Minnesota Wild future shines bright with 5 prospects in new top 100

The second highest-rated Wild prospect is defenseman David Jiricek, whom Minnesota acquired last November from Columbus for Daemon Hunt and a 2025 first-round pick, who turned out to be No. 20 overall (goalie Pyotr Andreyanov). 

"He has a couple of kinks to iron out with his decision-making and footwork, but the rest is there, and he has legitimate top-four upside with continued development," Wheeler said of Jiricek, who was drafted sixth overall in 2022. 

Right behind Jiricek is 21-year-old center Danila Yurov, who is set to compete for a roster spot at training camp in September. Wheeler raved about Yurov. 

"If you were to fill up two buckets with his tools (one for the strengths, one for the weaknesses) and place them on a scale, the bucket with his strengths in it would be overflowing, and the one with his weaknesses would be near empty," Wheeler said. 

"He may not become a true star, but he has top-six tools, and his odds of really hitting relative to where he was picked feel pretty high. His successful move to the middle is huge, too. I like him as a center a lot."

Yurov might be more likely to begin the 2025-26 season with the Iowa Wild in the American Hockey League, but Buium and Jiricek appear to be locks to be regulars on the blue line. Another regular could be Liam Ohgren, who made the list at No. 79. 

Wheeler compared Ohgren, 21, to Brock Boeser. 

"He could use another step (I always thought he might have a chance to be like Brock Boeser if things break well, but he could end up as more of a bottom-sixer if they don't) but I don't think his skating is an impediment from him having a good career as at least a complementary third-liner," Wheeler wrote of Minnesota 2022 first-round pick. 

"Ultimately, I expect Ohgren to have a long career as a solid NHL player and secondary scorer."

And lastly, forward Riley Heidt cracked the list as the No. 100 prospect. 

"His ability to make plays offensively both off the rush and inside the zone (where he has slick skill in traffic, great instincts off the puck and a lunch-pail approach) also gives me confidence that he’ll continue to progress," says Wheeler. 

"Some are concerned he doesn’t score enough to project into a top-six role, or have the desired size to play the skilled worker game he plays in junior in a potential bottom-six role as a center, but I like him to figure out a fit as a talented and competitive secondary top-nine playmaker who can help a second power-play unit someday."