The lack of a number-one center has become the forefront of basically every conversation about what the Minnesota Wild need to be a better team and to progress further in the playoffs. Draft day, trade deadline, and free agency for years now have all been overwhelmed with fans begging general manager Bill Guerin to address that ever-existent hole on the top line. While no immediate game-changers have been brought in to this point, the Wild have a very good prospect pool, and a group of young centers are making their way steadily towards the NHL.
Let’s take a deep dive into the Wild’s entire organizational center depth to take a look at all their current centers and centers on the rise to see just where they could end up fitting on the Wild’s roster or if they even fit at all.
Current NHL Roster Spot Holders
Ryan Hartman
The incumbent center has been the go-to man to fill the gap between Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello, and he has done a solid job. His 34 goals and 65 points in 2021-22 were not an accident. Hartman has the skill and can play whatever role he is given, which can be an invaluable skill to have on a roster. He produced slightly less last season after fighting some injuries and a suspension but ended up on a 50-point pace when all was said and done, which is right around where he should be expected to settle out.
Hartman’s ability to play third-fiddle to Kaprizov and Zuccarello has done the team well, but he is just that, a third man on the line. Hartman felt like he was punching above his weight class last season and was unable to improve his abilities in the faceoff circle. While there is no doubt he will be an important piece to the roster puzzle, he should eventually fall into a middle six-winger position.
Joel Eriksson Ek
Currently the Wild’s best natural center, Joel Eriksson Ek is a grinder that has developed his skills enough to be an extremely effective net-front presence. As the 26-year-old develops, he has continued to improve every season to the point where his two-way game has garnered some Selke Trophy attention.
Related: Minnesota Wild Prospect Pyramid: 2023 Draft Update
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In 2021-22, Eriksson Ek was part of the elite shutdown line with Marcus Foligno and Jordan Greenway, which earned the moniker “GREEF” due to their size and physicality. His talents in 2022-23 saw him rise to more of an offensive role with Matt Boldy and Marcus Johansson, as his ability to get into the dirty areas and win puck battles elevated that line to new heights. He is very good at what he does but is unlikely to improve enough to move out of that second-line slot.
Freddy Gaudreau
From out of left field, Guerin and Wild head coach Dean Evason decided to sign Frederick Gaudreau to a two-year deal during the 2021 offseason. Evason had some previous experience with Gaudreau from his time in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Milwaukee Admirals, but I don’t believe anyone saw him turning into the versatile and dependable NHL player that he currently is.
Gaudreau has been placed everywhere from first-line center to fourth-line winger, and he always gets the job done. He is one of the most defensively responsible forwards on the roster and is absolute magic in a shootout. He’s a fantastic bottom-six player who can step up into a higher role for a few games if needed.
Connor Dewar
Coming off his first full season in the NHL, the rather small Connor Dewar was a solid fourth-line center who specialized in killing penalties by reading the other team’s power play and creating shorthanded chances. While he has only managed to accumulate 24 points in his 116 games, he does have some good hands and solid hockey sense that could lead to more chances if he found himself playing a little higher in the lineup. He will be a 25-year-old restricted free agent (RFA) at the end of next season, but unless he can take a step offensively, his future with the Wild could be questionable.
Prospects at the Door
Marco Rossi
Perhaps the prospect with the most expectations placed on him since the moment he was drafted. Rossi is still an elite talent despite a near-death battle with myocarditis, a true testament to the level of compete and drive that this young man possesses. He may not have walked into the NHL and walked circles around everyone else like Kirill Kaprizov did, but his time in the AHL is giving his game and body that required time to mature before he can translate his play to the NHL level.
Rossi is staying in Minnesota this offseason to train with the Wild’s staff and increase his ability to be a more physical player despite his 5-foot-9 size. If he can take that step and walk into next season with some confidence and poise, it will only be a matter of time before he ends up being a critical piece of the Wild’s offence on that top line.
Marat Khusnutdinov
If there’s going to be another player who mimics Kaprizov’s jump from Europe right into an impact role on the NHL roster, it will be Marat Khusnutdinov. The 20-year-old is in the last year of his contract with SKA St. Petersburg in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) over in Russia.
“We like him a lot. We feel he can help this team at any point from this point. The amount of games he’s played in the KHL at his age — the effect he had and how much he’s utilized — isn’t overly normal at that age. He just had a tremendous year. We’re excited about him. He can skate. He’s got a really good motor to him. He can create.”
Brad Bombardir via Joe Smith of The Athletic, “Wild prospect deep dive: Taking stock of the NHL pipeline with the latest progress reports and ETAs“
Khusnutdinov put up 41 points in 63 games last season as a 5-foot-9 20-year-old playing against men. His claim to fame is the pace at which he plays the entire game. There is no slowing down. Ever. That, in turn, allows him to play a full 200-foot game and be an extremely effective puck carrier. I would not be surprised to see him in the NHL to start the 2024-25 season and climb the roster with ease.
Future Talent
Hunter Haight & Riley Heidt
The similarities between these two players don’t stop at their last names being confusingly close in pronunciation. Both of these centers are 5-foot-11 speedsters that weigh in around the 175-pound mark. With a focus on playmaking ability, they’ve both produced at a high level on their respective teams in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL).
Haight had a rough start last season but caught fire after getting traded to the Saginaw Spirit, where he will attempt to continue that hot streak this season. Heidt is a year younger but maybe the more talented of the two. This player had no business falling all the Wild at 64th overall. If he can put everything together, he could be a massive steal. Both of these guys could feasibly end up in the middle six range, with Heidt being on the upper side of that.
Caedan Bankier
Originally a third-round pick in 2021, Caedan Bankier has been developing rapidly into a strong center prospect. His outstanding season with the Kamloops Blazers saw him net 37 goals and 85 points in just 57 regular season games, which he topped off with 18 points in 14 playoff games. Bankier was one of the Wild’s top best prospects at the 2023 World Junior Championship, where he won gold for Team Canada as their fourth-line center, which is likely where you would also expect to see him if he makes it to the NHL.
Charlie Stramel
It’s pretty obvious what the Wild were going for here. They were looking for a big, strong center that has some skill and the potential to be a decent power forward, and they went out of their way to get it. Most people didn’t have Stramel going as early as the Wild took him, but they identified a need in their organization and took the player that they thought had the best chance to fill that gap. Early last season, he was on a lot of scout’s top 10 lists, but a rough season dropped his stock considerably. Stramel’s next season at the University of Wisconsin could go a long way in proving if he will end up being a steal that they can use in their middle six or if they might have fumbled this one.
More Players Than Spots
There is a reason the Wild haven’t had an elite number-one center for their entire existence: they are hard to find. Even teams that have drafted at the top for years in a row are sometimes unable to find that game-breaker for their top line. The good news is that the Wild have been able to mine out more than a few rougher players they hope to polish into that coveted gem.
If they aren’t able to find it from within, there are 10 players listed here, and all of them are possible NHL players. If it comes down to it, once the buyout penalties have eased off, a trade may be the most reliable method to finally fill that need.