The GM search is in full motion, but that has not stopped interim GM, Brent Flahr, from inking some deals with Wild draft choices as well as a depth defenseman from Sweden.

Dmitry Sokolov leads the way as far as the prospects go and his signing to a three year entry level contract on Wednesday.

Sokolov a seventh round selection in 2016, has been a goal scorer at every level. This season he netted 50 goals and added 46 assists split between the Sudbury Wolves and the Barrie Colts of the OHL. After the trade to Barrie, Sokolov excelled scoring 30 goals and 58 points in just 29 games with the Colts.

In his three seasons in the OHL, Sokolov scored 30, 48, and 50 goals. The knock on him has been foot speed and defensive shortcomings. Well the fact is playing for a subpar Sudbury team it is hard to gage the defense, and the foot speed may be an issue, but there have been many great NHL goal scorers that lacked speed.

Last season's 4th round pick mason Shaw was also signed to a 3-year entry level contract. Shaw tore his ACL back in the rookie tournament last September in Traverse City. That cost Shaw was able to make it back to play in one game with the Iowa Wild. Shaw was the 7th leading scorer in the WHL in 2017 with 94 points.

The 5'9" center fell to the fourth round primarily because of his size. The Wild having no first or second round picks, had the strategy of selected the most talented players rather than looking for size. Shaw fit the bill and combined with his skill, Shaw is noted to be a fierce competitor. Both are needed credentials for the Wild.

Sam Anas was the third Wild prospect inked to a new deal, as he was re-signed to a two-year, two-way contract. Anas finished his second professional season with a 26 goal, 61 point year with Iowa, good enough for second on the team in scoring behind only Cal O'Reilly who had 64 points and played five more games than did Anas. Anas played well enough to get the call up to the NHL, but it just never materialized. Next season he will get a good look in camp from the new GM as the whole organization is on notice.

The final move was the signing of 25 year old free agent, Swedish defenseman, Eric Martinsson. Martinsson played the last four seasons with Vaxho in the Swedish Hockey League. He led the team with 3 goals and 11 points in 13 playoff games as Vaxho won the championship. Martinsson is 6'0" and 185 lbs, and is signed to a one year, two way contract.

The World Championships are underway and there are a few Wild players participating. Mikael Granlund and Nino Niederreiter are both in Denmark representing Finland and Switzerland respectively. Kirill Kaprizov is on the Russian team and has already gotten off to a great start with 2 goals and an assist in the 7-0 win over France.

Kaprizov must be high on the priority list for the new Wild GM as he is clearly the most talented prospect the team has had in quite some time to say the least. He is signed for two more seasons in the KHL so that does put a hamper on his arrival to the NHL, but opening a dialogue with Kaprizov is a must. Chuck Fletcher did make a trip to Russia this past winter but until that point there was no contact between Kaprizov and the Wild. The new GM cannot make the same mistake with this talented forward.

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