 18 – W – Shoots: Right – 6-foot-1, 181 pounds
I’ve written about Amidovski at length, and what he displayed this weekend was an extension of what I wrote in June.
The right-handed winger was one of the best Wild prospects last weekend. He was noticeable almost every shift with his tenacious pressure and constant straight-line attacking. Amidovski moved the puck efficiently out of the zone and in the neutral zone, making strong area passes and drawing in defenders to freeze up teammates. When he sees a chance to attack a defender, he does, and he can stickhandle well enough to beat guys one-on-one.
Amidovski worked a good three-man game in the offensive zone with his linemates. He played with Carter Klippenstein and Rasmus Kumpulainen on Friday, then Matthew Sop and Hunter Haight on Sunday. He attacked the net with the puck, planted himself in front of the net to provide traffic when his teammates had the puck, and gave opposing puck handlers nightmares all weekend as he created several turnovers and had a handful of takeaways in each game.
He also killed penalties and was a go-to player in that regard, and was also deployed with Haight and Sop to protect a one-goal lead at the end of the Blackhawks game. Amidovski saw time on the second power play unit and was an all-around force all weekend. So much of what I see in Amidovski reminds me of Brandon Duhaime.
At this point, Amidovski appears to be one of the more projectable prospects in the organization. While a lot can happen, I fully expect him to become an effective bottom-six forward who can drive possession, kill penalties, and play a heavy, responsible two-way game.
Hunter Haight – Age: 21 – C/W – Shoots: R – 5-foot-11, 181 pounds
Haight was noticeable all weekend and fit really well with Amidovski as a tenacious duo that made every shift a struggle for whoever they were out against. He had a ton of scoring chances, but he just doesn’t seem like a natural finisher and will probably never score a lot in the NHL. Still, he’s looking increasingly more like a future NHL player.
He was one of Iowa’s top players by the end of last season and will play a key role again this year. On a bad team, I think Haight would be a contender to get a lot of NHL games this season, but he’ll probably have to wait his turn.
However, that’s okay. My question with Haight is where he eventually lands as an NHL player. I’m not sold on his skill yet in terms of being able to play with top-six players, and I want to see how he handles being a play driver in the AHL this year.
Riley Heidt – Age: 20 – C/W – Shoots: L – 5-foot-11, 179 pounds
Heidt is a well-known prospect at this point, and this was his third Tom Kurvers Showcase. He played top-six and top power play minutes all weekend, and also got some run on the penalty kill. As expected, Heidt was a standout at this event, displaying his ability to make quick, efficient plays with the puck in all zones.
He is best when working in tandem with linemates who can read off his puck touches, and he could become a complementary player on a middle-six line if his development stays on track.
Heidt will need some time in the AHL to learn how to adapt his playing style to professional hockey. Still, his ability to hound pucks and engage in puck battles should endear him to coaches. I could see this season unfolding much like Haight’s did last year, with Heidt ending up a key player in Iowa and ready to be in consideration for an NHL spot next year.
I think Heidt has more skill and a higher potential ceiling than Haight, but I don’t think he’ll ever be able to drive his own line. For him, finding a role will be about fitting in with complementary players who can maximize his strengths.
Rasmus Kumpulainen – Age: 20 – C – Shoots: L – 6-foot-4, 203 pounds
I still can’t figure out what to make of Kumpulainen. When you see him carrying the puck up the ice or in the offensive zone, navigating around opposing players and shrugging off defenders with ease while holding onto the puck and looking for options, it’s easy to envision a power forward and future third-line playmaker.
But then there are the multiple times, every single game, when you’ll see him hold onto the puck for too long and get caught unaware, or try to make too many moves and skate himself into trouble, leading to an awful turnover, often at the offensive or defensive blue lines. At times, it looks like he can’t decide what to do with the puck, and so he just holds onto it and never makes a decision, and eventually loses possession.
After the Wild first drafted him in 2023, I chalked up such errors to a young player trying to do too much. And maybe that’s still just all it is. Still, Kumpulainen was doing this in the World Juniors this past season and ended up getting healthy scratched after a particularly poor game that included numerous egregious turnovers. And he did it a bunch of times in both games this past weekend. You know that coaches have to be talking to him about this.
Kumpulainen is a generally reliable player in most other areas of the ice. He’s a solid, steady two-way forward with upside as a penalty killer. He can make plays on the wall under pressure to get the puck out. Kumpulainen isn’t fast, but he maneuvers adequately and uses his reach to his advantage in puck battles when defending. It will be interesting to see him in Iowa this year. There’s a real chance he comes in and immediately supplants Caeden Bankier on the organization’s depth chart at center.
However, those turnovers, and the areas on the ice where they occur, are inexcusable. Every player makes them occasionally, but four or five a game is way, way too many for a player with Kumpulainen’s talent. If he can get it out of his game, he could be a valuable piece of the Wild’s future. But if he can’t, then it could be a big enough issue to make him a liability in important games.
Carter Klippenstein – Age: 18 – C/W – Shoots: L – 6-foot-3, 181 pounds
Klippenstein was the only one of this summer’s draft picks that I haven’t watched film on, and he had a good showing overall this weekend.
His confidence seemed to grow with each period. I didn’t get a great read on his game as I didn’t see him get a lot of puck touches. Still, Klippenstein got a lot of penalty kill time, and I was impressed by his feet in terms of how he maneuvered with quick lateral steps to stay in position as the puck moved around the zone.
It was impressive for a player his size. Klippenstein was also a diligent worker and good battler on the wall, and is a good straight-line skater. He understands how to use his size, and that could eventually make him an asset. It’s too early to say exactly what he’ll be, but I could see why the Wild liked him enough to pick him in the fourth round.
Matthew Sop – Age: 22 – W – Shoots: Left – 6-feet, 183 pounds
I have a soft spot for Matthew Sop after the way he worked himself into the Iowa Wild’s rotation last year, and also because he scored an awesome goal when I was there for my annual Iowa Wild road trip.
The 22-year-old is an honest, hard-working player who is good in all three zones and makes the right play almost every time. Sop is not overly skilled, isn’t fast, and doesn’t have a big shot, but he’s just a smart hockey player who seems to understand what is expected of him as a role player in professional hockey.
Sop signed a two-way AHL contract for this season, meaning he could be assigned to the ECHL, but I expect him to be an important depth player for the Iowa Wild by season’s end. He’s the type of honest player every organization needs on its minor league squads, and I wouldn’t put it past him to work his way into a depth call-up option in a few years.
Ryan McGuire – Age 23 – C/W – 6-foot-2, 183 pounds
McGuire, the son of famed NHL personality Pierre McGuire, finished last season with the ECHL’s Iowa Heartlanders after wrapping up his college career, and will return this year on a two-way AHL contract.
He’ll likely spend a significant portion of this season in the ECHL. However, McGuire is a responsible, hard-working two-way player with good hockey sense and plays an honest game, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he earns some AHL games. He doesn’t have any NHL upside, but he looks like a professional hockey player.