Age: 20
Weight: 191 lbs
While he may not be the Minnesota Wild’s number one Russian prospect, Alexander Khovanov has shown flashes of being a true blue-chip. But that doesn’t mean that he looks to be a home-run pick after being selected in the 3rd round. After another year marred by injuries, illness and consistency issues, Khovanov is truly a roller coaster of a prospect.
When the Wild selected him 86th overall from the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Juniors, Khovanov was seen as a bit of a project. His teammates and coaches loved him, but as Khovanov’s QMJHL coach (and former 2015-16 Wild interim head coach) John Torchetti put it in an interview with Michael Russo, “You’ve got to know how to coach Hovy”.