The Minnesota Wild have signed forward Rasmus Kumpulainen to an entry-level contract. The Wild selected Kumpulainen in the second-round of the 2023 NHL Draft. He has been playing for the Oshawa Generals in the OHL this season and has scored 28 goals and 55 points in 56 games for them.
The Finnish native ranks sixth on the Generals in scoring on a star-studded roster. He’s a strong player who is hard to knock off the puck and takes a lot of draws. The Wild may well have made a steal of a pick when they selected him near the bottom of the second-round.
He has adjusted to the North American game well so far and reportedly is already proficient in English-speaking. He could easily be a full-time NHL player in a few years but first the team needs to make sure that he’s being developed properly.
Kumpulainen will most likely return to Oshawa next year in what will be an elevated role. Some of the top current players on the Generals won’t be coming back next year, either due to age or to play for a different team. Over the next couple of seasons Kumpulainen will continue to develop and could crack the Wild’s AHL affiliate sooner rather than later.
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