Marat Khusnutdinov signs entry-level contract with Minnesota Wild

One of the Minnesota Wild’s top prospects is coming over to North America.

The Wild have announced that Marat Khusnutdinov has signed a two-year, entry-level contract, allowing him to join the team immediately.

The contract will run until the end of the 2024-25 NHL season.

Khusnutdinov (pronounced mah-RAHT HOOST-nu-DEE-nov) had his KHL contract terminated early with HK Sochi after scoring six goals and 20 points in 49 games with the club. A product of the famed SKA St. Petersburg organization, Khusnutdinov scored 22 goals and 75 points in 162 games over four KHL campaigns. No other U-22 player had more points, and only one – fellow Wild prospect Danilya Yurov – played more games at 163.

Khusnutdinov is small at 5-foot-9 and 176 pounds, but he makes up for it as a playmaker. He’s got enough skill to beat defenders 1-on-1, but it’s his heads-up passing that makes him so value. In Sochi, where the team lacked high-end scoring, Kuhsnutdinov was by far one of the team’s most valuable play-starers, and it paid off with a solid season in a league that doesn’t reward young players all too often.

Beyond his puck work, Khusnutdinov battles hard to regain possession and grinds all game long. He brings significant energy to every shift, something that could make him a valuable third liner. He also does a good job in the faceoff dot, finishing above 50 percent in the faceoff dot back in 2022-23.

The Wild currently sit 6th in the Central Division with a 28-25-6 record. They’re coming off a 3-2 loss to Carolina on Tuesday but will look to push themselves back into wild-card territory with meetings against Nashville on Thursday and St. Louis on Saturday. The Club has a 7-2-1 record over the past 10 games, sitting two points behind the Blues for the final wild-card spot.