Rasmus Kumpulainen is one of the Minnesota Wild’s sleeper prospects and has the potential to contribute to a Stanley Cup team. Kumpulainen signed his Entry-Level Contract (ELC) with the Wild last March and is ready to take the next step.

The Wild need to develop Kumpulainen into a second power-play unit contributor who can play on the Wild’s new GREEF line with Rieger Lorenz and Charlie Stramel. Wild general manager Bill Guerin may have been on to something when he approached the podium and selected Stramel ahead of Gabriel Perrault. Still, building a new GREEF line is a way to salvage the Stramel pick. Perhaps Riley Heidt will make us forget about Perrault? The Wild will have another GREEF line who will emulate their style after Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno, and old friend Jordan Greenway.

Kumplulainen played in Finland in his draft year, producing 34 points in 41 games for the Under-20 Pelicans of the Under-20 SM-sarja. He only played one season in North America, scoring 56 points in 58 games for the OHL’s Oshawa Generals in 2023-24. His 56 points finished fifth in scoring (0.97 points) behind Dylan Roobroeck (1.06 points), Beckett Sennecke (1.08 points), Connor Lockhart (1.16 points), and Calum Ritchie (1.60 points).

Kumpulainen’s time with the Generals during the 2023-24 season marks a turning point in his development as a prospect. His effective scoring and ability to adapt to the OHL suggest he possesses the tools necessary to continue his upward trend. If Kumpulainen maintains this trend, he’ll continue to climb up the prospect rankings due to his strong offensive instincts and two-way ability. This season, he can translate his OHL success to future success in Finland.

Kumpulainen is returning to Finland to play in the Liiga for 2 years, which will set him up for success when he comes stateside to play for the Iowa Wild in the AHL. Kumpulainen can polish his game by playing against grown men in a professional league.

Can Kumpulainen continue to develop as a top-five scorer in Finland? Expect him to play at least top-six minutes there because he’s already familiar with the European game. However, Kumpulainen will need to gain more consistency on the score sheet to have a breakout year. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler describes Kumpulainen as a 200-foot player who can be a puck-possession monster. Kumpulainen naturally uses his 6-foot-3, 200-plus lbs. frame to shield off players while possessing the puck.

Not many European players who were drafted 53rd overall made the NHL. Rasmus Andersson (2015), Filip Hronek (2016), and Vasily Ponomarev (2020) are the most recent 53rd overall draft picks who have broken into the NHL. However, Ponomarev hasn’t played a full season yet, while Andersson and Hronek are polished NHL veteran defensemen.

We’ll use Ponomarev as an example because he’s a forward. The Carolina Hurricanes selected Ponomarev while he was playing with the Shawinigan Cataractes in the QMJHL. He posted 49 points in 57 games, which was third in scoring. Ponomarev had an excellent showcase for Under-18 Team Russia, scoring 12 points in 12 games. He only played 2 games but scored 2 points.

Carolina traded Ponomarev to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Jake Guentzel trade, and Ponomarev is ready to establish himself behind Sidney Crosby, arguably the best player of all time.

Ponomarev has played only two games for the Hurricanes but has scored in both. Ponomarev’s production will likely regress, but he could be an impact middle-six forward in the NHL. Ponomarev saw time between the QMJHL and the KHL for development time before playing AHL minutes and having some success. Kumplulainen could do the same.

Kumplulainen’s game should impact the Wild’s bottom-six due to his puck possession game, which will help Stramel score many dirty goals. Lorenz and Kumpulainen can facilitate the cycle game and punish opposing defenders. That line can take the physical burden off of other lines.

Kumplulainen will work on getting faster to become a more effective two-way center before returning to North America to earn a spot on the Iowa Wild roster. He will likely earn his call-up during his sophomore season in Iowa when Marcus Foligno, Freddy Gaudreau, or Ryan Hartman get banged up.

Kumplulainen has the chance to become a middle-six contributor for the Wild. He can help on the power play and adapt his game after Mikko Koivu if injuries become a team problem and he gets called up. Ideally, he’ll slot behind Joel Eriksson Ek, Danila Yurov, and Marat Khusnutdinov, making an impactful bottom-six to provide some clutch scoring.