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The Minnesota Wild announced the signing of top prospect Danila Yurov on Frida. It’s a three-year, $2.855 million entry-level contract. Yurov was the the No. 24 overall pick by the Wild in the 2022 NHL draft, and he’s been obliterating the competition in Russia ever since.
The 21-year-old Russian center will join the team this fall after breaking records in the KHL. During the 2023-24 season, Yurov led Metallurg Magnitogorsk with 49 points (21 goals and 28 assists), which broke the KHL’s all-time, under-21 scoring record.
Overall, Yurov has 88 points (41 goals and 47 points) in 209 KHL regular season appearances. He helped Metallurg to the 2023-24 KHL title.
The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports that if Yurov doesn’t make the Wild out of camp this fall, he has a European out clause in his contract. That would allow him to be loaned back to Metallurg instead of playing for the Iowa Wild in the AHL.
Yurov had been seen as one of the organization’s top prospects, behind only recently signed Zeev Beuium.
According to The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler, Yurov “plays hard and fast, he pushes tempo, he’s a strong and balanced skater, he’s an excellent give-and-go player who excels at playing in and out of space without the puck, his shot comes off his blade hard in motion (and has added some versatility/different weapons after it was more of a stand-up wrister earlier in his development), he’s got pro size (6-foot-1 and about 180 pounds) and skill, he’s diligent in all three zones and he’s almost always in the right position or reading the play to get back into it (on offense or defense).”
Yurov doesn’t turn 22 years old until December.
Jul 7, 2022; Montreal, Quebec, CANADA; Danila Yurov after being selected as the number twenty-four overall pick to the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the 2022 NHL Draft at Bell Centre.Photo Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images