Some interesting words from ESPN commentator, Brian Boucher, last night when he referenced that Kevin Fiala did not play with elite players in Minnesota.
That has drawn quite the ire of Wild fans and quite honestly it shows all too well the East Coast bias of professional sports national broadcast personnel.
Kirill Kaprizov is a bonafide NHL superstar, and yes Fiala was not on Kirill's line on a nightly basis but the two had powerplay time together and were teamed up together many times when the Wild needed an offensive jolt.
All too often the teams in the Midwest and West Coast are over looked because of the time change, but if some of these players played in New York we would hear how great they are. Case in point, if Igor Shesterkin played for the Wild, he would not be referred to as the greatest goalie in the "World" as he is adnauseum every time the NY Rangers play on ESPN. He would just be another great goalie, just like Kaprizov is another great hockey player, but according to Boucher, not "elite".