Wild prospect Peterson makes immediate impact upon return from injury

By Ryan Lund
Published

With signees and draft picks spread out across two continents and more than a dozen junior leagues, keeping up with the Minnesota Wild's various prospects can be a daunting task.



From managing streaming plans and tracking down cable channels, to learning a few new languages (Puhutko suomea?), keeping tabs on the next generation can be a full-time job.

FOX Sports North has you covered.

From Finland to Fargo, we’re bringing you a look at the Wild’s prospect pipeline, highlighting three players each and every week (note: the tracker will take a break for Thanksgiving and return in two weeks).

So, let’s take a look at this week’s three-star selection in the latest edition of the Young Wild Tracker.

 

Avery Peterson, C, Minnesota Duluth (NCHC)

A senior at UMD, Peterson returned to the Bulldogs after a four-game absence (due to an upper-body injury) and made an immediate impact, scoring twice in a 3-0 win over red-hot Western Michigan. Peterson hit a WMU defender with a slick move on his first goal, toe dragging his way around a poke check and picking the top corner to put the Bulldogs up 2-0 less than a minute into the third period. He made it 3-0 a few minutes later, redirecting defenseman Nick Wolff's shot past goalie Ben Blacker.

https://youtu.be/XAQjnWAg2Ig

 

Kaapo Kahkonen, G, Lukko Rauma (SM-Liiga)

Kahkonen stayed hot this week, holding KalPa to just one goal in a shootout loss. The win drops his already miniscule GAA to just 1.69 while his save percentage now stands at .931 through 22 games. A fourth-round pick in 2014, Kahkonen ranks second in the league in GAA and third in save percentage. Now in his third season in Finland's top league, the 21-year-old is in the midst of a career season after posting a .921 GAA and a 2.58 GAA last year.

 

Braydyn Chizen, D, Kelowna Rockets (WHL)

A seventh-round pick of the Wild in 2016, Chizen doesn't find the back of the net often -- he's a 6-foot-6, stay-at-home defenseman and has five goals in 123 games with Kelowna -- but be broke through in a 5-2 win over the Red Deer Rebels. Chizen drifted into the slot with the Rockets working the puck down low, fending off a Rebels defender and beating the goalie low blocker side at 9:07 of the second period. Also, how about this play-by-play guy? "Gee whiz, it's the Chiz!" Magnificent.