As for the terrible score, Kaprizov thinks that, as is often the case at this level, it was mostly due to the team’s falling apart mentally once the game got out of hand.

“It just started happening so fast,” he says. “One goal, two goals, three, then there come the penalties... It was hard to understand what was happening... As for my own performance, I was very unhappy with the first game. I could get nothing right in that one. But against the Americans, things started to get much better and I scored twice. Even against the Czechs, I had some good moments. But overall, I could’ve played much better here.”

Kaprizov took up hockey at the age of four in his native Siberian town after being brought to the rink along with a brother by his dad, who played the game recreationally in his youth. Only one of the younger Kaprizovs liked the sport, but he turned out to be quite a talent. As far back as he can remember, Kirill was always the best player in his age group, the trend which hasn’t stopped yet.

Scouts may already be busy comparing him to other hockey stars, but Kaprizov, a typical Russian goal-scoring forward, insists he had no single role model as a kid. Not that he isn’t a kid still, and as such, it’s always easy to find out whom he likes the most by asking him which team he prefers when playing video games. For Kirill, it’s the Chicago Blackhawks.

“Yes, I like Patrick Kane,” he admits. “But among fellow Russians, Alexander Radulov is probably my favourite. He is always determined to get to the net, always emotionally charged for every game, always fighting and always trying to lead the team. That’s the kind of player I want to be as well.”

Of course, the meaning of the KHL’s No. 1 draft pick isn’t quite the same. Kaprizov’s honour has a lot to do with the fact that Metallurg Novokuznetsk was picking first and, as most teams would do, moved in to protect its own best prospect. Unlike, let’s say, his NHL counterpart Aaron Ekblad, Kaprizov isn’t even guaranteed a spot in the Metallurg lineup this year.

“I won’t be a better player just because of (being picked first),” says the engaging and down-to-earth Kaprizov. “Everything will depend on how well I perform in practice. Our training camp just ended and it looks like I did well. The coach, from what I got, was happy with me.”

While well known among the Novokuznetsk hardcore hockey fans, who hound him at the arena and in social media, he hasn’t quite become a household name yet, which is probably appropriate for someone born in 1997. As for the NHL Entry Draft, for which he will be eligible next summer, Kaprizov is trying hard not to think about it too much.

“It will all depend on how I will play this season, so I must concentrate on that,” he says. “As long as I get picked, I will be happy, no matter which round. In any case, I would want to spend the next few years in Novokuznetsk and focus on making the team here.”