Hot start has Wild fans, foes learning about Danila Yurov

In terms of pre-scouting his Tuesday night foe, Edmonton Oilers coach Mike Babcock had some questions about the Minnesota Wild when he met with the media on Monday. Specifically, who is the third-liner that is suddenly doing everything after a rookie season that was both problematic and promising? Who s 22? The Russian kid. He s really good, Babcock asked a reporter from The Athletic after the Oilers practice on Monday. Yurov or something like that? He looks like a real player to me, too Yurov — Danila, or something like that — scored his first NHL goal almost a year ago to the day after making his North American debut with the Wild around this time in 2025. Yurov ended up with a 12-goal debut season for the Wild, but he struggled mightily in the faceoff circle, winning less than 40% of the draws he took. With three goals in the Wild s previous four games entering Tuesday night s meeting in Edmonton and winning faceoffs at a clip better than 56% as an NHL sophomore,